Pure Water Occasional, November, 2023
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Greetings from Pure Water Products, the Pure Water Gazette, and the Pure Water Occasional.
In this after-Thanksgiving Occasional, you will hear about the agonizing death of the thriving French city of Mayotte, nitrates in Oregon wells, sea lice in salmon, a nasty chemical industry propaganda campaign, toilet to tap technology, sanitizing RO units and storage tanks, calcite, soda ash, lithium, percent rejection, Big Bubba, TAC vs. Water Softeners, and, as always, much, much more.
Thank you for reading, and sincere thanks from Pure Water Products for your continuing support. |
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Thanks for reading!
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Raising the pH of Acidic Water
This article is not about “ionizers” or similarly misnamed consumer items that magically amend the pH of water and contribute to the health, wealth, and happiness of the seller.
It is about the standard strategies used by water treatment professionals to raise the pH of acidic waters, most often well water, for aesthetic improvement, the protection of plumbing fixtures, or to assist in other water treatment procedures such as the removal of iron and manganese.
The calcite filter above has a "dome hole" on the side near the top to allow fresh calcite to be added to the tank without removing the head. Calcite and Corosex (also sold as Mang Ox) are "used up" in the process of pH correction and have to be replenished occasionally.
Two standard techniques are used to raise pH: filtration and injection.
Filtration involves sending the water to be treated through a bed of a granular sacrificial medium which dissolves slowly and adds calcium carbonate to the water, thus buffering the acidity and raising the pH. The most commonly used medium for this process is calcite—a natural granular substance that provides a relatively mild upward bump in pH. Calcite is sometimes mixed with a smaller amount of another standard medium called Corosex which adds magnesium to the water and has a stronger effect on increasing pH.
Most filters for acid neutralization are backwashing filters, like the one pictured, but if the water is very clean—such as in post-treatment for large reverse osmosis units—in/out style upflow filters can be used. (Calcite is also available in cartridge form for post treatment for undersink reverse osmosis units.)
The only disadvantage of calcite treatment is that it raises the hardness of the treated water slightly. This is of no concern unless the water being treated is already very hard.
The second standard pH increase strategy is injection of a small amount of a pH increasing substance into the water stream.
The small "peristaltic" pump injects sold ash or caustic soda into the water line to raise pH. It can also be used to inject an acid like vinegar or citric acid to lower the pH of very alkaline water.
Soda Ash is the most commonly used pH increaser, but a product called caustic soda, which is about a 30% stronger pH increaser, is sometimes preferred, especially in swimming pool treatment.
Soda ash is delivered via a small injection pump, usually electric, that injects a solution of the product under pressure into the water line.
The advantage of injection of soda ash is that it does not add to hardness and it gives a more potent increase in pH. It can be used to treat water in the 5.0 range, whereas calcite filtration does not give sufficient increase to very acidic water.
Note: Although we are not currently offering chemical feed pumps because of supply issues, we have the other parts needed to create and maintain chemical feed systems. See this page. Go here for our backwashing calcite filter.
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Lithium
Lithium, an unregulated water contaminant, was found in surprisingly
high occurrence levels in ongoing EPA monitoring. In fact, 22% of the
community water supplies tested exceeded the the EPA’s established
health reference level.
According to a recent Water Quality Association (WQA) statement, “The
health implications of lithium in drinking water are still being
studied, and they may not all be negative. In the pharmaceutical
industry, lithium is used as an antidepressant, and some studies have
correlated high lithium levels in drinking water with a reduction in
suicide rate. A study in Denmark had conflicting results: High levels of
lithium in drinking water were correlated with a decreased risk of
dementia, but medium levels of lithium in drinking water correlated with
an increased risk of dementia. A study in Argentina found that high
levels of lithium can interfere with child development by making it
difficult for pregnant women to maintain healthy calcium levels in the
blood.”
The WQA reaches the familiar conclusion: “More studies are needed.”
In the meantime, if you want to remove lithium from your drinking
water, an undersink reverse osmosis unit is the best way to go about it.
Source: WQA email newsletter, November 2023.
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TAC or Water Softener: Pros and Cons
With the growing popularity of alternatives to conventional water softeners, most notably Template Assisted Crystallization (TAC) systems, residential customers are finding it more difficult to choose a home treatment system for hardness.
Below are some issues that come up and our comments on them, based both on our direct experience with the products themselves and on discussions we’ve had with customers who use them. In each case, we’re comparing a standard TAC unit to a standard conventional water softener.
Adds salt to water: The softener works by exchanging salt for calcium and magnesium, so, yes, it adds salt. TAC does not use salt.
Removes hardness. Calcium and magnesium are the minerals that cause water to be hard. A softener removes them. TAC “conditions” them so that they are less offensive; it does not remove hardness, so it really should not be called a softener. There is currently no simple way (like a hardness test) to quantify the effect that TAC units have on hardness.
Gives the water a feeling of slickness. Softener, yes; TAC, no. The slick feel, of course, is a positive effect for some users, a negative to others. And, unfortunately there is currently no test for “slickness.”
Makes soap lather better, thus saving soap. Softener, yes; TAC, perhaps a little.
Makes plumbing and appliances last longer. Yes in both cases.
Initial cost comparison. Softeners vary in price, a lot, depending on style and manufacturer. In general, TAC units cost more than good quality softeners but less than high-end softeners.
Upkeep. Operating Cost. If the user’s labor is considered, or if the user pays someone to keep the softener cleaned and full of salt, the softener costs more. The single “upkeep” cost for TAC units is media replacement, which is expensive, but it only happens about every third year. TAC uses no salt, no water for regeneration, no electricity, and has no moving parts that break. TAC units are so simple that most users can do the occasional media replacement themselves.
Environmental impact. TAC uses no water for regeneration and adds nothing to the waste stream. Softeners use considerable amounts of water for regeneration and add salt to the city’s waste stream or the septic tank. Why is this a big deal? Because city water departments are hard-pressed to dispose of the waste water, which often can’t be used for irrigation because of the salt content. Softeners, by the way, can be regenerated with potassium chloride rather than sodium chloride, which is regarded as more environmentally friendly but which is considerably more expensive than plain old softener salt.
Health issues. Although we believe that the amount of salt added to drinking water by a softener probably has no negative health impact unless you drink outrageous amounts of it, not everyone would agree. The salt can be removed from softened water by an undersink reverse osmosis unit. RO removes salt handily. TAC adds nothing objectionable to drinking water–at least nothing we know about yet. Softeners add salt and remove calcium and magnesium; TAC units neither add nor remove minerals.
Aesthetics. Some people (usually people who grew up with softened water) like the “slick” feel and the illusion that soap can’t be washed off the skin. Some people (usually people who grew up bathing in hard water) don’t. TAC units do not affect the water aesthetically. The water feels, smells, tastes, and looks the same as untreated water.
Installation. The TAC unit is easier to install. The softener needs electricity and a drain connection. TAC needs neither. The softener has a control valve to program and a startup procedure to follow; TAC units require no programming or setup.
Pre-treatment — A sediment filter is essential in front of the TAC unit and is usually a good idea in front of a softener. In general, softeners are tougher and require less protection. Softeners actually remove small amounts of iron and manganese, but TAC units must be protected from them by pre-treatment. Likewise, TAC units are very sensitive to copper and have to be protected from new copper piping by remaining in by-pass mode until new copper piping is seasoned. Both softeners and TAC units last longer with pre-treatment for chlorine or chloramine in city water, but this is not essential.
The conventional softener in the picture consists of the tall resin tank, the control valve on top, and the brine tank where salt to regenerate the resin is stored. TAC units have only the tall tank and the top valve does not require electricity. No brine tank is needed with TAC.
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Water News — November 2023
Toilet-to-Tap. Arizona is in the process of making the switch
What is commonly referred to as "toilet-to-tap" technology is called "advanced water purification" by the City of Phoenix Department of Environmental Quality. It will eventually be standard practice for Arizonans because there simply isn't enough water to serve Arizona's growing population. State officials say it isn't a question of "if" but "when." The use of reclaimed effluent is no longer debatable in the arid Southwest.
The US chemical industry is spending vast sums to thwart PFAS Legislation
The US chemical industry likely spent over $110m during the last two election cycles deploying lobbyists to kill dozens of pieces of PFAS legislation and slow administrative regulation around “forever chemicals,” a new analysis of federal lobbying documents has found.The industry’s onslaught was effective: only eight pieces of legislation that targeted PFAS made it through Congress, the paper prepared by the Food and Water Watch (FWW) nonprofit found.
“There’s an extreme amount of money that’s going into fighting [PFAS legislation],” said Amanda Starbuck, FWW’s research director and the lead author on the report. “It’s hard to win these fights when there’s so much funding being put in from the opposing side.”PFAS are a class of about 14,000 compounds used to make products resist water, stains and heat. They are known as “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down, and they have been linked to cancer, high cholesterol, liver disease, kidney disease, fetal complications and other serious health problems.
As the dangers from PFAS have come into sharper focus over the last decade, lawmakers, the Environmental Protection Agency and other administrative agencies have come under an ever-increasing amount of pressure to rein in the chemicals use and clean up pollution. Chemical manufacturers’ spending has jumped in response, the report noted. “The chemical and associated industries are powerful and have used their army of lobbyists and campaign finance war chests to thwart meaningful action,” the paper states. Full article from The Guardian.
The War Against Lead Pipes
In announcing a significant expansion of the federal government’s efforts under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to get “100% of lead pipes out of the nation’s water supply, once and for all,” the EPA estimated that there are still 9.2 million water supply pipes in the nation that contain lead. It noted that most of these pipes serve older homes.
Sea Lice
A devastating outbreak of sea lice attacking Icelandic salmon farms has led to the slaughter of countless farmed salmon and has become a major animal rights controversy. See The Guardian for details.
Nitrates in Wells in Eastern Oregon
High levels of nitrates that are getting worse by the year are making the water impossible to drink in rural areas of Eastern Oregon.”Thousands of Oregonians in Umatilla and north Morrow counties rely on private wells for drinking water, tapping into a massive underground aquifer. But pollution has steadily contaminated that groundwater source in recent decades, turning what was once safe water into a potentially toxic supply.” KGW8 News.
Problems with Camp Lejeune case settlements
According to Bloomberg News, “The government plan to pay billions of dollars to victims of toxic water at Camp Lejeune has unleashed a wave of fraudulent claims that threatens to disrupt or taint what could be one of the largest-ever mass tort cases. Veterans’ advocates and lawyers also say the fake claims — and the time and effort to identify and weed them out — could dilute the empathy for legitimately ill victims and slow the process of compensating them.” Water Online.
Mayotte
Mayotte, a large and thriving French city, is dying because it is running out of water. Details.
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How To Sanitize a Standard Undersink Reverse Osmosis Unit (according to AI)
The
very direct instructions created by an AI search are printed in bold
type below. They work great for our standard Black and White reverse
osmosis units. They require some elaboration and modification if you
have an RO unit with disposable cartridge housings (like our Q Series
units), one or more disposable inline filters (like our “Economy” RO
unit), or an encapsulated membrane (like any of our units with the 50/50
GRO membrane upgrade).
The AI instructions are in bold. See my comments in standard type below the AI instructions:
- Turn off the cold water supply connected to the RO system.
- Drain out the old tank of water through the dispensing faucet.
- Remove all pre-filters (stages 1, 2, and 3) from their housings. Also, remove the membrane from its housing.
- Scrub the inside of the housings with dish water and rinse thoroughly.
- Add bleach into the housing of filter stage 1.
- Install all empty housings and turn on the water supply.
- Open the RO faucet until water comes out.
My comments’ numbers refer to the topic number in the AI instructions.
- On the Black and White unit, turn off the blue handled inline valve that feeds the Black housing.
- If
it doesn’t drain completely, now would be a good time to add some air
to drive all of the water out. This isn’t absolutely necessary to
sanitize the unit, but you’ll do a much better job if the tank is
healthy. See Pure Water Gazette » Reverse Osmosis Tanks Cannot Live Without Air
- Remove the cartridges from the 2 or 3 vertical housings and the membrane from the horizontal housing.
- This step is optional. Unnecessary if the unit is running on reasonably clean water.
- About 3 tablespoons of household bleach is more than enough.
- Turn the valve half way on and let the water fill the unit fairly slowly.
- After
you can smell bleach coming from the faucet, turn the water off and let
the unit sit for a few minutes with bleach in it. (The longer you
wait, the more thorough the sanitation job will be.)
When
sanitation is complete, turn off the inlet valve, open the faucet and
let all the water drain from the storage tank. When the tank is empty,
you can reinstall the filters and membrane (or replace them with new
ones). When everything is back in place, open the inlet, open the tank
valve and close the faucet. Let the RO unit fill the tank, open the
faucet and let the tank drain, then close the faucet and the unit is
back in service. When there is enough water in the storage tank, you can
go back to using the RO unit as usual.
If you want to sanitize the storage tank only, here are some easy instructions.
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Places to visit for additional information:
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Thanks for reading. The next Occasional will show up eventually--when you least expect it.
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Pure Water Products, LLC, 523A N. Elm St., Denton, TX, 76201. www.purewaterproducts.com. Call us at 888 382 3814, or email pwp@purewaterproducts.com. |
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