The Truth of Water – Answers

• 31Oct

  Water Treatment Project

  Other, disinfection 4 Comments

  Diana from Hawaii writes:

  Hi! I’m a student from maui high school. I’m having a research for my Chemistry class and my topic is about water treatment. I’m just wondering if you can give me some facts abput it and i also need to do a poster and I’m not really sure what to do.. pls give me ideas/facts.

  Thank you for your question!

  If your topic is about water treatment and it’s for chemistry class, perhaps you can do your topic on chlorine.  Chlorine is the most common water treatment chemical in use today.

  Here are some ideas for you. Click on the points to be taken to another website with some information. This is just a starting point, you may want to do some further research on your own.

  • The history of chlorine, why it was first used and where.
  • The types of chlorine used: Anhydrous Chlorine (Cl2), liquid sodium hypochlorite, dry calcium hypochlorite
  • What happens when you add chlorine to water: The disassociation process between hypochlorus acid (HOCl) and the hypochlorite ion (OCl-), and include the pH Disassociation curve
  • The difference between the states of chlorine: Free, combined, and total
  • Breakpoint chlorination: what happens when you add chlorine to water.  Google breakpoint chlorination and you’ll find LOTS of good stuff.
  • The difference between primary and secondary chlorination.

  I hope I’ve given you a good idea, and get busy googling!  Let me know if you need any further help or ideas.  And I will email you when your answer is up on the site if you would like to refer to it more.

  

  Tags: chlorine, hawaii, learning, project

• 28Oct

  Water Treatment For a Well in Michigan

  Drinking Water, Filtration, disinfection 1 Comment

  Recently, Anna from Michigan wrote into The Truth of Water asking several questions.  She has recently moved from Poland to Michigan, and purchased a house with well water.  Our correspondence is long so I’ll break down her questions below and answer them in turn.

  1. Anna has a water softener, and has heard that it can be bad for your health. Is this true?
  2. Where to get your water tested, and how often?
  3. There is a smell coming from the water. As well, rusty stains are developing on her water fixtures
  4. She wants to disinfect her water using U.V. to ensure it is safe to drink, and would like a recommendation on a U.V. unit.

  Anna, thank you for writing in and I’ll try to help you as best I can.

  Question 1 – Is water softener water bad for your health?

  Water softeners add sodium to your water in the same proportion that they remove hardness. Sodium in excessive amounts can be bad for your heart and blood pressure. Your best bet is to plumb a special line of non softened water to your kitchen sink and use that water only for drinking and cooking. This way you’ll be able to benefit from sodium free water for your health, and softened water for your cleaning activities.

  Question 2 – Where to get your water tested, and how often?

  It is best to find an Environmental laboratory closest to you.  Some samples are time sensitive so the sooner you get it to the lab, the better.  As I live in Ontario, the laboratories I am close to are too far away to be of use to yourself. However, I have found a Michigan association of Environmental laboratories.  You can find them at http://www.michlabs.org/. Please write into them and explain your situation, and that you need to do some well water testing. They will be able to recommend a lab close to you. Most laboratories have a well water testing suite custom tailored to the problems specific to the area.  When you do find a laboratory, please make sure that they can test for ultra violet transmittance.  This is usually a very inexpensive test but it is necessary to properly size a U.V. treatment device, as I will explain below.  Generally most home owners will get their water tested 4 times per year, once quarterly.  As you progress in your testing and find some contaminants commonly not existing in your water supply, you can start reducing the frequency of testing or eliminate it. You should ALWAYS test for bacteria in your water, as that is the most acute problem you may face and can come up at any time.

  Question 3 – Smell and Rust in the well water

  Many times, well water can contain sulphur reducing bacteria and produce hydrogen sulphide, which will make your water smell like rotten eggs. If this is not the case, I do understand that Michigan groundwater can sometimes be contaminated with methane, which will cause a smell. If your water does not smell like rotten eggs, it is most likely methane.  The company I will recommend below will be able to help you with this.  The rust in your water is from iron, which can come from your well water and/or your iron well casing.  To treat this, you need to oxidize with either air or an oxidizing agent and filter it out.  The below company I will mention will also have experience with this.

  Question 4 – U.V. system recommendation

  One of the most important treatment devices you will own is your U.V. system, simply because it will kill or inactivate any microorganisms like bacteria, virus’s and protozoa, which can be common to some ground water supplies.  It is very important to properly size your U.V. system.  Just as car companies must not under size an engine for their car, if you under size a U.V. system it will not deliver an effective dose.  The US EPA, AWWA, NSF and various other water specialists recognize that the lowest safe dose for U.V. to produce safe water is 40 mj/cm2.  In order to achieve this, you must achieve these factors:

  1. Know your maximum flow rate. The higher the flow rate the lower the U.V. dose will be.
  2. The U.V. transmittance of your water, or how much U.V. light can penetrate your water
  3. The strength of your lamps at all times, as lamp strength degrades over time.

  I work for a small muncipality, and have installed about twenty small U.V. treatment systems. After careful consideration, I purchased all of them from a company called U.V. Pure.  The reasons I did this was simple. U.V. pure took all three factors above into consideration.  Through independent third party testing, they have proven a minimum effective dose of 40 mj/cm2 at the end of lamp life, at a maximum flow rate (which they set with a flow restrictor), and with a U.V. Transmittance of 75%.  If the lamp output failed, or if the U.V. transmittance dropped below 75%, the unit shut off a valve and sent out an alarm, ensuring that you either get safe drinking water or you do not.

  U.V. Pure offers a home unit which is independently verified by a third party company to produce this. They test using live bacteria and ensure all are dead on the other side of the system. Indeed, I have my own performance data showing E.coli bacteria on the raw water side of one of my systems and clean, bacteria free water on the other.

  Where to get water treatment?

  I contacted U.V. Pure to find the closest distributor to you.  They lead me to a company called Clear Water Systems in Brighton, Michigan which I believe is close to you.  As an added bonus, this company also carries Kinetico Water filters, which I have direct and positive experiences with.  Kinetico has filtration options that can take care of any iron, sediment, or methane in your water.

  Make sure that if you visit Clear Water systems, you take the results of your well water tests with you. This will help them choose a system to best take care of your needs.

  You can contact Clear Water Systems at the following:

  Clear Water Systems (Kinetico)

  10008 E. Grand River

  Brighton, MI 48116

  Phone: 810.632.7880

  Email:sales@clearwatersystems.com

  Website: www.clearwatersystems.com

  To recap: To help solve your problems, use the website I gave you in question 2 to find a local drinking water lab.  Take that information to your local clear water systems dealer, so he can help you with treatment for your iron and stinky water problem, and a properly sized U.V. Pure U.V. system to make sure your water is safe to drink.

  I hope I’ve helped you out today. Please let me know if you need any further information or clarifications.  Also, I would be very interested to see how you make out in your endeavors!

  

  Tags: disinfection, Filtration, softener, u.v. pure, water treatment

• 27Oct

  Removing Uranium from Drinking Water

  Drinking Water, Filtration 2 Comments

  Sandra from Saskatchewan Writes:

  How do you safely remove for drinking from a private well?

  Thanks for the question, Sandra.

  Uranium is common to aquifers in or in contact with a sedimentary based bedrock, like the kind you have in Saskatchewan. It can also be found in granite, so is common to well waters in England, among other places.

  The accepted maximum safe level of uranium in drinking water is 20 parts per billion in most parts of Canada. If you have not already done so, it is advisable to have your drinking water tested.  You should be able to find a laboratory that tests for uranium locally. If you cannot locate one, contact your municipality, they should be able to direct you to the lab closest to you.

  Uranium is a heavy dissolved metal, and can be removed one of two ways:

  1. Reverse Osmosis Filtration
  2. Distillation

  Distillers are expensive and hard to maintain. Your best option is to use a reverse osmosis filter. R.O. filter. These filters can be purchased relatively inexpensively in small sizes, small enough to fit under your kitchen counter and provide water through a special tap, which can be used for drinking and cooking.

  Reverse Osmosis filters are the tightest filters, removing almost all dissolved substances from your water.  This creates a few problems. Firstly, the water must be very clean before entering the R.O. filter, or it will clog it up quickly.  When selecting your R.O. filter, most good manufacturers will provide several pre filters with your R.O. filter to preserve the integrity of the filter.  It is also important to purchase a good quality R.O. filter to ensure that it has high removal efficiencies for dissolved contaminants like uranium.  Make sure that the filter is NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) certified or has similar accreditations.

  The other issue with reverse osmosis water is that it tends to be corrosive.  R.O. water, plain water by itself with no dissolved minerals will take those minerals from wherever it can, like a sponge.  If you plan on drinking R.O. water on a regular basis, ensure that you also take a daily multivitamin to help replace minerals lost from this water.  Even better, ask the manufacturer if he can provide a remineralizer.

  Reverse Osmosis filters are a very common staple filter among water treatment companies.  While they can be inexpensive in the “under the counter” style, it is important you don’t buy cheap.  A good quality filter will go a long way to protecting you and your family from the uranium you are concerned about.  Peace of mind is worth a few extra dollars.

  I do know of a manufacturer of R.O. systems in Winnipeg, Manitoba that can help you if you cannot find a good system locally. Visit http://www.waterite.ca/ for more information.

  I hope I’ve been helpful, please do not hesitate to write in again for clarification or to ask another question.

  

  Tags: r.o., reverse osmosis, uranium, uranium removal, water treatment, waterite

• 22Oct

  Questions on a Refridgerator Filter

  Drinking Water, Filtration 1 Comment

  Sheila from Toronto writes:

  I have a pur water filter in my fridge. Does it remove most of the bad elements from the water. Also, does it take out the calcium. How often do the filters need to be changed.

  Hi Sheila, thanks for your question.

  I looked at the Frigidaire website. They offer three different models of filters for their refrigerators.  Each one claims to be able to remove chlorine and particulates to varying degrees.  This means that all of them use some sort of carbon filter, either carbon block or a form of activated carbon.  Two of them seem to use a pleated paper filter as well.

  Not knowing exactly which filter you have, I can’t give you specifics. I can tell you that none of the filters will remove calcium from the water.  You need a reverse osmosis filter, or an ion exchange unit to do this, and the Fridgidaire filters do not perform any of those functions.

  The idea that there are “bad” elements in your municipally treated tap water is a misconception propagated by companies manufacturing bottled water and home water filtration products.  Municipal tap water is clean and safe to drink. Further, a myriad of tests are preformed on a regular basis on raw, treated and distribution water making sure this is so, and have checks and balances to make sure it is this way at all times.  The minimum regulations for municipal water far exceed the regulations for bottled water or home filtration products.

  You may notice that your fridge water has a better taste.  The secondary disinfectant, chlorine, and sometimes chloramines, are removed by this carbon filter.  This filter can only improve the aestethics of already safe water.

  I could not find a minimum change out frequency for these filters.  Because these filters have carbon in them, it is very important to change them out on a regular basis. Carbon encourages bacterial growth after a certain period of time.

  I would change them at least once a month, or more if you go through a lot of water.

  I hope this has helped you. Please do not hesitate to write again if you need further clarification or have another question.

  

  Tags: filter, fridge, fridge filter, refridgerator, water filter

• 20Oct

  pH Balance – What is it?

  Drinking Water, Other 1 Comment

  The word pH is a common one in water treatment.  So to it is common among households, healthcare professionals and the like.  You may be more familiar with acids and bases, as is referred to on either side of the pH scale.

  Water treatment plants are careful to not only monitor the pH of the water but sometimes even adjust it.  Differing pH’s affect disinfection, filtration, coagulation, and even corrosion and the formation of scale. But what exactly is pH?

  It simply refers the the amount of hydrogen ions (H+) or hydroxyl ions (OH-) ions in a particular substance. That’s it, that is all.

  pH is measured in a scale from 0 to 14, with anything below 7 being acidic and anything above 7 being basic.    Acids are in the lower range of the scale and are caused by an excess of the H+ ion, and bases are in the upper range of the scale and are caused by an excess of the OH- ion.

  The pH scale is not linear, it is logarithmic, measured in multiples of ten.  From a change of a pH 7 to a pH 6, there are ten times more H+ ions in the water.  From a change of pH 7 to pH 5, there are one hundred times more ions in the water, and so on.

  Water purveyors aim for a pH the closest to 7 they can manage.  This is because a pH of 7 is what we call ‘pH balanced’, with neither an excess of the H+ or OH- ion in the water.  Water plants tend to be less concerned with water that is basic than acidic, because acidic water can cause corrosion and damage on distribution systems.  The ideal pH range of water is 7, with most municipalities allowing an acceptable range of 6.5 to 8.5 before they implement pH control.

  pH of your body is very important to your health, so it is worth bringing up.  I am not an expert on health, so I would encourage you to view this post here at this site.

  

  Tags: acid, base, health, ph, pH balance

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