Americans believe they have a constitutional right to clean, safe drinking water. But the quest for potable (drinkable) water began thousands of years before the founding of this country and encompassed developments in Peru, Persia, China, India, Rome and elsewhere, as well as more recent advances in Scotland, France, England and finally the United States. We will explore this long history in order to understand how we have come to be blessed with clean, safe water (almost) anywhere in America. We will also compare the American experience with other countries where either the quality of tap water is considered suspect, even though it might be safe, or is rightly considered unsafe and unhealthy.
