Water Filtration

People who utilize methods of water filtration hope to take a step towards health.
Most sources of drinking water contain very low levels of radioactive contaminants, also known as radionuclides.  Most of these occur naturally, although drinking water can also become contaminated from human-made nuclear materials.  Most radioactive contaminants remain at levels low enough not to be considered a public concern, however, long-term exposure to even low-level radionuclides in drinking water has been flagged as a contributing factor for cancer.  Exposure to uranium in drinking water may also damage the kidneys. 

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has established drinking water standards for several types of radioactive contaminants, including combined radium, beta emitters, gross alpha standard, and uranium.  Different U. S. states have different standards of compliance for drinking water.  Check online to obtain the most current information regarding drinking water standards of compliance for your area.

Brackish water is defined as water containing more salinity than fresh water, but not as much salt as sea water.  Brackish water can be the result of mixing sea water with fresh water, as naturally occurs in estuaries (bodies of water where fresh and salt water mix, typically where river meets sea), or it may be contained in brackish fossil aquifers.  Certain human processes can result in brackish water, such as civil engineering projects like dikes and deliberate coastal marshland flooding to produce water pools specifically for optimum freshwater prawn farming.  Brackish water is also the primary waste product of the salinity gradient power process water filtration system.  Brackish water is not conducive to the healthy growth of most terrestrial plant species; if not managed appropriately, it can damage the natural environment.  The term “brackish” covers a wide salinity ratio and is not precisely defined as a specific percentage, so brackish surface water salinity can vary widely over time.

Estuaries are common all over the world and are often used for fish farming and ranching.  The Amazon River empties so much freshwater into the Atlantic Ocean that it reduces overall sea salinity for hundreds of miles.  There are several river-to-sea estuaries on the East Coast of the United States: in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, New York and New Jersey, as well as South Carolina and San Francisco, California.  There are also brackish seas and lakes, such as the Baltic, Black, and Caspian Seas.  Lake Charles in Louisiana and Lake Monroe in Florida are the two brackish United States lakes of record.

For many years, American consumers have been faced with frightening headlines about unsafe drinking water, but haven’t had any real guidelines on what to do about it.

In past years, information on drinking water and water treatment options has been hard to come by, but now although there is an abundance of information on the internet, there are still many things that the general public is unaware of. Here are just a few:

• Although most public health officials claim that their drinking water is safe, they’re only guessing. Their guesses are as informed as they can be in many cases, but no one actually knows what “safe” is, and “safe” levels of pollutants are often based on incomplete data.
• Federal and state standards for drinking water safety are inadequate in several ways; they do not cover all of the toxic substances that may be in your water; many smaller public water systems are exempt; and almost no studies have been done on the increased toxicity caused by combinations of pollutants in water. In many cases, standards have been set at levels that accommodate industry rather than protect public health.
• Right now, there are trace amounts of chemicals known to cause cancer in essentially every public water supply in the country.
• Most of the water tests performed for consumers in the United States test for aesthetic qualities ( taste, smell, color, clarity) rather than for potentially dangerous pollutants.

None of these facts are very uplifting, but consumers can take a variety of steps to protect themselves including having their water tested by a private laboratory and/or installing an efficient, high quality water filtration system. Pressing local state and federal officials to do more is also advisable, but in the meantime, taking some matters into your own hands is still the surest way to protect you and your family.

Excerpted from “The Drinking Water Book” by Colin Ingram.

Ranking as one of the most bizarre ideas in water purification in recent years, consumers can now find New York City’s tap water in bottles.

Credit a company called TAP’D NY for the idea, which implements a reverse osmosis process to purify the water and filter out any potentially harmful agents. They then encourage everyone to reuse the plastic bottles the water comes in, and drink locally. The carbon footprint of drinking from other sources, they say, is getting too much for the earth to take.

Even though the idea sounds bizarre and even somewhat unappealing, TAP’D NY has an honest marketing strategy, which is a rarity when it comes to bottled water. They’re calling theirs “Truth in Hydration,” which is fair enough. Most other companies are quick to tell you that the water comes from a glacier, stream or other “natural” source, when all the while it might be runoff from an industrial plant. (And before you think no company would ever market something bad for your health, give the people at Phillip Morris a call.)

People who have HIV/AIDS, are undergoing chemotherapy, take steroids, or for another reason have a weakened immune system may be more susceptible to microbial contaminants, including Cryptosporidium, in drinking water. If you or someone you know fall into one of these categories, talk to your health care provider to find out if you need to take special precautions, such as boiling your water. 

Young children are particularly susceptible to the effects of high levels of certain contaminants, including nitrate and lead.  To avoid exposure to lead, use water from the cold tap for making baby formula, drinking, and cooking, and let the water run for a minute or more if the water hasn’t been turned on for six or more hours.  If your water supplier alerts you that your water does not meet EPA’s standard for nitrates and you have children less than six months old, consult your health care provider. You may want to find an alternate source of water that contains lower levels of nitrates for your child, or at the very least, install the appropriate water filtration system for your particulatr situation. In extreme cases, a reverse osmosis water treatment system may be required which is a much better alternative to standard water filters or bottled water.

Excerpted from the EPA publication “Ground Water and Drinking Water”.

Drinking water suppliers are required to monitor and test their water many times, for many things, before sending it to consumers.  These tests determine whether and how the water needs to be treated, as well as the effectiveness of the treatment process.  If a water system consistently sends to consumers water that contains a contaminant at a level higher than EPA or state health standards or if the system fails to monitor for a contaminant, the system is violating regulations, and is subject to fines and other penalties.

When a water system violates a drinking water regulation, it must notify the people who drink its water about the violation, what it means, and how they should respond.  In cases where the water presents an immediate health threat, such as when people need to boil water before drinking it, the system must use television, radio, and newspapers to get the word out as quickly as possible.  Other notices may be sent by mail, or delivered with the water bill.  Each water suppliers’ annual water quality report must include a summary of all the violations that occurred during the previous year.

The vast majority of water suppliers adhere to these guidlines regardless of the size or the source of the water supply, however, it is advisable that you don’t wait until you receive such a notice to protect your home or business drinking water. Today, many economical water filtration systems are available including many highly efficient reverse osmosis  sytems that can provide you with good-tasting, healthy water. Once you have determined which type and size of system is right for you, just make sure the company you purchase from has a history of quality products, good customer service and a reliable money back guarantee.

Excerpted from the EPA’s ” Drinking Water & Health” publication.

• It’s more important to remove harmful pollutants from water than to save beneficial minerals that may be in it.
• If you drink distilled water, be sure to include a wide variety of fruits and vegetables in your diet.
• Don’t store distilled water in plastic bottles; use glass.
• All other things being equal, hard water is healthier than soft water.
• And again, an important reminder: Don’t drink chlorinated water supplied by a water utility on a regular basis.
• If you purify your water using a drinking water filter, be sure to change the filter after the manufacturer’s recommended time. Using water filters beyond this point will not only defeat the purpose, but may result in harmful results.

Have you ever considered the importance of water? Did you know that water accounts for over 70% of your body? We are comprised mostly of water. And further more, our blood mineral content is strikingly similar to salt water.

A healthy water intake can help us in many ways.

You can think better. A fully hydrated brain actually works better.

Strength increases. Did you know that your muscles work better when your body is fully hydrated?

Immunity - even your immune system can function better.

Flush junk out of your system. A fully hydrated body is better at getting rid of the things it DOESN’T need.

You would be amazed at how much more energy you can have when you drink adequate amounts of water.

You can achieve the desired outcomes of drinking clean water by purchasing water filters for your home.  In doing this, you can live a clean and healthy life.

Although we get the majority of the minerals in our diet from fruits and vegetables, minerals in water do play a role in the maintenance of good health. Over the past thirty-five years, research has continued to amass in support of the health benefits of minerals in water. Studies of populations in areas with naturally occurring hard water ( high mineral content ) and naturally occurring soft water ( low mineral content ) have found fewer occurrences of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, respiratory diseases and other health problems in the areas with hard water.

Almost all minerals in water are dissolved. That is, they liquefy and merge with the water. The standard measure of dissolved minerals in water is called TDS, which stands for total dissolved solids. Studies show that disease is statistically less prevalent in areas that have moderate to high TDS levels. However, high TDS levels don’t seem to provide any advantage over moderate levels. In fact, areas with high and moderate TDS levels show the same health improvements when compared to areas with low TDS.

What this suggests is that once an adequate minimum intake of beneficial minerals from water is achieved, ingesting higher levels doesn’t confer additional benefits in spite of claims to the contrary from some in the bottled water industry.

So, whether you drink water with lots of minerals or drink distilled water which has virtually none, remember that most of your minerals come from fruits and vegetables, so the amount of these in your diet is far more important than the levels of minerals in the water you drink.

Many times in the process of removing harmful pollutants from water, beneficial minerals are sometimes removed as well. However, needless to say, when pollutants are present, it’s more important to remove them with an efficient water filtration system than it is to save the minerals.

Excerpted from the book “The Drinking Water book — How to Eliminate Harmful Toxins from Your Water” by Colin Ingram.

Hard water contains large amounts of dissolved calcium and, to a lesser extent, magnesium. Soft water contains relatively small amounts of calcium and magnesium. Water can be naturally hard or naturally soft. The disadvantage of hard water is that more soap or detergent is needed to get clothing, dishes, and other items clean. Also, soft water makes skin feel smoother and hair feel softer. Soft water has another advantage: It causes less scale, which is that hard, whitish stuff that forms on the inside of pipes and tends to clog up the innards of water appliances. A huge industry exists in the United States whose sole purpose is to make hard water soft. There are hundreds of water softener manufacturers and tens of thousands of water softener dealers.

Although soft water does occur naturally, most of the soft water consumed in the U.S. is created by water softeners. These simple gadgets trap calcium and magnesium in the water and replace it with salt ( sodium chloride). So when you drink softened water, you’re simply drinking water with most of its calcium and magnesium removed and with salt added.

The higher the levels of calcium and magnesium in tap water, the more salt is exchanged in a water softener. If your incoming tap water has a low level of minerals, your softened water will be low in salt. If your tap water has a high level of minerals, your softened water will have a high level of salt.

There has been much publicity over the years about the negative health effects of drinking softened water. This springs from some early research that showed a correlation between cardiovascular disease and high-salt diets. But, more recent research has shown that the amount of salt consumed by drinking softened water is insignificant when compared to overall daily salt intake. Only people who are on a severely salt-restricted diet face a health risk from the added salt in softened water.

In recent years, a substitute for salt ( sodium chloride ) has become popular in water softeners. This substitute is potassium ( potassium chloride ). When potassium is used, the calcium and magnesium in hard water are exchanged for potassium, so no sodium is added to the water. Potassium, in general, is a vital, health-promoting nutrient, but some health conditions do require that people follow potassium-related diets.

Today, there are several ways to deal with the sodium in soft water that will offer good tasting drinking water and a source of water to meet an average household’s cleaning needs. Reverse osmosis systems as well as distillation or deinozation processes all provide both.

Excerpted from “The Drinking Water Book — How to Eliminate Harmful Toxins from Your Water” by Colin Ingram.