Technological advances could help improve the quality of water running from everyday kitchen taps, it has been suggested.A report in the New York Times notes that promising IT developments have prompted many hi-tech companies to imagine a world where catastrophes are avoided thanks to innovative sensor technologies.For example, Carlos Guestrin, an associate professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, noted that a common concern is with water quality across localities.Today, its becoming possible to stick sensors throughout the chain at the water-treatment plant, in the distribution pipes, even at the kitchen tap, said the newspaper.That means contaminants can be spotted instantly.Such news follows a Daily Mail report which highlighted the seemingly innocuous areas of a home that potentially harmful bacteria can fester.It noted, for example, that the warm, damp and porous nature of kitchen sponges make them an ideal breeding ground for bacteria.