The Truth of Water - Answers

Ron from California writes:

I am looking to have the safest and healthest pool water system that does not use chlorine?

Hi Ron

My expertise is in once through potable water systems. I don’t have much experience with pool water.

I do understand that it’s very unusual to have pools without some sort of secondary disinfectant in it. This is because pools are open to the atmosphere and environment and without a residual disinfectant they would very quickly become cesspools of a very active ecosystem, including things like e.coli (very common to soil, think of your bare feet on your lawn and garden then introducing it into the water) and other micro organisms that could be a potential threat.

I understand that some people can have a recirculation system through an ultraviolet disinfection device. I understand that systems like these drastically reduce the amount of disinfectant you add to your pool, but you still have to shock your system on occasion with a disinfectant, so biofilm doesn’t start growing on your underwater surfaces.

I wish I could help you further, but as I’ve said I’m out of my element and don’t want to lead you down the wrong path.

I encourage you to seek pool experts, either online or in your area. Perhaps you could go to your local pool store, see what he recommends, than ask for a list of references so you can call around and get the opinions of others who have pool and have used those systems.

I hope I’ve been of help.

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:

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!

John from Ontario Writes:

What is RO water

Hi John

RO is short for reverse osmosis.  It is simply a type of filter, so RO water is water filtered through a reverse osmosis filter.

Reverse osmosis is the highest level of filtration that man has devised.  There are many different types of filters, and this one is classified as a membrane filter.  That is, the water has to pass through a thin membrane, which allows molecules only of a certain size to pass.  Most membranes contain physical pores of a certain size, except reverse osmosis.  This membrane contains no physical holes. Rather, it uses it’s own molecular structure to accept water molecules to pass through and reject almost everything else.

The benefits of reverse osmosis is that it filters out just about everything leaving almost pure H2O.  If you had a water source that was not very secure - like a shallow well on a farm, and you were concerned about things like pesticides, herbicides, and nitrates - then a reverse osmosis filter would be the best choice for you.

There are several downsides to R.O. filters.  Because they are such a tight filter, the water must be very, very clean before hand otherwise the filter will clog up very quickly.  Also, drinking pure H2O isn’t particularly good for you for two reasons:

1. Gasses are allowed to pass through the membrane, including CO2.  Because there is nothing else for the water to react with, it combines with the CO2 to make carbonic acid. This makes RO water acidic and corrosive. It will usually come out at a pH of around 6, depending on the content of CO2.
2. Water is called the universal solvent for a very good reason.  Plain H2O is very good at dissolving a wide variety of substances.  Natural water is very rich in minerals because of this, and much of the minerals vital to our good health come from natural water.  Think of plain H2O like a sponge, needing to soak up minerals.  It will do this from your own body, making this an unhealthy long term choice to drink. It is especially bad for women with or at risk of getting osteoporosis.

Most water professionals consider RO a last resort technology, for the above two reasons.

I hope this answered your question.  If you have any other questions or require further clarification, please do not hesitate to write in again.