Pure Water Occasional, October, 2023
|
Greetings from Pure Water Products, the Pure Water Gazette, and the Pure Water Occasional.
In this Halloween season Occasional, you’ll hear about the causes and consequences of saltwater intrusion, the exceptional usefulness of reverse osmosis units, car washing, Christmas trees, water pipe corrosion, helpful water fleas, the EPA’s long overdue war on TCE,
faucet adapters, NSF certification, how much water you should drink, and, as always, there is much, much more.
Thank you for reading, and sincere thanks from Pure Water Products for your continuing support. |
|
Thanks for reading!
Please visit the Pure Water Gazette, where you will find hundreds of articles about water and water treatment, and the Pure Water Products website, where there is much information about water treatment and specific information about the products we offer. On both of these information-rich sites, pop-up ads and other distractions are strictly against the law.
|
By Peter Chawaga
Gazette Introductory Note: As this article explains, because of severe drought conditions and rising sea levels, saltwater is invading drinking water
supplies in many parts of Louisiana. Rising sea level attributed to climate change contributes to this as it does to the danger of toxic chemicals from storage pits created by chemical cleanup projects reentering the water supply. The article does not mention that the pollution of the drinking water sources has also created a demand for increased chlorination of drinking water in these areas, which has in turn led to dangerously high levels of the chlorination by-products called THMs. In short, the climate-related saltwater intrusion and drought conditions are working together to create a very
serious threat to drinking water supplies. The best defense for individual homes is carbon filtration and reverse osmosis. See theWater News section below for more details.
Dwindling levels in one of the nation’s most important waterways has
now led to a drinking water crisis for the millions of consumers who
rely on it, and the federal government is stepping in to alleviate the
danger.“President Joe Biden announced … that federal disaster assistance
is available for Louisiana, which is working to slow a mass inflow of
salt water creeping up the Mississippi River and threatening drinking
water supplies in the southern part of the state,” the Associated Press reported. “Biden’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland
Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate all
disaster relief efforts … Additionally, the declaration will allow for
more equipment, resources and federal money to address the saltwater
intrusion.”
Historically, the Mississippi’s water flow is enough to keep salt
water coming in from the Gulf of Mexico at bay, but ongoing water
scarcity over the last two years has changed that. Since this summer,
Louisiana residents who live closest to the gulf have been relying on
bottled water. And now, the saltwater could reach New Orleans as soon as
mid-October.
In addition to Biden’s most recent actions, the looming drinking
water crisis has spurred local and federal agencies into action.
“To help mitigate the intrusion, (Louisiana) and the Army Corps of
Engineers are working to add 25 feet of height to a 1,500-foot-wide
underwater levee in the Mississippi River, which was constructed in July
to slow the saltwater’s progression,” CNN reported. “The corps also plan to barge millions of gallons of water daily to local water treatment facilities.”
As drought causes more drinking water issues for more water systems
across the country, it’s likely that drastic federal assistance like
this will become increasingly common. As is now the case for Louisiana,
such systemic water issues clearly call for engineering and treatment
facility interventions.
“Federal assistance is ‘necessary to save lives and to protect
property, public health and safety or to lessen or avert the threat of a
disaster,’ the governor wrote,” per AP. “While officials say they are
praying for rain to help increase the velocity of the drought-stricken
river they are also taking matters into their own hands — raising the
height of an underwater levee used to block or slow the salt water and
bringing in 15 million gallons of fresh water to treatment facilities in
impacted areas.”
To read more about how water systems across the country are dealing with the challenges posed by drought, visit Water Online’s Water Scarcity Solutions Center.
|
|
Car Wash Reverse Osmosis: Build Your Own Simple System
|
|
Car wash products have never been our favorites.
We believe that the best place to wash a car isn’t at home but in a professional car wash establishment. Commercial car wash locations are set up to furnish water for spot-free rinses at a reasonable cost, to recycle water, and to get rid of the wastewater in a much more environmentally friendly way than you can at your home. At home, the soap, chemicals, and wastewater end up in the worst place you could put them–in the storm drain.
Nevertheless, home car washing is extremely popular, and there are probably worse things people could do with their time than washing their cars.
We sell a garden hose filter with a softening cartridge that has been very popular. It isn’t perfect, but if you use it according to instructions it will do a fair job of knocking down the hardness minerals (calcium and magnesium) that cause spots on cars. This helps in many cases but in others not so much, because the softening process (whether it’s done by our tiny cartridge or by a full-fledged home water softener) doesn’t always solve the problem. Softening removes the hardness (calcium and magnesium) from the water, but it adds an equal amount of sodium, which also can cause spotting. So, washing with softened water helps, but you often still have to wipe away the spots caused by the sodium.
The only way to get a real spot free wash is with low mineral water and the only practical ways to produce this are with deionization (DI) or reverse osmosis (RO), or with a combination of the two.
Softening “exchanges” ions–salt for calcium and magnesium–but DI removes all of the minerals. DI makes water that’s perfect for a spot-free car wash, but it has the drawback of being very expensive. Softener resin can be regenerated at home, but DI resin can’t, and it doesn’t last long.
The small garden hose car wash “filters” that come and go (Mr. Clean, for example) are DI units. They work well, but cost is so high that it would almost make more sense to trade in your car for a new one when it gets dirty. There are lots of larger refillable DI home car wash units on the internet now that allow you to buy resin in bulk to cut the cost. Buying in bulk is better than buying small individual cartridges, but any way you do it, DI costs a lot and continually changing the resin is no fun.
Reverse Osmosis removes about 95% of the minerals in water–both hardness minerals and sodium–not by exchanging but by straining them out. RO is what car wash establishments use to get “spot free” water, and it is the most economical way to do it at home.
RO is a slow process, so a storage tank is needed. In the simple home RO car wash setup shown above, the small RO unit might need half a day or more to put enough water into the storage tank to wash a car. (But, what’s time to an RO unit?) The low-mineral RO water is then sprayed onto the car using the small “demand” pump. If only the final rinse is done with RO water, a small tankful of water is plenty.
Although there is an initial investment, RO is the most economical source of spot-free rinse water. The simple unit shown above, without the tank (any plastic tank, including a strong garbage can) will work costs only about $350 for the essential parts–the RO unit and the pump. Upkeep is small.
This simple system can be enhanced with items like a float shutoff to make filling automatic, larger tanks and larger pumps. The small “countertop” RO unit will make as much water as you want if you give it the time.
This simple system, of course, does not have to be used for car washing. It works well for small greenhouses, aquariums, and more–any venue in which a small amount of top quality water is needed.
RO water is a lot like rainwater, so having the system shown above is like having a rain barrel but not having to wait for it to rain.
|
|
Environmentally, Real Christmas Trees are Second Only to No-Tree-at-All
Fake Christmas trees might be convenient and seem
environmentally beneficial at first glance, but their environmental
costs—measured in greenhouse gas emissions and landfill space—far
outweigh their benefits.--National Geographic.
The environmental superiority of real Christmas trees is an accepted fact except among the sellers of artificial trees.
Artificial trees are made from a kind of plastic called polyvinyl
chloride, which is derived from petroleum and can contain lead or other
harmful toxins. Furthermore, according to the U.S. Commerce Department,
about 80 percent of fake trees are manufactured in China, where most
electricity is generated by burning coal—one of the dirtiest fuel
sources. They come to the user on ships that burn diesel and emit
noxious gasses. Fake trees do not biodegrade.
In contrast, real trees are completely recyclable, and they are grown
in the United States on thousands of farms that employ an estimated
100,000 people.
As far as water use is concerned, real trees, it is true, use lots of
water, but they are usually grown in areas where water is plentiful. It
is almost certain that the process of manufacturing plastic trees uses
more water. No actual figures are available to substantiate this claim.
These are only some of the many reasons that real trees are second only to no tree at all as an environmental option.
|
Corrosion in Water Pipes
|
Corrosion of water pipes has many causes, and not all are well understood. Corrosion causes leaks and also affects the quality of drinking water.
Here are a few of the main reasons why water pipes corrode. Some are simple and easy to remedy; others are complex and hard to diagnose. Often, more than one of the following contributes to the breakdown of pipes.
Galvanic. Galvanic corrosion is common with metal pipes. It occurs when pipes made of different metals are joined together. A small electrical current flows from one to the other. Galvanic corrosion is easily prevented by installing a dielectric union when joining the pipes, but in the effort to save money, dielectric connectors are often left out.
Dissolved Gases and Chemicals. High levels of dissolved gases, like oxygen or carbon dioxide, can corrode metal pipes and cause pinhole leaks. High levels of chlorine can be corrosive to pipe, and high levels of fluoride corrodes stainless steel. Chloramine is associated with the leaching of lead from inner pipe surfaces.
Low pH. Water with low pH attacks copper pipes and causes pinhole leaks. Copper is subject to corrosion when the water is below 7.0 pH. This is usually not a problem with city water, but it can be a significant issue for well owners.
Low alkalinity. Alkalinity is related to pH, but it isn’t the same. Low alkalinity leaves pipes vulnerable to acids.
Low TDS (Total Dissolved Solids). Nature hates a vacuum. Water that has a low dissolved mineral content can pull minerals from metal pipes.
High Temperature and High Flow Rates. Hot water is much more corrosive than cold. The faster water flows through a pipe, the more it breaks down the pipe.
Microbiological. Microbes, if given a food supply and oxygen, can corrode pipes causing interior buildup and subsequent leaks.
Corrosion in a water distribution system can cause health issues as well as damaging water leaks. When pipes are corroded, some of the metal from the pipe enters the drinking water and is consumed. Pipes and fixtures containing copper, lead, and brass (brass contains lead) can cause a variety of health problems.
While the municipal supplier regulates contaminants such as lead at the water plant, no one is checking the actual amount of lead or copper that comes out of the kitchen tap.
Pipe corrosion is a compelling justification for having a drinking water system under the kitchen sink. A comprehensive treatment system like reverse osmosis takes care of virtually any contamination that enters the water on its way from the water plant.
|
|
Pinhole leak in copper pipe caused by corrosion.
|
|
Water News — October 2023
The “how much water should you drink” question has been visited so many times that we’ll spare you the details, but Healthline has a good article that addresses the issue well. Spoiler: It doesn’t say drink eight glasses a day.
Exceptional Drought in Kansas and other Mid-US States
Pervasive drought conditions have now reached the middle of the U.S., as cities in Southeast Kansas and beyond are facing never-before-seen water scarcity problems. Persistent drought is now affecting Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska. The situation in Kansas is now classified as “exceptional drought” and is threatening not only agriculture but drinking water supplies as well. Water Online.
Arizona’s governor has canceled a deal that sold vast amounts of Arizona’s scarce water to Saudi Arabian cattle ranchers. Full story at MSN.COM.
Do Water Fleas Hold the Answer to Water Pollution and Improved Human Health?
According to Water Online, “Tiny water fleas could play a pivotal role in removing persistent chemical pollutants from wastewater – making it safe to use in factories, farms and homes, a new study reveals.
“Scientists and engineers have discovered a method to harness water fleas to provide a scalable low-cost, low-carbon way of removing pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and industrial chemicals from wastewater. This approach avoids the toxic byproducts typically associated with current technologies.” Full article.
Giant Lake Cleanup Project Announced by EPA
In mid-October, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced funding for the largest cleanup project to ever be implemented under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the Great Lakes Legacy Act, thanks to historic resources from President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda. Under a new project agreement between EPA and five non-federal sponsors, an estimated investment of $450 million will go toward the cleanup of nearly two million cubic yards of contaminated sediments from the Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern. Full story.
EPA Declares War On TCE
On October 23, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposal to ban all uses of trichloroethylene (TCE), an extremely toxic chemical known to cause serious health risks including cancer, neurotoxicity, and reproductive toxicity. TCE is used in cleaning and furniture care products, degreasers, brake cleaners, and tire repair sealants, and a variety of safer alternatives are readily available for many uses. This action, taken under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), would protect people from these health risks by banning the manufacture, processing, and distribution of TCE for all uses.
The toxicity and dangers of TCE have been known for many years and the EPA’s action is long overdue. EPA found that TCE causes liver cancer, kidney cancer, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It also causes damage to the central nervous system, liver, kidneys, immune system, reproductive organs, and is dangerous for fetal development. These risks are present even at very small concentrations of TCE. The best protection for homes and businesses against TCE are carbon filtration and reverse osmosis.
Encroaching water from the Mississippi River has necessitated more thorough disinfecting, which leaves behind dangerous chemicals
The water for a community along Louisiana’s Gulf coast has seen a significant increase in the levels of contaminants known as disinfection byproducts, according to recent state water tests reviewed by the Guardian. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), long-term exposure to such substances poses an increased risk of cancer.
The findings have emerged as many residents along Louisiana’s southern coast have faced saltwater intrusion from the Gulf of Mexico.
Since early summer, the combination of drought and rising sea levels has helped drag salty water from the ocean up the Mississippi River. The high levels of saltwater have made much of the region’s water undrinkable. But public health experts have also voiced worries that the saltwater intrusion could, over time, corrode the region’s ageing water infrastructure, leach heavy metals into the drinking water and create other knock-on problems.
The findings have emerged as many residents along Louisiana’s southern coast have faced saltwater intrusion from the Gulf of Mexico.
|
Faucet Adapters for Countertop Filters
As sink faucets get more diverse, it is getting harder to install water filters that get their water from the sink faucet. Among our standard products, our Model 77 countertop and our countertop reverse osmosis units are most often connected to the sink faucet for their water source. Ideally (but increasingly rarely) the faucet's aerator is removed and the filter's diverter valve screws right on to the threads on the faucet.
If the diverter doesn't match the faucet (all diverters are the same, but faucets can vary a lot), an adapter is used to make the connection.
The diverter valve from the filter screws directly to the sink faucet. If it doesn't fit, there are many adapters available to make the connection.
We provide the two most standard diverter adapters with our new units, but if these don't work, the best plan is to buy an inexpensive pack of the most commonly used adapters. We don't sell adapters other than the two most common, but a customer suggested a really good Amazon source. Their basic adapter pack should work with almost any faucet. See link below.
Partly because of misleading advertising, there is broad misunderstanding about what "NSF Certification" of water treatment products really means. NSF certification is not necessarily a guarantee of performance. Certification of water treatment devices is done under a number of "standards," and only some of them involve performance. And who or what is NSF, anyway? For the answer to this and other persistent questions about NSF, please read "The Mysteries of ANSI/NSF Explained," on the Pure Water Gazette's website.
|
|
Places to visit for additional information:
|
Thanks for reading. The next Occasional will appear eventually--when you least expect it.
|
|
|
|  | |
