Water Filtration

The EPA regulates only public water systems; it does not have the authority to regulate private wells. Approximately 15 percent of Americans rely on their own private drinking water supplies, and these supplies are not subject to EPA standards. Unlike public drinking water systems serving many people, well owners do not have experts regularly checking their water’s source and its quality before it is sent to the tap. These households must take special precautions to ensure the protection and maintenance of their drinking water supplies.

The risk of having problems depends on how good your well is–how well it was built and located, and how well you maintain it. It also depends on your local environment. That includes the quality of the aquifer from which your water is drawn and the human activities going on in your area that can affect your well.

Although several sources of pollution are easy to spot by sight, taste, or smell, many serious problems however can be found only by testing your water. Learning of the possible threats in your area will help you decide the kind of tests you may need.

WHAT SHOULD I DO?

There are six basic steps you can take to help protect your private drinking water supply:

1. Identify potential problem sources.
2. Talk with local experts.
3. Have your water tested periodically.
4. Have the test results interpreted and explained clearly.
5. Set and follow a regular maintenance schedule for your well, and keep up-to-date records.
6. Immediately remedy any problems.

IMMEDIATELY REMEDY ANY PROBLEMS

If you find that your well water is contaminated, fix the problem as soon as possible. Consider connecting into a nearby community water system, if one is available, and/or install a water treatment device such as a reverse osmosis unit to remove impurities.

If you choose to keep your well and treat the water yourself, it is all too important that you also maintain your well, fix problems before they reach crisis levels, and keep up-to-date records of well installations and repairs as well as plumbing and water costs. It is up to you to protect your own well area from contamination.

Excerpted from the EPA’s “Water On Tap” publication.

The water coming out of your faucet may not be as clean as it should be. The NRDC ( National Resources Defense Council ) and other groups are working toward the day when all Americans can drink and shower in tap water without worry, but if you have immediate concerns about the water in your home, an independently certified water filter can be a good temporary fix for your kitchen faucet. Some filters aim to produce clearer, better-tasting water, while others work to remove contaminants that could affect your health. This guide will help you determine what type of filter might be right for your home.

Find Out What’s in Your Water

In many cities, healthy adults can drink tap water without cause for concern. However, pregnant women, young children, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems are particularly vulnerable to some contaminants in tap water. If you’re shopping for a water filter, first find out what pollutants might be in your water. Ask your water utility (the company that sends you your water bill) for a copy of their annual water quality report. It is recommended that you test your tap water for lead contamination, particularly if you have young kids, are pregnant, or thinking about becoming pregnant, since lead is especially dangerous and levels can vary enormously from house to house. A lead test costs about $25.00. Once you know what’s in your water, you can find a filter that’s geared toward getting rid of the specific pollutants, if any, that may be present.

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For most people, shower water filters are something of a luxury. “Who needs a filter for bath water?” they ask in unison.  The thing is, using a shower filter is important to your skin. Shower water filters not only prevent dry skin and split ends, but they also protect your body from the chlorine in tap water, which can cause an array of damages from fatigue to bladder and breast cancer.

Those are just a smidge of the benefits that shower filters have, but try it and feel it for yourself.

Some people are okay with using tap water or soda pop to quench their thirst, the downsides to those are the facts that tap water generally contains contaminants and pop contains sugar and does nothing to improve the body.  Water filters give you the opportunity to drink tap water without the junk.  Here are some other reasons:
 
•  Water filters provide better tasting and better smelling drinking water by removing chlorine and bacterial contaminants.
•  Point-of-use water filters remove lead from drinking water immediately prior to consumption, thus preventing this harmful substance from entering the body.
•  The purchase of a countertop filter results in a source of clean, healthy water that costs much less than bottled water.
•  Water filters greatly reduce the risk of rectal cancer, colon cancer, and bladder cancer by removing chlorine and chlorine byproducts from drinking water.
•  A solid block carbon water filter can selectively remove dangerous contaminants from drinking water while retaining healthy mineral deposits that balance the pH of drinking water.
•  Drinking clean, filtered water protects the body from disease and leads to overall greater health.
•  A water filter provides clean, healthy water for cooking, as well as drinking, at the convenience of tap water.
•  Water filters reduce the risk of gastrointestinal disease by more than 33 percent by removing cryptosporidium and giardia from drinking water.
•  Drinking pure water is especially important for children. Water filters provide the healthiest water for children’s developing immune systems.
•  Water filters offer the last line of defense between the body and the over 2100 known toxins that may be present in drinking water.

The following guide lists which filters are best for removing the most common types of contaminants found in drinking water:

Giardia and Cryptosporidium - distillation, reverse osmosis, absolute one micron filters, ultraviolet light and filters certified for cyst removal.

Bacteria and Viruses - distillation, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet light and disinfection.

Arsenic - adsorptive media.

Disinfection by-products - point-of-entry adsorptive media systems, distillation, aeration, carbon filtration and reverse osmosis.

Lead - distillation, reverse osmosis and some carbon filters.

Nitrates - distillation, reverse osmosis or ion exchange.

Pesticides - some carbon filters.

Radium -  ion exchange, distillation or reverse osmosis.

Radon - activated carbon filters and aeration.

Before purchasing a water filtration unit, make sure that unit can address your concerns and your needs. If the home water treatment unit isn’t certified by one of these organizations, contact the manufacturer and ask for proof of the manufacturer’s claims.

NSF International ( www.nsf.org )

Underwriters Laboratories ( www.UL.com/water )

Water Quality Association - ( www.wqa.org )

Additional information can also be found on the EPA’s website: www.EPA.gov/safewater

A water filter is composed of a screen with many microscopic holes. The smaller the holes, the more contaminants the filter can remove. Filter holes are measured in microns. ( A micron is a very small unit of measurement. How small? The period at the end of this sentence is 500 microns ). When considering filter size, be sure to look for an absolute ( the largest hole ), not a nominal ( the average hole ) rating. For instance, the EPA and CDC recommend an absolute one micron filter ( or one labeled for cyst removal ) to remove Cryptosporidium.

Some of the most common contaminants and their size in microns are:

Giardia Lamblia - 8 - 12 microns

Cryptosporidium Parvum - 4 - 6 microns

Bacteria ( such as E. Coli and Samonella ) - 0.2 - 4 microns

Viruses - 0.004 to 0.1 microns ( Generally, only a few filters, such as ultra-filters and reverse osmosis, have holes small enough to assure removal of all viruses. However, viruses can also be killed using a household disinfectant ).

Filters that attach to a faucet or are installed under the sink for a drinking water third faucet generally use the same technologies as their pour-through pitcher counterparts. Some filters use fabrics, fiber or ceramic screening to physically remove contaminants, although the most common types use a model block of activated carbon. These filters are reasonably effective at improving the taste of tap water, and some will also reduce lead, protozoan cysts, and many other contaminants. Like filter pitchers, shelf lives and specific contaminants removed will vary so read the label and instructions carefully.

Water filtration pitchers are an affordable and commonly used free-standing home water treatment device. Most water pitchers use granular-activated carbon and resins to bond with and trap contaminants. These filters are reasonably effective at improving the taste of water, but only some will also reduce lead and other contaminants.Specific contaminants removed will vary by model and will also depend on the pore size as well as other factors. An activated carbon filter, by itself, is not designed to remove all disease-causing organisms. In addition, carbon filters have a specified shelf life and should be replaced regularly according to the manufacturer’s instructions. For those individuals whose only concern is water taste, a water filtration pitcher is fine, but for those who also want the purest drinking water available, a home water treatment unit such as a reverse osmosis unit is by far the most efficient way to go.

Americans spend billions of dollars each year on home water treatment units. According to the Water Quality Association, more than four out of 10 Americans currently use a home water treatment unit of one type or another. These units range from simple pitchers costing less than $20 to sophisticated reverse osmosis systems  costing hundreds of dollars.

Some people use a home water treatment unit to improve the taste of their tap water. Others treat their water because of health concerns, but regardless of why the water is treated, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the agency that sets and enforces national standards for the tap water provided by public water systems, says that drinking water in the U.S. can reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. As long as those contaminants are at levels no higher than EPA standards, the water is considered safe to drink for healthy people. ( Individuals with immune systems that are weakened by AIDS, chemotherapy or transplant medications are more vulnerable to microbial contaminants in drinking water. Those who wish to take extra measures to avoid waterborne contaminants can boil their water for a full minute or use a point-of-use filter such as a reverse osmosis unit).

Before purchasing a home water treatment unit, consider local water quality, cost and maintenance of the unit, product performance and certifications to make sure that the unit will meet your needs.

Pure water is fundamental to all life on earth. So much so that it has been ranked by most experts as second only to oxygen as absolutely essential for life itself, and although water covers more than 70% of the Earth’s surface only1% of that is available as a source of drinking water. Even in America, supplies of water are not unlimited and unfortunately most have now become polluted. For over a century, municipalities across the country have attempted to treat the water to minimize the risk of waterborne diseases, but the disinfectant chemicals they use not only make the water smell and taste bad, they have also been linked to a variety of health problems. Thankfully, today it is no longer necessary for you to drink the multitude of chemicals present in your water supply.

With the water purification industry already a multi-billion dollar industry and steadily growing, there are products today available to handle a wide range of applications from residential to commercial to industrial. Long gone are the days of just one or two products like a water filter pitcher or a large industrial reverse osmosis water filter system which are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Today choices range from countertop filters, under sink filters, bath and shower filters and refrigerator filters to bottle-less water coolers, reverse osmosis filtration systems and a wide variety of portable water filters…all available with the click of a computer mouse. No matter who you are or you’re situation, clean, refreshing and healthier water is now only a matter of choosing the product that is right for you.

In the U.S., the sources for drinking water ( both tap water and bottled ) include rivers, steams, ponds reservoirs, springs and wells. As water travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally-occurring minerals, and in some cases, radioactive material and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity. Contaminants that may be present in source water include:

Microbial Contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations and wildlife.

Inorganic Contaminants, such as salts and minerals, which may be naturally occurring or result from; storm water runoff, industrial wastewater discharges, farming or mining operations.

Pesticides and Herbicides, which may come from agriculture, storm water runoff or residential uses.

Organic Chemical Contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes, petroleum production and can come from gas stations, storm water runoff and septic systems.

Radioactive Contaminants, which can be naturally-occurring or may be the result of gas production and mining activities.

In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the EPA prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. FDA regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same protection for public health. Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk.

For more information about contaminants and potential health effects, and for EPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by cryptosporidium and other contaminants contact: the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800) 426-4791.

To check your city’s water visit the EPA’s website or contact your local water department.

( Check your city’s water here )

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