Water Filtration

Unlike those who get their water from a public utility, if you’re water is from a private well or spring, there are some sensible and important steps that you should take:

• Be sure to get a test for bacteria at least once a year, preferably during the rainy season.
• Get a comprehensive test for poluutants at least once every other year. If any pollutants are shown to be above government limits, make a note of which ones.
• If the comprehensive test shows VOCs to be in excess of government limits, consider using a whole-house water purification system.
• Check with your county health department to see if high concentrations of radon have been detected in your area. If the answer is yes, have your house tested for airborne radon.
• Remember that there may be pollutants in your tap water that don’t appear on the comprehensive test report, either because the test doesn’t cover them or because they’re present at levels too low to be detected. You’ll still need an alternative to drinking tap water.
• Keep all of the information you gather to make a profile of your tap water. If you decide to use a water purifier or a water filtration system now or in the future, the profile will help you decide which kind to get.

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

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.

Sea Water Reverse Osmosis, or SWRO, is a reverse osmosis water treatment that has been in use since the early 1970s.  SWRO removes the salt from seawater–a process  called desalination–without need for heating or phase changes.  The typical single-pass SWRO process consists of intake, pre-treatment, a high-pressure pump, a membrane assembly, a pH and remineralization adjustment, and disinfection.  Pre-treatment is essential when working with SWRO due to the spiral wound design of filtration membranes, which only allow for one-way water flow.  Since the water being filtered cannot backpulse or agitate for scouring or solids removal from its surface, any accumulated material cannot be removed from the membrane surface and the water is vulnerable to loss of production capacity.  The pump used in SWRO supplies the pressure needed to push water through the membrane, which is simultaneously allowing and rejecting salt to pass through it.  Once water has been desalinated in this fashion, it is initially extremely corrosive and has to be stabilized by adding lime to protect pipelines and storages downstream.  Liming water will also allow the treated water to meet potable water specifications for effective disinfection.  Water must next be prepared for distribution.   Desalination processes have proven to be effective in blocking pathogenic (disease-causing) organisms, but disinfection is performed to kill any lingering harmful bacteria or virus that may have bypassed the SWRO process to remain in the water.  Disinfection may include UV lamps, the use of chlorine, or the use of chlorine combined with ammonia. 

New research and testing of reverse osmosis water treatment systems is constantly under development for both large- and small-scale operations.   With so many people drinking filtered water these days, and the large population of the planet, we will doubtless need further innovation in the water treatment field to maintain a healthy existence in the future.

A standard canister system is the most versatile choice for RV water filtration.  There is some different terminology used with water filters I will explain that may help you in making your decision.  Microns are sediment filters rated by the size, in microns (one one-thousandth of a millimeter), of units they remove.  Microns are either related “nominal” for approximate and “absolute” for exact.  NSF Class refers to the National Sanitation Foundation’s rating system on the ability of water filters to eliminate chlorine from drinking water.  Class I filters are the best quality; as the Class numbers get larger, the ability of the filter to remove chlorine becomes less.  When a water filter cartridge’s life is referred to, it means the number of months of service the consumer should receive under standard conditions.  Flow rate is the gallons per minute a filter will allow.

Selecting an RV water filter for your water purification system will depend on your lifestyle, budget, and volume of drinking water.  A one-canister system catches sediment and removes some taste and odor problems as well.  A dual-canister system performs a higher level of taste and odor removal while also reducing chemicals, pesticides, lead, heavy metals, and possibly bacteria.  In a three-canister system, different filters will perform different functions.  Some filters focus on taste and odor removal while others perform elimination of mineral buildup.  Another possible factor for consideration when choosing your RV water filter is the locations you are planning to visit. Water in diverse geographical areas contains different impurities and may require different filtration to make the water safe to drink.

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.

There are many occasions when Crystal Quest portable water filters may be a good idea.  Emergencies and international travel are two of them. A more common use might be when having an outdoor excursion near streams, lakes, or ponds.  The Outback is a water filtration system that exceeds EPA guidelines for removal of Giardia Lamblia parasites and Cryptosporidium protozoa as well as other bacteria that may cause illness.

The filtration matrix Outback uses has little effect on water molecule flow, but presents a difficult obstacle course for parasites, resulting in safe drinking water that needs no prior disinfection.  The filter is designed for ease of use and will provide approximately 200 refills.

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.)

Almost all drinking water filters employ carbon as the primary fitration medium. Carbon filters are used to remove a wide variety of chemical pollutants. They are especially effective on organic chemicals, such as pesticides, herbicides and industrial chemicals. They’re also effective in removing radon, chlorine, and bad tastes and smells. When good quality carbon filters are properly used, they remove 80 to 99 percent of the organic chemicals, radon, chlorine and bad tastes and smells in water. However, they don’t remove microorganisms or toxic minerals. Only a high quality reverse osmosis system can remove 99.99% of drinking water pollutants. In addition, carbon filters have a finite lifetime. Typically, a household of four people uses about 1 1/2 gallons of drinking water per day, or 2 1/2 gallons per day if filtered water is also used for cooking. This translates into approximately 500 to 1,000 gallons per year. Manufacturers of full-size carbon filters may claim their filters are effective for 2,000 gallons or more, but it is recommended that many carbon filters be changed every six months depending on the brand. This ensures optimum performance and minimizes the chances of pollutant breakaway. Small carbon filters that attach to a faucet may even have to be replaced every few months.

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

Regions of the world suffering from extensive droughts and water shortages might find a long-term solution with nanotechnology, researchers are saying.The reality of this type of water filtration system could be closer than some think, because other technologies are too expensive and difficult to maintain for the poor conditions in which the inhabitants live. Carbon nanotubes, being simple in design but very effective in operation, might be the answer. The structure of these tubes allows only very small molecules – such as water molecules – to pass through. The thickness of these carbon fibers is less than a billionth of that of a strand of human hair, which still keeps out harmful agents such as bacteria, viruses and metals.

In addition to the efficient engineering behind these nanotubes, the power needed to drive water through a system would be comparatively low to conventional practices. It’s important to take note of this effort to bring clean water to a drought-stricken population, because over one billion people alive today are without access to safe drinking water. An estimated 2.4 billion people on top of that are said to have improper water sanitation, with the majority living in developing countries.

Established by the U.S. EPA Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, the Drinking Water Academy (DWA) is a long-term training initiative whose primary goal is to expand EPA, State, and Tribal capabilities to implement the 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). In addition to providing classroom and Web-based training, the DWA will act as a resource for training materials pertaining to SDWA implementation. EPA formed the DWA to help EPA, States, and Indian Tribes enhance program capability to meet the public health protection objectives of the SDWA requirements. The 1996 SDWA Amendments created a number of new programmatic challenges for the States, Tribes, and the water systems they regulate. The Amendments also provided new funding opportunities to meet these growing needs. DWA training will support EPA, State, and Tribal efforts to implement these new regulations.

Today, the DWA is highlighting the importance of sanitary surveys in protecting our nation’s drinking water. When conducted properly by qualified personnel, sanitary surveys reduce the risk of waterborne disease; provide an opportunity to educate system operators; identify systems needing technical or capacity development assistance; and identify candidates for enforcement action. The DWA provides sanitary survey training and other resources to upgrade and maintain the ability of inspectors to conduct comprehensive, technically sound sanitary surveys of small water systems. These surveys have been invaluable to homeowners and business people when deciding on the best water filtration system or purifier for their drinking water needs.

For more information visit www.epa.gov