Most people don’t have the problems of lead, organic chemicals, nitrates or pathogens but you should find out.

1. If you do not have a private water source, talk to your local water department as to the condition of your water.
2. Ask your local department of health or an independant lab for a water test kit. Take a sample and have it tested.
3. Talk to a local water dealer for a test.
4. There are many mail order labs that provide independent tests of water quality.

1. If you have a private well or small water system, test for nitrates, pesticides, and bacteria especially if you live in an agricultural area.
2. Test for volatile organic compounds if you live near a landfill or factory.
3. Test for lead if you have an older home or live in an older neighborhood.
4. If your water tastes bad or looks dirty, test it!
5. If water has a strong chlorine odor, check for chloroform.

   Remember that just because your water is “crystal clear” it might not be safe.
   Have your water tested professionally!

1. Aesthetic Problems – Bad taste, Bad color, Bad odor- These are the most noticeable problems but they won’t necessarily hurt you.
2. Lead – There is virtually no lead in water at its source. Lead is picked up by lead service lines, by pluming in older homes, from soldered joints in copper pipes and brass fixtures. Lead can cause serious problems in infants and young children as well as adults.
3. Nitrate – Nitrate is more common in rural areas from fertilizer and manure. It is dangerous to young children and pregnant women.
4. Organic Chemicals – These are more often found in industrial and agricultural areas than other areas. Herbicides and other organic compounds end up in the water. Some organic pollutants are the result of water-chlorinization systems.
5. Pathogens – Microorganisms from decaying vegetation and human and animal wastes. Most home filters do not claim to stop bacteria. Chlorine added at water plants should eliminate most. If you have a private well system it is up to you to remove the pathogens.

Activated carbon (AC) filtration is most effective in removing organic contaminants from water. Organic substances are composed of two basic elements, carbon and hydrogen. Because organic chemicals are often responsible for taste, odor, and color problems, AC filtration can generally be used to improve aesthetically objectional water. AC filtration will also remove chlorine. AC filtration is recognized by the Water Quality Association as an acceptable method to maintain certain drinking water contaminants within the limits of the EPA National Drinking Water Standards.

Similar to other types of water treatment, AC filtration is effective for some contaminants and not effective for others. AC filtration does not remove microbes, sodium, nitrates, fluoride, and hardness. Lead and other heavy metals are removed only by a very specific type of AC filter. Unless the manufacturer states that its product will remove heavy metals, the consumer should assume that the AC filter is not effective in removing them. Refer to the other circulars in the Treatment Systems for Household Water Supplies series for information on systems that do remove the contaminants listed above.

Disinfection technologies kill or screen-out biological contaminants present in a water supply. Chlorination, microfiltration, ozone, and ultraviolet light are the four major technologies used to disinfect water.

Chlorination
Chlorination adds a concentration of the chemical chlorine or chloramine to the water supply, where the oxidizing ability of this chemical ”burns up” the organic contaminants in the water. Chlorination also treats for organically-related taste, color, and odor problems.
Chlorine is typically fed directly into a well, or into a retention tank where concentration and contact time can be controlled. Chlorination is effective for treating pathogens like coliform bacteria and legionella, though it is ineffective against hard-shelled cysts like Cryptosoridium and Giardia lamblia. Other chemicals like bromine and iodine can also be used to disinfect water through much the same process as chlorination, though they are not as frequently used.

Microfiltration
Microfiltration uses a filter media with a pore size smaller than 0.2 microns to physically prevent biological contamination from passing through. Ceramic and solid block carbon as well as reverse osmosis membrains are commonly used to provide microfiltration. Ceramic filters have an advantage that they can often be cleaned and reused a number of times before they lose effectiveness.
Carbon block media usually has to be disposed of after each use. This media, however, provides additional treatment for a variety of other health and aesthetic contaminants (see activated carbon section, above). Microfiltration is effective for treating the full range of biological contaminants, including hard-shelled cysts like Cryptosporidium.

Reverse osmosis (RO) is a common treatment technology that produces high quality water. The process works by forcing water under great pressure against a semipermeable membrane, where ion exclusion occurs. With ion exclusion, water molecules form a barrier that allows other water molecules to pass through while excluding most contaminants.
Typical contaminant rejection rates range from 85% to 95%, and a gallon of highly treated water can usually be produced from two to four gallons of raw water, depending on the initial quality of the water. Maintenance involves the replacement of the RO membrane cartridge every three to five years, and the carbon filter cartridges every six to twelve months.

RO is effective for the reduction of a broad range of health and aesthetic contaminants, though it is typically not used for the reduction of biological pathogens. RO also incorporates an activated carbon filter, which can provide added treatment for the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) not treated by the membrane itself.

When the softener is providing soft water, it is called “Service”. During service, hard water flows from the house main water pipe into the softener. Inside the softener resin tank is a bed made up of thousands of tiny, plastic resin beads. As hard water passes through the bed, each bead attracts and holds the hardness minerals. This is called ion-exchanging. It is much like a magnet attracting and holding metals. Water without the hardness minerals (soft water) flows from the softener and to the house pipes.

After a period of time, the resin beads hold all of the hardness minerals they can and cleaning is needed to remove them. This is called regeneration, or recharge. Regeneration is started at 2:00 am (factory setting) by the softener timer, and consists of 5 stages or cycles. These are: FILL, BRINING, BRINE RINSE, BACKWASH, and FAST RINSE.

Sometime, a hard crust or salt bridge forms in the salt storage area. Its usually caused by high humidity or the wrong kind of salt. When the salt bridges, an empty space forms between the water and the salt. Then salt will not dissolve in the water to make brine.

If the brine tank is full of salt, it is hard to tell if you have a salt bridge. Salt is loose on top, but the bridge is under it.

Salt should be loose all the way to the bottom of the tank. Take a broom handle, or like tool, and carefully push it down into the salt, working it up and down. If the tool strikes a hard object (not the bottom or the sides), it’s most likely a salt bridge. Carefully break the bridge with the tool. DO NOT pound on the walls of the tank!

if the wrong kind of salt made the bridge, take it out. Then fill the tank with nugget or pellet salt only. In humid areas, it is best to fill with less salt, more often.

There are two types of tanks used for residential water systems; air over water tanks, and precharged tanks.

A tank works when water is pumped into it, which compresses the air inside, giving the water and air increased pressure. A check or foot valve is placed in the water line before the tank to prevent the increased tank pressure from escaping back down the well.

The difference between an air over water tank and a precharged tank is that a precharged tank has a bladder or other impermeable device that separates the air from the water. An air over water tank allows the air and water to touch and mix.

The pressure in the tank regulates a pressure switch that in turn turns the pump on and off. It is essential that the tank have the correct amount of air pressure in it to properly control the pressure switch. If the air pressure in the tank is set to high there is less that normal water capacity in the tank. This causes the pump to run more frequently and for shorter durations to replace the low quantity of water on the tank. If the air pressure in the tank is set to low there is more than normal water capacity in the tank. This causes the pump to run less frequently and for longer durations to replace the high quantity of water in the tank. Stress on the tank is also increased, which causes damage to the tank.