If tapwater can kill seeds, what does it do to people?

I have sent your Second Opinion article on chlorine in tapwater (WDDTY vol 14 no 10) to South East Water plc, my tapwater supplier.

I am not surprised tapwater is somewhat polluted. Some years ago, I soaked my runner bean seeds in tapwater before planting them. For two years running, they didn’t come up. But when I soaked them in bottled still springwater, they came up and flourished. What is it in tapwater that stops seeds germinating? Maybe it’s the chlorine and pesticides! If it stops seeds growing, what does it do to human beings? – David J. Layzell, Maidenhead