Tapped Out

Drinking bottled water isn't necessarily a good thing for your health or for the environment, since the plastic bottles take up space in landfills and their contents are not subject to strict regulations. But how safe is the tap water you drink? Getting better, but still not as good as it should be, according to a review of the drinking-water systems of 19 cities around the U.S. The report, released yesterday by the Natural Resources Defense Council, found that many city systems use technology that's nearly 100 years old and not capable of adequately removing contaminants, including lead, carcinogens, and sewage. The five cities that ranked worst were Albuquerque, N.M, Boston, Mass., Fresno and San Francisco, Calif., and Phoenix, Ariz. By contrast, Chicago, Ill., earned the highest rating of the cities evaluated.