Central Texas drinking water may not be as clean as some believe it to be.

According to a new study published by Lawn Starter, Killeen ranks 179 of 200 for cities with the best water quality.

No other city in Central Texas made the list, so it would be safe to assume that Killeen actually has the cleanest water in Central Texas. Yikes. Maybe the Killeen-Ft. Hood area has better quality water because that's where our soldiers are?

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I'm from Waco, and I can tell you that I knew the city would not be on the list. However, I was surprised to see Killeen make the list, and not any another Bell County city.

Personally, I'm terrified of tap water. Yeah, I know there're people who drank out of water hoses and swam in creeks, but that's never been me.

Let's also keep in mind that while our city's water may comply with federal health-based drinking water standards, that doesn't necessarily mean that the water is safe.

According to the Environmental Working Group, the federal government’s legal limits are not health-protective. The EPA has not set a new tap water standard in almost 20 years, and some standards are more than 40 years old.

The CDC states that over 90 percent of Americans get their tap water from community water systems, which are subject to safe drinking water standards. So, I would think that if 90% of us are depending on the federal government to set the tap water standards that it would be safe, but that issue is debatable.

Check out EWG's Tap Water Database to see what contaminants are in your city's water that exceed EWG's health guidelines. You may be surprised by what you find.

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