Wanna Get Water

How Safe Is Your Drinking Water? Pt 1 | The Dr. Oz Show

admin — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 02:00:55 +0000

It’s a question critical to your health and life itself: how safe is your drinking water? Dr. Oz goes one-on-one with the head of the EPA, Lisa Jackson, to discuss the four biggest threats to your drinking water. Find out how to keep your family safe. Click here for Part 1 and links to Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 of How Safe Is Your Drinking Water. http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/how-safe-your-drinking-water-pt-1

Ceramic Filters

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:38:32 +0000

At the core of the ceramic filter element is Diatomaceous Earth (DE). DE contains fossil-like skeletons of microscopic water plants called diatoms, which are a type of algae. These diatoms range in size from less than 5 micrometers to more than 100 micrometers, and have a unique capability of extracting silica from water to produce their skeletal structure. When diatoms die, their skeletons form a diatomite deposit. In its natural state, diatomite is 85 percent inert silica. This type of filter is best suited to treat water that has low amount particulate sediment. DE filtration has shown superior capability for the removal of pathogens and asbestos. Odorless, tasteless, and chemically inert, DE is ideal for filtering water for human consumption.

The Current State of Our Water – Part 18

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:32:00 +0000

Chlorination (Solid calcium hypochlorite) Calcium hypochlorite is a white solid that contains 65 percent available chlorine and dissolves easily in water.

ADVANTAGES

When packaged, calcium hypochlorite is very stable, allowing a year’s supply to be bought at one time.

LIMITATIONS

Calcium hypochlorite is a corrosive material with a strong odor that requires proper handling. It must be kept away from organic materials such as wood, cloth, and petroleum products. Reactions between calcium hypochlorite and organic material can generate enough heat to cause a fire or explosion. Calcium hypochlorite readily absorbs moisture, forming chlorine gas. Therefore, shipping containers must be emptied completely or carefully resealed.

PROCESS

Calcium hypochlorite may be dissolved in a mixing/holding tank and injected in the same manner as sodium hypochlorite. Alternatively, where the pressure can be lowered to atmospheric, such as at a storage tank, tablets of hypochlorite can be directly dissolved in the free flowing water by a proprietary device that provides flow-proportional chlorination with gravity feed of the tablets.

EQUIPMENT

The equipment used to mix the solution and inject it into the water is the same as that for sodium hypochlorite. Solutions of 1 or 2 percent available chlorine can be delivered by a diaphragm-type, chemical feed/ metering pump or by tablet chlorinator.

CHEMICALS

Calcium hypochlorite can be purchased in granular, powdered, or tablet form.

The Current State of Our Water – Part 17

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:25:43 +0000

Chlorination (Sodium hypochlorite solution) Sodium hypochlorite is available as a solution in concentrations of 5 to 15 percent chlorine, but is more expensive than chlorine gas (as available chlorine).

ADVANTAGES

Sodium hypochlorite is easier to handle than gaseous chlorine or calcium hypochlorite.

LIMITATIONS

Sodium hypochlorite is very corrosive and should be stored with care and kept away from equipment that can be damaged by corrosion. Hypochlorite solutions decompose and should not be stored for more than one month. It must be stored in a cool, dark, dry area.

PROCESS

Sodium hypochlorite solution is diluted with water in a mixing/holding tank. The diluted solution is injected by a chemical pump into the water supply pipe at a controlled rate. Adequate mixing and contact time must be provided.

EQUIPMENT

A basic liquid chlorination system, or hypochlorinator, includes two metering pumps (one serving as standby), a solution tank, a diffuser (to inject the solution into the water), and tubing.

CHEMICALS

Sodium hypochlorite solution is readily available. Sodium hypochlorite can also be generated onsite by electrolysis of sodium chloride solution in specialized proprietary equipment. The only supplies required are common salt and electricity. Hydrogen is given off as a by-product and must be safely dispersed.

The Current State of Our Water – Part 16

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:23:23 +0000

Disinfection is an important step in ensuring that water is safe to drink. Water systems add disinfectants to destroy microorganisms that can cause disease in humans. The Surface Water Treatment Rule requires public water systems to disinfect water obtained from surface water supplies or groundwater sources under the influence of surface water. Primary methods of disinfection are chlorination, chloramines, ozone, and ultraviolet light. Other disinfection methods include chlorine dioxide, potassium permanganate, and nanofiltration. Since certain forms of chlorine react with organic material naturally present in many water sources to form harmful chemical by-products, Canada Health has proposed maximum acceptable levels for these contaminants.

The Current State of Our Water – Part 15

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:21:00 +0000

Water systems should be prepared to provide information to their customers. Consumers are often willing to participate in sound water management practices if provided with accurate information. A public education program should explain to water users all of the costs involved in supplying drinking water and demonstrate how water conservation practices will provide water users with long-term savings. Systems can include inserts in their customers’ water bills that provide information about water use, costs, or conservation tips. School programs can be a great way to get information out. Systems can provide information on water conservation and encourage the use of water conservation practices through these programs. Regardless of the method used, the more people know about water conservation the more they’ll want to save and the community will be better off for it.

The Current State of Our Water – Part 14

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:53:33 +0000

Ground Water

When rain falls to the ground, the water does not stop moving. Some of it flows along the land surface to streams or lakes, some is used by plants. Some evaporates and returns to the atmosphere. And some seeps underground, into pores between sand, clay and rock formations called aquifers. Water moves through aquifers much like a glass of water poured onto a pile of sand.

Many communities obtain their drinking water aquifers. Water suppliers drill wells through soil and rock into aquifers to reach the ground and supply the public with drinking water. Many homes also have their own private wells drilled on their property to tap this supply. Unfortunately, the ground water can become contaminated by human activity. These chemicals can enter the soil and rock, polluting the aquifer and eventually the well.

The Current State of Our Water – Part 13

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:47:30 +0000

Water is a limited resource, and in many areas—especially those plagued by drought—future water supplies are so uncertain that many worry whether usable water will be exhausted. If water supplies were depleted, the impact on economic and social interests would be profound: businesses would likely fail, agriculture would dry up, and many towns might end up like ghost towns of the Old West. This Tech Brief discusses those measures and elaborates on other means that small systems can take to save, reduce, and use drinking water more efficiently from filtration to the customers’ tap.

Because water is inexpensive, citizens and utilities have little incentive to reduce water use or loss. Raising water rates may overcome this hurdle, but that often comes with its own set of issues. Fortunately, there are other ways to conserve water. Filter back-washing, filter wash water recycling, maintenance procedures, metering, leak detection, water theft prevention, appropriate rate setting, and public education are key ways small systems can reduce water use.

The Current State of Our Water – Part 12

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:44:06 +0000

The WHO Working Group developed a Report on Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water, which was released on July 4, 2011 in Singapore during the Singapore International Water Week Convention. This report includes the assessment of risks to human health associated with long-term exposure to low concentrations of pharmaceuticals and the possible combined effects of mixtures of pharmaceuticals. The report concludes that the analysis of available data indicates that there is a significant margin of safety between the very low concentrations of pharmaceuticals that would be consumed in drinking water and the minimum therapeutic doses, which suggests a very low risk to human health. Based on this finding, the development of formal health-based guideline values for pharmaceuticals in WHO’s Guidelines for Drinking water Quality is currently not considered to be necessary. The report also addressed that, although the current risk assessments indicate that the very low concentrations of pharmaceuticals found in drinking water are associated with a negligible human health risk, knowledge gaps exist. It would be of value to ensure that these margins are adequate for possibly sensitive subpopulations and to better characterize health risks, if any, from long-term, low-level exposures. In addition, future research should focus on developing methods or protocols for prioritizing pharmaceuticals in the context of an overall risk assessment for all drinking water hazards. The report is available at the WHO website.

The Current State of Our Water – Part 11

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:41:50 +0000

Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in Water

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are being discovered in our Nation’s waters at very low concentrations. Pharmaceuticals refer to prescription and over-the-counter therapeutic drugs and veterinary drugs. Personal care products refer to products used for personal and cosmetic reasons such as soaps, fragrances, and cosmetics.

We are responding to the issues of PPCPs in water with a four pronged approach aimed at:

improving science;

improving public understanding;

identifying partnership and stewardship opportunities; and

taking regulatory action when appropriate.