While we would love to be able to trust the liquid flowing from our faucets, anyone who pays even half-hearted attention to the news knows that we can no longer expect safety in our drinking water unless we confirm it ourselves.

The EPA and Michigan's Gov. Snyder really added to the list of reasons that I have trust issues. Water is one of the most important survival topics around – it's so important to me that I wrote an entire book about it.

Flint, Michigan: A Cautionary Tale

Every day for more than a year, new horrors were uncovered in relation to the drinking water in Flint, Michigan. Residents of the city had been drinking water that was presumably safe for the past year without knowing that it was actually contaminated with chemical byproducts, E. coli, Legionnaires' disease, and lead.

It appears that both the EPA and the governor of Michigan knew the water was unsafe for quite some time, but no one said a word to warn the people of Flint. To heap insult onto injury, the water company had the audacity to bill people for the poisoned water and even sent out shut-off notices.

Where to get a water testing kit

So, do you really think you can trust the water flowing from your own taps? If Flint was the last straw for you, it's time to take matters into your own hands and test your drinking water for contaminants. Whether your water source is private or municipal, the onus for your family's safety is on you.

Water testing kits are readily available on Amazon.

The Watersafe Well Water Test Kit was specifically designed to help you test quickly and easily for the 10 most common contaminants found in private well water, including iron, copper, lead, bacteria, pesticides, nitrates, nitrites, chlorine, pH and hardness. (order here)

The PurTest Home Water Analysis kit is a comprehensive EPA-based test kit that allows you to quickly and easily test your drinking water for various contaminants and conditions. Tests included: 1 test each for bacteria, lead, & pesticide. Two (2) tests each for iron, alkalinity, pH, hardness, chlorine, copper, nitrate & nitrite.  (order here)