Environmental Alternatives

WHAT TO DO

The goal is to find a system that requires the least amount of maintenance
and that filters out the most contaminants
at the the lowest cost.

SELECT YOUR WATER CONCERN:
Multi-Pure Systems
What to do first.  Which Systems?
Simple Sink Filter (counter-top or sub-counter), Refrigerator Filters
Municipal Water,   Well Water,   Rain Water,   Travel Filters, Shower Filters,
"The globalization of water."  Emergency Preparedness   Interesting facts about the need to drink water
Water Conservation
.
SELECT A TECHNOLOGY:
ozone, ultra violet, distillation, reverse osmosis, compressed carbon, membrane filters, shower drain hair trap
24 ways to filter water
.
TECHNICAL ISSUES:
testing, survey sheet for system design,  installation,  maintenance,  storage,
iron, arsenic removal, quick anwers, detailed answers,  policy
determine your gallons per minute
basics of filtration
.
PRICES AND ORDERING:
price list,  actual ozone installation invoices,  ordering
petrich@whidbey.com

WHICH SYSTEMS TO CHOOSE

Municipal Water

.SELECT A TECHNOLOGY:
ozone, ultra violet, distillation, reverse osmosis, compressed carbon, membrane filters, 24 ways to filter water

TECHNICAL ISSUES:
testing, survey sheet for system design,  installation,  maintenance,  storage,
quick anwers, detailed answers,  policy,determine your gallons per minute

PRICES AND ORDERING:
price list,  actual ozone installation invoices,  ordering, petrich@whidbey.com

WELLS    

For areas on wells there is often an excess of iron, sulphur, manganese, calcium, magnesium, tannins, turbidity, nitrates, coliform, salt intrusion, and sometimes chemicals.  Iron, often accompanied by sulphur gas, puts off an iron bacteria which is not healthy to ingest and which coats the pipes.  Iron, like other dissolved minerals, is difficult to remove from water because it is dissolved and can pass through filter membranes.

PROBLEM: IRON, BACTERIA, SULPHUR, MANGANESE
    The most effective way to remove iron is with oxygen or with ozone, a form of oxygen.  Pure water is produced without the use of chemicals. 

HOW IT WORKS

For more information on the ozone system, see "Ozone that Works."
For further reading on ozone in general, go to Ozone Therapeutic Remedial Uses
For information on iron in the laundry, read this report Iron Stains in the Laundry
 
 

PROBLEM: TANNIN

     Sometimes there are more problems in the water than iron or sulphur.  If there are tannins present in the water,the oxidized iron will remain in a soluble state and will pass through the filters.  Tannin is tannic acid, which iswhat tea is.  Actually, it is made from the juices of decaying leaves, such as alders.  A simple test to see if there is tannin in the water is to fill a clean white five-gallon plastic bucket with water and, in good light, observe whether or not there is a yellowish or greenish hue
to the water.  If so, tannins are probably present.  To remove the yellow tannic acid and the oxydized iron, it will be necessary to add a second system following the ozone system.

    There are three options for removing tannin.

• A water softener (ion exchange) with a brine tank, a special tannin resin, and its own automatic backwash is the most common and efficient way to remove tannins.  The watersoftener media is constantly rejuvenated by salt, which must be added periodically, and therefore has by far the longestlife, even though it eventually will need to be rebedded within 4-9 years. Generally a larger than normal tank is necessary in order to accommodate the additional tannin resin. It will need to be re-bedded about once a year.
• A color-removing media is an effective alternative to a water softener because it does away with the need to buy and add salt to the water. The color-removing 20x50 carbon can be used either with or without a back-wash, although without a backwash it does not last as long and will need to be rebedded every year or two.  This is a rather costly procedure.
• A replaceable GAC cartridge is the easiest and least expensive option.  The 20" filter housing hangs on a bracket that is fastened to the wall.  A pressure gauge is installed before and after the filter.  When gauge shows that the pressure drops after the filter, it’s time to put in a new filter cartridge.  The advantage of the replaceable cartridge is that it can be maintained easily by the homeowner.  The disadvantage is that because the cartridge has a limited capacity it needs to be changed frequently, such as once every six months or so. Even so, it is the least expensive and simplest option.

 

PROBLEM: TURBIDITY

     Another issue can be turbidity, which looks like cloudy water.  Turbidity is miniscule dissolved organic particles which will eventually settle to the bottom of a jar.  If thecloudiness settles away within 30 minutes, a 0.35 micron cartridge in a housing is sufficient to filter it out. However, if it takes longer to settle, the most common treatment is the injection of alum stored in about a 30 gal. tank with a mixer, using a chemical feed pump, a resin tank, special media and valve.  The disadvantages to alum are thatit lowers the pH of the water, it adds to the sludge, and it is caustic to handle.  Instead, the best option is to injectthe water with a non-chemical polymer flocculant.

PROBLEM: HIGH OR LOW pH

     Usually chlorine injection or the injection of a pH stabilizer is required.  Hopefully the pH is between 7.0 and 7.4.  Rain water is highly acidic; pond water is usually quite alkaline.  Both extremes can be caustic.

PROBLEM: HARDNESS (usually calcium and magnesium)

     Ion exchange is commonly used to soften the water and to remove iron.  This is a process of filtration in whichsodium from salt is exchanged for calcium or magnesium in the water, using either precipitated synthetic, organic and synthetic resins; or gel zeolite.  Calcium and magnesium are
drawn out of the water and exchanged for sodium, thereby softening the water as it moves around the media.  After a certain amount of time the process is reversed by stopping the water flow and running a heavy salt water or brine solution through the system.  Such a reversal draws out the calcium and magnesium and replaces them with sodium.  The contaminated salt water, or brine, is then dumped into the environment somewhere and the water is turned on again.  The system is easily clogged with sediment and requires incoming water to be filtered.  It works only on the primary causesof water hardness and does little or nothing to the other minerals or metals.  Ion exchange does nothing to kill
bacteria, nor to decrease chemicals or odors in the water. People on low salt or sodium diets should not drink this water.  Use a water softener only if hardness or calcium deposits cause great concern.

PROBLEM: SALT INTRUSION

     In areas near the ocean, some wells have salt water invading the aquafer.  The only ways  to remove salt areemploy a distiller or a reverse osmosis filter.

     Occasionally wells will be tested for high coliform counts and will be closed as undrinkable by the health authorities.  Ozone will treat coliform up to a certain high level.  However, if coliform is a persistently chronic occurance or is found in unusually high quantities, an ultra-violet treatment will guarantee the killing of all bacteria and virus.  Ultra-violet acts as the ideal polisherafter ozone treatment.

PROBLEM: E COLI

    E coli is a living organism that dwells in colonies.  These colonies multiply and diminish daily.  Sometimes test results will read an absence of e coli, and other times there will be an abundance, giving a reading of so many colonies that there is an outbreak and the water is undrinkable.  A whole-house ozone unit will kill about ten to twenty colonies.  However, if the count grows higher, either a larger ozone unit is needed or some sort of polisher should follow the ozone system specifically to remove the remaining e coli.
    In situations where e coli outbreaks are common and of concern, the best way to remove all e coli from the entire water supply is to add an ultraviolet treatment system (pre- and post- submicron filters and a UV light) following the ozone system.  Ultraviolet is an excellent polisher and will provide safe water throughout the house.
    A second option would be to treat drinking water only by adding a compressed carbon block at the sink. Compressed carbon filters remove anything larger than .5 micron; e coli and other parasites range in size from 1 to 6 microns.  This option is less expensive and is easy to install.
    A third option for drinking water would be to use a distiller.

      Nitrates are decayed feces and sewage.  The most effective way to remove them is with a separate system similar to a water softener, using a nitrate select removal resin.  This system has its own backwash cycle, and needs to have salt added periodically.  For more, see detailed information on nitrates.

     A drier is so strongly encouraged that excluding one invalidates the ozone pump warrantee.  If a drier is not used on an ozone pump, eventually the bottom plate and the piston will have to be replaced.  All venturi systems require driers or the moisture build-up will soon render the ozone to be ineffective.   There are two kinds of driers:dessicant and electric.

• A cannister of white dessicant granulessits on a support off the floor and absorbs moisture through a tube until it has reached its capacity of 300-400 hours,at which time the entire cannister must be replaced with a new one.  With a flow-switch system, this could be a matter of months.
• The automatic regenerative drier mounts on the wall, plugs into a standard 110v outlet, and connects via a plastic tube to the ozone generator.  It runs on a timer that turns on a heater and tiny fan to dry out the saturated dessicant each night.

OXYGENATION
     Super-oxygenated water is created by passing a low-voltage DC current through water, using catalytic electrolysis cells.  The catalytic action of the cell forces a majority of the oxygen created to bypass the gaseous stateand dissolve directly into solution.  The dissolved oxygen levels created by this process can range from around 3 ppm to 20 ppm depending on starting water conditions. Contaminants can be removed using absolutely no chemicals. There are three basic types of water contamination.
     Physical contamination is the appearance of the water, the color or turbidity (visible particles), the temperature,taste and/or odor of the water -- anything that can be sensed by the body.  Dissolved oxygen generation affects physical contamination with the electrical field generated within the cell to cause a coagulation (lumping together) of solids, colloids and thin oils.  High levels of dissolved
oxygen will oxidize (destroy) many contaminants and easily allow them to settle out for removal.
     Chemical contamination relates to chemicals and minerals present in the water.  These are the things that generally cannot be seen or sensed by the body.  Using high levels of dissolved oxygen, the chemicals and hydrocarbons are oxidized and broken down.  Minerals, dissolved metals,soaps and phosphates in the water coagulate into sediment or filterable solids.
     Biological contamination is anything living in the water, whether visible (algae) or invisible (bacteria). Oxygen breaks down the outer cell membrane and enters the nucleus, destroying the bacteria cell.  High levels of dissolved oxygen will neutralize most types of bacteria such as colliform bacteria (all types), and will satisfy biological oxygen demands (BOD).  Due to the nature of dissolved oxygen, not even the smallest of bacteria cells are immune. Conventional filters generally will not control
biological contamination and can become breeding grounds for bacteria over time.
     In addition to treating contaminants, oxygenation has additional health benefits, acting as a medium for various chemical and enzymatic changes in the body. Super-oxygenation creates a wonderful, safe scrubbing effect on the body's skin, similar to expensive exfoliants used inluxury skin care products.  These millions of tiny oxygen molecules work hard to oxidize dead or sick skin cells and oils to allow new, healthy cells to grow.  The surface tension of the water is broken down to give it almost a
glistening effect of softness.  Oxygenated water is excellent for drinking, laundry, bathing, and is wonderful in spas.

      For other water products, examine the price lists on water filters, replacement cartridges, composting toilets, grey-water systems, and ultra-low water-flush toilets.  Ask about information on rainwater collection, on pumping water by wind or pedal power, and on solar water heating.
 
 

1.    Provide a thorough form letter describing all the options for treating any given water problem, including prices.
2.    Provide a survey form that must be filled out by the prospective party; this form not only asks about pipe sizes, number of houses, gpm of the pump, etc., but  also requires a full testing of a raw water sample.
3.    Provide a form for all payment and warrantee agreements.
4.    Employ a professional, licensed, bonded and insured plumber to plumb installations, and, if the wiring is not pre-assembled so that it can be plugged into one outlet, employ a licensed, bonded and insured electrician to tend to any electrical concerns.
5.    Train each owner how to operate, maintain and troubleshoot each part of the system, either in person, by phone or by mail.
6.    Offer unlimited phone advice and consultation to everyone.
7.    Honor all promises, and continue to provide customers with faithful service whenever they call (within our region).
8.    Offer pre-established routine inspections on at least a yearly basis, or as frequently as the user requests,  for the standard fee (within our region).
9.    Incessant and thorough research enables constant improvement and expansion of products and services.
10.  Carry the highest quality product line for each technology.
11.  Contact customers weekly immediately after installation,  until all questions are answered and any minor quirks are resolved.  Then  routinely call all customers at least once every three months from then on, and more often if there may be any underlying concerns or potential problems.  If they do not answer, persist daily until we connect.
12.  For customers outside our region, provide email and phone support.