Before you swear off all water forever, remember that rivers are also full of beneficial minerals. Calcium, magnesium, and potassium are natural water-soluble gifts for your bones and brain. If you’re drinking hard water (which feels like a rock concert for your shower), you’re actually getting extra calcium, which is great unless you hate strong teeth.
Even dissolved oxygen counts as a chemical—a friendly one. Fish breathe it through gills, just like we breathe air. When pollution kills oxygen levels (a condition called hypoxia), fish basically suffocate, and the water smells like a gym locker’s dying wish. Not fun.
