Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Drinking Water
We all need to drink water. How much you need depends on your size, activity level, and the weather where you live.
The water you drink is a combination of surface water and groundwater. Surface water includes rivers, lakes and reservoirs. Groundwater comes from underground. The United States has one of the safest water supplies in the world, but drinking water quality can vary from place to place. It depends on the condition of the source water and the treatment it receives. Treatment may include adding fluoride to prevent cavities and chlorine to kill germs.
Your water supplier must give you annual reports on drinking water. The reports include where your water came from and what contaminants are in it.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
It sits within Food and Nutrition and Poisoning, Toxicology, Environmental Health.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Drinking Water
2,086 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Validation of a Capillary Leak Index During Septic Shock, Based on Haemoglobin Level Variations Induced by Fluid Resuscitation. A Pilot Study.University Hospital Center of Martinique
- Efficacy and Safety of Encaleret Compared to Standard of Care in Participants With ADH1Calcilytix Therapeutics, Inc., a BridgeBio company
- Tacrolimus Ophthalmic Solution for the Treatment of Non-infectious Anterior UveitisNovaliq GmbH
- Patiromer for Treatment of Hyperkalaemia in Children Under 12 Years of AgeVifor Pharma, Inc.
- Clinical Study on the Medical Devices PROXERA PSOMED 20 and PROXERA PSOMED 40 for the Treatment of Plaque Psoriasis and Non-pustular Palmoplantar PsoriasisICIM International S.r.l.
- Effect of Hydrogen-rich Water During Tapering on Recovery After Functional Overreaching in Basketball PlayersPalacky University
Research already completed
- Comparing the Efficacy of Toothbrushing With and Without Interproximal Cleaning Aids: A Split-Mouth TrialSaint-Joseph University
- Efficacy of an Antioxidant Moisturizing Serum for Mild to Moderate Seborrheic DermatitisInstitute of Dermatology, Thailand
- Effect of a Magnesium Sulfate Footbath on Primary Dysmenorrhea PainKocaeli University
- BeauSaki Bird's Nest Peptide EfficacyChia Nan University of Pharmacy ＆ Science
- Health Effects of Substituting Sugary Beverages With Artificially-sweetened Beverages or WaterBrigham and Women's Hospital
- Management of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome-associated Reproductive Dysfunction Through Kefir SupplementationUniversity of Lahore
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- About Drinking WaterCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Bottled Water BasicsEnvironmental Protection Agency
- Water: How Much Should You Drink Every Day?Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Prevention and Risk Factors
- About Choosing Home Water FiltersCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
Related Issues
- About Lead in Drinking WaterCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Basic Information about Your Drinking WaterCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Emergency Disinfection of Drinking WaterEnvironmental Protection Agency
- How EPA Regulates Drinking Water ContaminantsEnvironmental Protection Agency
- Keep Food Safe after a Disaster or EmergencyCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Persistence of Plastics: Can Tiny Plastic Pieces Affect Our Health?National Institutes of Health
- Safety of Bottled Water Beverages Including Flavored Water and Nutrient-Added Water BeveragesFood and Drug Administration
Statistics and Research
- Fast Facts: Data on Water ConsumptionCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Drinking Water. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Drinking Water, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.