Water Filtration

Actions You Can Take To Reduce Lead In Drinking Water

Flush Your Pipes Before Drinking
Anytime the water in a particular faucet has not been used for six hours or longer, “flush” your cold-water pipes by running the water until it becomes as cold as it will get. (This could take as little as five to thirty seconds if there has been recent heavy water use such as showering or toilet flushing. Otherwise, it could take two minutes or longer.) The more time water has been sitting in your home’s pipes, the more lead it may contain.

Only Use Cold Water for Consumption
Use only water from the cold-water tap for drinking, cooking, and especially for making baby formula. Hot water is likely to contain higher levels of lead.The two actions recommended above are very important to the health of your family. They will probably be effective in reducing lead levels because most of the lead in household water usually comes from the plumbing in your house, not from the local water supply.

Have Your Water Tested
After you have taken the two precautions above for reducing the lead in water used for drinking or cooking, have your water tested. The only way to be sure of the amount of lead in your household water is to have it tested by a competent laboratory. Your water supplier may be able to offer information or assistance with testing. Testing is especially important for apartment dwellers, because flushing may not be effective in high-rise buildings with lead-soldered central piping.

Health Threats From Lead

Too much lead in the human body can cause serious damage to the brain, kidneys, nervous system, and red blood cells.

You have the greatest risk, even with short term exposure, if:

• you are a young child, or
• you are pregnant.

 Sources of Lead in Drinking Water

Lead levels in your drinking water are likely to be highest if:

• your home has faucets or fittings of brass which contains some lead, or
• your home or water system has lead pipes, or
• your home has copper pipes with solder, and
  • the house is less than five years old, or
  • you have naturally soft water, or
  • water often sits in the pipes for several hours.

Q:  Aren’t there a lot of types of treatment devices that would work?

A: There are many devices which are certified for effective lead reduction, but devices that are not designed to remove lead will not work. It is suggested that you follow the recommendations below before purchasing any device:

• Avoid being misled by false claims and scare tactics. Be wary of “free” water testing that is provided by the salesperson to determine your water quality; many tests are inaccurate or misleading. Research the reputation and legitimacy of the company or sales representative.
• Avoid signing contracts or binding agreements for “onetime offers” or for those that place a lien on your home. Be very careful about giving credit card information over the phone. Check into any offers that involve prizes or sweepstakes winnings.
• Be sure to do your homework, then get a water filtration system designed specifically for lead. Many water filters will remove some lead along with a variety of other contaminants, but if removing lead is your primary concern, don’t cut corners by purchasing an inexpensive, catch-all filter. The negative effects are too serious to take chances.

ACCORDING TO THE EPA IN AN EMERGENCY, IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU USE ONLY WATER THAT HAS BEEN PROPERLY DISINFECTED FOR DRINKING, COOKING, MAKING ANY PREPARED DRINK OR FOR BRUSHING TEETH.

1. Use bottled water that has not been exposed to flood waters if it is available.
2. If you don’t have bottled water, you should boil water to make it safe. Boiling water will kill most types of disease-causing organisms that may be present. If the water is cloudy, filter it through clean cloths or allow it to settle, and draw off the clear water for boiling. Boil the water for one minute, let it cool, and store it in clean containers with covers.
3. If you can’t boil water, you can disinfect it using household bleach. Bleach will kill some, but not all, types of disease-causing organisms that may be in the water. If the water is cloudy, filter it through clean cloths or allow it to settle, and draw off the clear water for disinfection. Add 1/8 teaspoon (or 8 drops) of regular, unscented, liquid household bleach for each gallon of water, stir it well and let it stand for 30 minutes before you use it. Store disinfected water in clean containers with covers.
4. If you have a well that has been flooded, the water should be tested and disinfected after flood waters recede. If you suspect that your well may be contaminated, contact your local or state health department or agriculture extension agent for specific advice.
5. Use of a water filtration system should only be considered if the unit filters the water by a process known as reverse osmosis and only after you have either boiled or treated the water with bleach as previously mentioned.

(U.S. federal agencies and the Red Cross recommend these steps to disinfect drinking water in an emergency. For more important details about disinfection, visit www.epa.gov.

As the environmental impact of using water bottles makes its way to the front page, more and more people are turning to drinking water filters as the solution. Most don’t recycle their used water bottles, leaving them to forever clog landfills and pollute the planet. And for those that do recycle, watch out – most can’t be reused. Old plastics leech toxic chemicals into water and food, which can cause cancer and other diseases. Not only that, but water bottles are expensive. So water filters seem the natural answer – they’re cheaper, can be used for a significant amount of time, and cut down on the mountains of used plastic.

But drinking water filters can’t be recycled either. At least, not in the United States. And while the environmental impact of throwing away water filters is substantially less than that of throwing away water bottles, it’s still harmful to the Earth.

Oakland, Calf. resident Beth Terry recently started an online campaign in hopes of persuading Clorox (the company that owns Brita) to start recycling filters, according to the New York Times. Her petition, available at TakeBackTheFilter.org, has amassed more than 15,000 signatures. The petition looks to European countries such as Germany and France, where water filters can be returned to the manufacturer or store for recycling, as a model. But, according to the New York Times article, United States municipal waste systems are not yet equipped to recycle filters. Clorox is trying to find a solution, the article states, but in the meantime, consumers should think hard about how they want to approach drinking water.

In 1997, President Clinton issued an executive order that specifies that each federal agency “shall make it a high priority to identify and assess environmental health and safety risks that may disproportionately affect children,” and “shall ensure that its policies, programs, activities, and standards address disproportionate risks to children that result from environmental health risks or safety risks.”

Even before the 1997 executive order, children were a priority for the EPA’s drinking water program. The 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act require the EPA to strengthen protection of children by considering the risk to the most vulnerable populations when setting standards. The amendments call for better science, including an analysis of the health effects of vulnerable populations, to use when making regulatory decisions. To address these requirements, the EPA considers the special needs of children when identifying new contaminants to regulate, includes children in risk assessments to determine public health goal, and conducts research on children’s exposure to contaminants. The 1996 amendments also require the the EPA to reassess all drinking water standards every six years and consider new data, and thus ensure that standards continue to protect public health, including children.

These continued reassessments by the EPA have made a positive difference although not enough for many individuals who have taken additional steps to ensure that their drinking water is as healthy as it can possibly be. Studies have shown that the use of one form or another of water filtration system or purifier is on the rise. Homeowners are finding that the cost of installing their own water filtration system to protect their children more than pays for itself while giving them added peace of mind.

There are a lot of different water filters out there, and it may be difficult to choose which type is best for you. Here’s a quick run-down of the most common:

• Whole-house water filters: Set up through the main water line coming in to your house, and removes contaminants from all the water entering your home. Good for removing particles such as rust and sediment.
• Under sink water filters: Come in a variety of styles, and are installed with the pipes under your sink. Different types of under sink filters remove different particles, and are bought according to what you want removed. Only filer water going to the sink.
• Countertop water filters: Easy to install, generally screws on to the faucet. Only filters water coming out of the faucet.
• Portable/ canister filters: A filter that goes in a pitcher you can place in the fridge. Filters the water entering the pitcher.
• Refrigerator water filters: A filtration system installed in your fridge. Filters water coming into fridge, including water used to make ice. 

A variety of different water filters are on the market, but some of the most popular and effective are reverse osmosis filters. Reverse osmosis is a separation process that forces a solution through a membrane, blocking the solute on one side, and allowing the solvent to pass through to the other side. In the case of a drinking water filter, it blocks the impurities and chemicals on one side, and lets the pure water flow through to the other. Filters like the Crystal Quest Reverse Osmosis Filter remove up to 99.9 percent of all contaminants, and provide you with clean, safe water.

Private water supplies are not regulated by the EPA, although some states and municipalities have standards that apply to these wells. If you have a private well, you are responsible for testing your water to make sure it is safe. This is especially important in areas where homes and nearby businesses are on septic systems. Since many contaminants are colorless and odorless, testing is the only way to determine whether your well water is safe to drink. The EPA drinking water standards and health information are good guidelines for you in protecting your own drinking water.

Wells should be tested annually for nitrate and coliform bacteria to detect contamination problems early. Test more frequently and for more potential contaminants, such as radon, pesticides or industrial chemicals if you suspect a problem. Contact your state laboratory certification office for a listing of certified drinking water laboratories in your state. In addition, you can help protect your water supply by carefully managing activities near the water source. The organization, Farm*A*Syst/ Home*A*Syst, (608) 262-0024, provides fact sheets and worksheets to help farmers and rural residents assess pollution risks and develop management plans geared towards their circumstances.

The Safe Drinking Water Hotline, (800) 426-4791, can provide you with the phone numbers for these organizations.

Once you have compiled all the available information on your well water, the next step will be to install the appropriate water filtration system or water purifier that will do the best job of providing you with clean healthy drinking water. Considering the wide range of contaminants found in many U.S. wells, a reverse osmosis water treatment unit is probably going to be your best bet. Simply type “reverse osmosis” into any search engine and you will have more than enough products to review. After that, the brand, price and size should be the only things left to consider.