Swine Flu and Drinking Water

Below is an article from Water Technology Magazine. Please read about how a pandemic could affect your water.

"DENVER — People can’t catch the so-called swine flu (H1N1 virus) from drinking properly disinfected tap water, even disinfected water originally drawn from a water source that had been in contact with infected people or animals, says the American Water Works Association (AWWA), the international association for water utility professionals.

In any event, in response to the possibility of a swine flu pandemic, the AWWA has prepared information about the safety of drinking water and resources for utility planning.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the swine flu can only be transmitted through person-to-person contact (such as by inhaling droplets from sneezing) or contact with a contaminated surface.

The AWWA says, “Water that has been treated through conventional disinfection processes does not pose a risk, even if the source water has previously come into contact with infected people or animals. This means that utilities practicing disinfection can assure their customers that treated water coming from the taps in homes and businesses is safe to drink.”

AWWA has reminded utilities that now is a good time to revisit emergency plans that address staffing issues in the face of a pandemic. Many utilities developed these plans during the outbreaks of avian flu in 2003–2005.

With its potential for causing staff shortages at water utilities, a pandemic could trigger water supply disruptions due to interruptions of power, chemical supplies or equipment operations. A January Journal AWWA article, “Water System Preparedness and Best Practices for Pandemic Influenza,” noted that illness and family care issues could create staffing shortages of up to 40 percent.

The Journal AWWA article addresses cross-training for essential positions, sequestering critical employees, and implementing vaccination and other personal protection measures to maintain adequate levels of staffing during a pandemic. The article also discusses best practices and other strategies to improve utility contingency planning.

AWWA said it also has developed information aimed at water consumers at Drinktap.org."

In this case, a few bottles of water stored for emergencies would be a good idea.

See my website at www.cleanwaterman.com

Radon In Water

The Connecticut Department Of Public Health recommends that if the radon the water in your home is 5,000 pico Curies per liter (pCl) or higher you should consider reducing it. There is no current lawrequiring treatment. For information, please click: http://www.ct.gov/dph/cwp/view.asp?a=3140&q=387608

Radon problem in Connecticut? Call Ted Mullen, The Clean Water Man, at 203-417-9601.

Wasting Water To Fuel Cars

The below is an article from Water Technology Magazine. This is a colossal waste of water and what is not even mentioned is the amount of (air and water polluting) fertilizers and insecticides that will be used to grow the biofuel crops.

"ST. PAUL, MN —Scientists from the University of Minnesota are reporting that production of bioethanol — often regarded as a clean-burning energy source of the future — may consume up to three times more water than previously thought.

“Water Embodied in Bioethanol in the United States,” scheduled for publication in the April 15 issue of the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) journal Environmental Science & Technology, comes at a time when water supplies are scarce in many areas of the United States, the ACS said in a press release about the study.

Researcher Sangwon Suh and colleagues point out in the study that annual bioethanol production in the United States currently is about 9 billion gallons, and they note that experts expect it to increase in the near future.

“The growing demand for bioethanol, particularly corn-based ethanol, has sparked significant concerns among researchers about its impact on water availability. Previous studies estimated that a gallon of corn-based bioethanol requires the use of 263 gallons to 784 gallons of water from the farm to the fuel pump. But these estimates failed to account for widely varied regional irrigation practices, the scientists say,” according to the ACS press release.

The scientists made a new estimate of bioethanol’s impact on the water supply using detailed irrigation data from 41 states. They found that in 2007 bioethanol’s water requirements could be as high as 861 billion gallons of water from the cornfield to the fuel pump.

They also found that production of a gallon of ethanol may require up to 2,100 gallons of water from farm to fuel pump, depending on the regional irrigation practice in growing corn. However, a dozen states in the Corn Belt consume less than 100 gallons of water per gallon of ethanol, making them better-suited for ethanol production. “The results highlight the need to take regional specifics into account when implementing biofuel mandates,” the article states."

Any questions or concerns about your water? email me at tedmullen@hotmail.com and see my website at http://www.cleanwaterman.webs.com/ and call me at 203-417-9601

Why should I worry about water quality? Water Infrastructure gets a D-

I found an interesting website today at www.infrastructurereportcard.org/

There are two reasons to worry about water quality. The first is municipal water. The second is well water.

On the municipal water side, I would like to point out something that is not really related to drinking water. It is called the Tapan Zee bridge over the Hudson River, and to me it is one of the most frightening structures in the United States. 136,000 cars cross this bridge every day, and it doesn't take a close inspection to know that it is way past its safe useful life (a 1999 engineering study states that the bridge needs replacement and it is still being used 10 years later). If the people in charge of infrastructure are not concerned that at least 136,000 people a day see how bad the Tappan Zee bridge looks, how concerned are they going to be about the water infrastructure which lies mostly underground? I am not criticizing the wonderful people who work in municipal water treatment who do the best job possible to provide us with safe water. I am criticizing the lack of improvement and replacement on all infrastructure in our country. A colleague who works for a municipal water system in southern Westchester County told me that many water distribution pipes are WOODEN pipes that were installed over a hundred years ago while many others are LEAD. Parts are failing constantly.

I will only drink municipal water if it has passed through a reverse osmosis drinking water system.

Things are also bad for those with private wells. At least in municipal systems there are enforceable standards and there are workers who continuously monitor the water quality at the treatment plant. In a private well, there are no ENFORCEABLE standards and unless you have an environmental engineering degree, you are most likely not monitoring your water quality on a daily basis. A well pump is installed and nobody checks the well for 20 years or so until the pump fails and needs to be replaced. The house is sold and a bacteria test is done to ensure no contamination of the water, and then nobody tests the water until the house is sold again. This doesn't take into account the fact that if the water is good today, something such as animal contamination, flooding, or septic cross contamination can happen tomorrow. And think of all the chemicals you and your neighbors are pouring on your lawn every year to kill weeds and insects and green up the grass.

I only drink well water if it has passed through a reverse osmosis drinking water system. An ultraviolet sanitizing system is also a good addition to any private point of entry filtering system.

One other point to consider is that bottled water either comes from a well or a municipal water supply and the EPA rules allow a small percentage of bottled water to have a "small" amount of bacteria in it.

Any questions or concerns about your water? email me at tedmullen@hotmail.com and see my website at http://www.cleanwaterman.webs.com/ and call me at 203-417-9601

See through water filter housings?

I have had many requests for clear (see through) whole house cartridge filter housings. I don't use them and this is why: they cost more and usually accomplish nothing except cause my customers to waste time and money.

My main dislike for clear plastic compared to regular plastic is that clear plastic housings are generally more prone to breaking, especially if I accidentally drop the housing while changing the filter. Another dislike is that I find my customers changing cartridges much more frequently than needed, just because they see some dirt built up around the outside of the cartridge. In almost all cases, there is still a large amount of filtering capacity left in a cartridge after the outside of it gets a little dark (water is filtered as it flows from outside the filter to the inside, so larger sediment is trapped on the outside). Of course, I sell more cartridges, but it is wasteful. A better way to determine if a filter needs changing is noticing a slight pressure drop.

If you are shopping for a whole house filter housing and are thinking of a clear housing, save your money and buy the regular one.

Any Water Concerns? email me at tedmullen@hotmail.com or check out my website at www.cleanwaterman.webs.com