Category: Water Treatment Articles & Tips

An Analysis of City Water and Community Water Supplies

In this continuing series of Blogs we are discussing water, water quality and various treatment methods that city and community water supplies use to treat their water before it is delivered to your home. Today we are looking at the city of Howell, MI and the community wells that supply water to its 9400 residents.

Communities that use well water as their primary source of water have many different issues to address as it relates to their water. As discussed in previous blog posts, the water chemistry from every well can vary widely. Most of these community well supplies will have several different water wells from which their water is drawn from. The number of wells needed is dependent on the size of the community and water volume needed to service that community. This takes into account the average daily usage per household and also peak periods of water usage along with the potential usage for firefighting.

The city of Howell has six different wells from which water is drawn. These wells are up to 400 feet underground. This is done to protect the water supply, to assure adequate water supply for future use and to assure some stability in the water chemistry. IE: Hardness, Iron, Manganese, Arsenic, Radium, Etc. The Howell water treatment facility has a 620,000-gallon ground storage reservoir along with a 300,000 elevated storage tank to service its 9400 residents and firefighting needs.

The Howell water treatment plant employs a method of “Lime Softening” to treat the water. Limewater (Calcium Hydroxide) is introduced into the water supply at the treatment plant which reacts with the Calcium and Magnesium (Hardness) in the water causing it to “floc” or fall out of the water. The hardness falls out as scale and then is filtered out of the water. This method of water treatment has actually been used since the 1800’s and was originally used in London, England to treat water drawn from the Thames River. Some of the primary reasons this method is used by community water supplies today are to control Arsenic, Iron, Manganese and Radium that may be present in the water supply as it is drawn from the ground. Sulfuric Acid and Polyphosphates are added, after initial treatment, to control the PH and stabilize the water. Chlorine is added, as a disinfectant, as the water is sent to the reservoir tanks.

All community and municipal water supplies have to abide by the National Drinking Water Standards. Arsenic is one of many contaminants regulated by these standards as are chemicals used to treat the water supply along with the by-products created when using disinfecting additives like chlorine. Fluoride additives such as Hydrofluosilicic Acid have become an increasing topic of discussion and concern as many current studies have shown negative long-term effects from these additives. Many cities across the US are now choosing to not add fluoride supplements to their water supplies.

The Howell water treatment plant adds calcium hardness back into the water supply before it leaves the treatment plant. This brings the hard water levels back up to 6-7 grains per gallon. Six to seven grains per gallon of hardness is low compared to the 15 to 30 gpg of hard water most homeowners have that live on a private well in Livingston County. Although 6-7 gpg of hardness may seem relatively low on the hardness scale, with a family of three people, on the water that is 6gpg of hardness, in one year that family will have nearly 94 Lbs of rock that has gone through their household!

How is this! In one year 657,000 grains of dissolved rock (Hardness) will have gone through this home! 7000 grains per gallon of hardness is equivalent to 1 lb of rock in the water. Therefore 93.86 lbs of rock will have gone through all the appliances, water heater, plumbing and fixtures in one year! So it is easy to see that even at relatively low hardness levels there are still major concerns with hard water problems along with chlorine and other things added to the water supply.

More information regarding topics discussed in this article is available in the links below.

• City of Howell, MI Water Quality Report
• National Primary Drinking Water Standards
• EVRCS Water Treatment Solutions
• Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Solutions

Good days and good water to you!

We are asked this question every day by homeowners that lived with city water their entire lives and purchased a new home that has either a private well or community well water supply. No need to panic! It will be OK. I always joke that all they need is a water treatment 101 class and they will be ready for living with well water. Maybe I am a little biased, being in the water treatment industry, but I’ve always believed we have a lot more control of the quality of our water with well water then you ever would with city water. With every home, that has well, water testing is done as part of the real estate transaction to determine several things regarding the water.

1. Bacteria testing is done to determine if there are any harmful bacteria present in the well water which could be a health concern, such as Coli-form and E-Coli. If present the well must be sanitized, flushed and re-tested until it is determined to be free of bacteria (potable water)
2. Testing for Arsenic, Nitrate and Nitrite is also done. If any of these are over their limits (10ppm for Nitrate and Nitrites), (10ppb for arsenic). Some form of water treatment needs to be done to bring the drinking water to acceptable levels before the real estate closing. Other testing for low PH, Radium, Radon, Chlorides and Sodium may also be necessary depending on the state and area the home is in.
3. A well inspection is performed to assure the well is sealed properly and there are no potential problems such as a cracked cap. Along with a visual inspection of the water itself. Is the water cloudy, dirty, sediment in the water, does it smell, is it rusty, etc.

Water chemistry from every well can vary greatly. One well may have a high iron content, hydrogen sulfide and be extremely high in hardness while the well next door may be the same depth but the water may have very little iron but high hardness.

Below is a chart that shows hardness levels in water and the degrees of which they can cause problems.

Most of the well water we test in Livingston County, MI will have hard water levels (calcium and magnesium) from 10 to 30 plus grains per gallon of hardness

Recently we installed a new water treatment system for a customer in Brighton Michigan that purchased a new home with a private well supply. They had never been on well water before so part of the water evaluation is showing them the problems hard water scale can cause over the short term and long term if left untreated. Although they mentioned the problems were very evident even though they had only been in the home for one month.

Water test: Hardness 26 gpg, Iron 0ppm, PH 7.4, MG 0ppm, H2S 0ppm, AS 0ppb. 3 people in the home with one more on the way!

When sizing water treatment systems for a home there are many parameters that need to be taken into consideration for the system to work properly and provide twenty plus years of reliable service.

1. What is the water chemistry? Iron, Manganese, Hydrogen sulfide, Hardness? A thorough water analysis needs to be done and many times a sample may be sent to a third party lab if there are any signs of iron bacteria or possible arsenic issues.
2. Does this water warrant an iron filtration system along with a softener or will just a water softener work fine on this water.
3. The system needs be efficient for the household, be able to handle a growing family and busy household. Undersized equipment saves money up front but costs a lot more in the long run with high salt usage, service issues and decreased lifespan of equipment.
4. The flow rates (GPM) necessary to efficiently operate the household need to be taken into account for the proper water treatment system application also. Too low flow rates in the house and someone could get scalded in the shower or when more than one person is using water some parts of the home have very little water. Such as when the dishwasher is running and someone wants to take a shower or anyone washing their hands causes a drastic loss of water volume and pressure in the house.

There are many different options for water treatment equipment but only ONE is the best, most efficient option. For this household it was an Evolve Series EVRS 45k capacity water softener

There is a common misconception that water softeners (water treatment equipment) only lasts 10 years or so. If the proper water treatment system is installed the first time it should last 20-30 years.

No need to fear your water! It can be the best water you will ever have, with very little maintenance and provide you the quality of water your family deserves and expects for many years.

Below is more information regarding topics discussed in this blog:

• Where does your water come from
• Water Testing
• Water Treatment Options

Good day and good water to you!

In recent months I have had several customers contacting us here at Advanced Water Treatment in regard to skin issues and varying degrees of eczema and rashes. The one thing that all of these customers have in common is that they had recently moved from a home with well water into a home with city water.

Many people in Livingston County have had this experience due to the fact that their skin has become accustomed to well water which is free of harsh additives such as chlorine and fluoride.
Although city water is pretty safe to consume, it can have some unpleasant odors and skin irritations, especially if your body and skin has not been consistently exposed to treated municipal water. Advanced Water has been able to help many customers with skin and intestinal issues since moving to city water.

Some of those customers reside in Brighton, Hartland, and Howell. Most recently, we have had three in Howell and one in Brighton that has opted to install our EVRC city water treatment system. This system helped relieve them of the smells, skin issues and internal issues that they were struggling with due to the introduction of city water. One of the customers from Howell had our EVRC unit installed 2 months ago. They also opted to have our Ultrowater reverse osmosis drinking water unit installed, as they were spending a ton of money on bottled water. They commented that their stomach issues almost immediately disappeared once we had installed the appropriate water treatment system for their needs. The two other customers in Howell were so relieved that their eyes and lungs had stopped burning after they got out of the shower. When heated, chlorine can have an astonishing effect on the body

Another misconception about city water, whether it is in Brighton, Hartland or Howell is that the water doesn’t need to be softened. The WQA states that water over 4 GPG hard should be treated with a water softener. The WQA also states that the water in your home should not have chlorine in it. The chlorine in the water is only to protect the water from contamination while it is in the distribution system. The water in these Livingston County cities comes from the ground, just as it would if you had a well at your home. The water in Howell is generally right around 7 grains hard. The chlorine content when tested usually varies between 0.3 ppm to 0.7 ppm. The water in Hartland typically runs about 27 grains hard with about 0.5 ppm to 1.0 ppm residual chlorine. In Brighton, I find that the water is about 23 to 27 grains hard with 0.3 to 0.7 ppm residual chlorine. Both of these contaminants are potentially harmful, not only to your body but your appliances as well. Why not remove them both with a single unit?

The EVRC city water treatment system will remove chlorine, soften the water, and provide you with the benefits of cleaner, clearer water throughout your entire home. Livingston County is not the only area with this increasingly common issue. Surrounding counties, such as Genesee, Oakland and Washtenaw have similar water composition.

Cheers to better water, and a better quality of life!

Recently, at a trade show, I was talking with a competitor of ours regarding their equipment versus our equipment and some of the similarities and differences within. After delving into the depths of the conversation weeks later, I realized that there are many, many differences in the equipment. The differences are not necessarily from a physical aspect, but from the inside. The heart of the equipment was like comparing apples to oranges. When I approached him at a later date with my thoughts. His reply was “Brad, what does it matter? Ion exchange is all the same.” I feel that it is time to lay some of the differences out on paper and explain what we were discussing.

Let’s start with third party evaluation.

If you manufacture, sell or distribute water treatment or distribution products in North America, your products are required to comply with NSF/ANSI Standard 61: Drinking Water System Components – Health Effects by most governmental agencies that regulate drinking water supplies. Developed by a team of scientists, industry experts and key industry stakeholders, NSF/ANSI 61 sets health effects criteria for many water system components including:

• Protective barrier materials (cements, paints, coatings)
• Joining and sealing materials (gaskets, adhesives, lubricants)
• Mechanical devices (water meters, valves, filters)
• Pipes and related products (pipe, hose, fittings)
• Plumbing devices (faucets, drinking fountains)
• Process media (filter media, ion exchange resins)
• Non-metallic potable water materials

This means that if it is a water treatment system in your home, it is required to comply with NSF/ANSI standard 61. This standard is implemented to make sure that you aren’t adding anything that is potentially harmful to your health into the water by installing a filter that is not properly manufactured.

You wouldn’t go to a gas station that had gas pumps that weren’t inspected by a third party organization for accuracy of fuel dispensed, would you? The gas pumps are required to be inspected regularly to ensure that they are dispensing the proper amount of fuel for the dollar you are paying. NSF/ANSI has a myriad of standards that help you with that process as it relates to water softening components as well.

NSF/ANSI 44: Cation Exchange Water Softeners

NSF/ANSI 44 establishes the minimum requirements for the certification of residential cation exchange water softeners designed to reduce hardness from public or private water supplies.

The scope of NSF/ANSI 44 includes material safety, structural integrity, accuracy of the brine system and the reduction of hardness and specific contaminants from a known quality water source. The most common claims addressed by NSF/ANSI 44 are barium reduction, radium 226/228 reduction and softener performance.

In order to meet the strict guidelines set forth by NSF/ANSI 44 all marketing materials and products are required to be evaluated, as a package, before officially becoming certified.

The NSF/ANSI DWTU Standards cover a broad range of products, with each standard addressing a specific technology.

Below is a description of each standard:

NSF/ANSI Standard 42:

The scope of Standard 42 is to establish the minimum requirements for material safety, structural integrity, product literature, and aesthetic, non-health related contaminant reduction performance claims. The most popular claims are chlorine reduction and particulate reduction. The most common technology addressed by Standard 42 is carbon filtration, and the standard includes both point-of-entry (POE) and point-of-use (POU) products.

NSF/ANSI Standard 44:

Standard 44 establishes minimum requirements for the certification of residential cation exchange water softeners. The scope of Standard 44 includes material safety, structural integrity, accuracy of the brine system, product literature, and the reduction of hardness and the reduction of specific contaminants from a known quality water source. The most popular claims made under standard 44 are barium reduction, radium 226/228 reduction and softener performance.

NSF/ANSI Standard 53:

Standard 53 establishes minimum requirements for material safety, structural integrity, product literature, and health related contaminant reduction performance claims such as lead, cyst, and VOC reduction, among many others. The most common technology addressed by Standard 53 is carbon filtration, and the standard includes both POE and POU products. Some products fall under the scope of both Standards 42 and 53 because they claim a combination of aesthetic and health claims.

NSF/ANSI Standard 55:

Standard 55 establishes minimum requirements for the certification of ultra-violet (UV) systems. The scope of Standard 55 includes material safety, structural integrity, product literature, and UV performance. UV systems are categorized either as Class A (delivers minimum 40 mJ/cm2 UV dose and has an alarm) or Class B (delivers minimum 16 mJ/cm2). Systems may be POE or POU. Class A systems may claim to disinfect water that may be contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, viruses, Cryptosporidium, or Giardia. Class B systems may claim to reduce normally occurring nuisance microorganisms

NSF/ANSI Standard 58:

Standard 58 establishes minimum requirements for the certification of POU reverse osmosis systems. The scope of Standard 58 includes material safety, structural integrity, product literature, total dissolved solids (TDS) reduction, and additional contaminant reduction claims. These additional contaminant reduction claims may include cyst reduction, barium reduction, radium 226/228 reduction, copper reduction, hexavalent and trivalent chromium reduction, arsenic reduction, nitrate/nitrite reduction, cadmium and lead reduction.

NSF/ANSI Standard 62:

Standard 62 establishes minimum requirements for the certification of POU and POE distillation systems. The scope of Standard 62 includes material safety, structural integrity, product literature, total dissolved solids (TDS) reduction, and additional contaminant reduction claims.

NSF/ANSI Standard 177:

Standard 177 establishes minimum requirements for the certification of residential shower filter systems. The scope of Standard 177 includes material safety, structural integrity, product literature, and free available chlorine reduction.

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When it comes to choosing the proper water treatment system, safety is the main concern with most consumers. This ultimately affects anything that comes in contact with your drinking water and the water you bathe in. Efficiency is key when selecting the product that you will be using. When choosing a water treatment product whether it is just for chlorine reduction, or if you are choosing a water softener system, it is important that the assembled product meets NSF/ANSI requirements. Treating the water in your home is a complicated science that should not be taken lightly. The NSF has made standards to protect you, the homeowner, from companies and products that will not cut it.

Another resource to protect you, the purchaser, from a company or product that may not be suited for your application is the WQA (Water Quality Association). The Water Quality Association is a third party organization that certifies individuals and products to exacting standards that parallel or exceed the NSF/ANSI standard. The WQA can help guide you to individuals and companies that are properly trained to treat even the most difficult water in your area. These companies provide you with quality water treatment products that are properly certified and sized appropriately for your individual needs.

Well, the home show season is upon us. The Novi Home Improvement Show a couple of weekends ago was quite the reminder as to exactly how much work goes into these shows from a vendor side of things. The entire staff of Advanced Water Treatment views these shows as not only an opportunity to reconnect with current customers, meet future customers and learn from other vendors but to entertain the little ones attending the event. As Carli, Jason and I stood there in our booth blowing up hundreds of “Thunder Sticks” I think we all lost track of time. We quickly realized we were all having fun…way too much fun…just talking about water, while entertaining children and adults with our unique giveaways. I think after our cheeks were stretched out and none of us could blow up any more noise makers we all stood there and said WOW…..there were literally hundreds of kids walking around with these things. Totally worth it! At times I think we all forgot that we were there to work. Everyone was having fun. It became less about getting leads and making money, but more about helping people solve their water problems. There didn’t need to be a “lead card” attached or a hard selling pushy salesman approach…more of an olive branch to say, “We are here to help!” Today, tomorrow, next week or next year…Call us!

First off, I would like to send out a huge thank you to all of the current customers that took time out of their day to stop by and say hi and comment on how much they enjoy the work we have done for them. We had many customers from South Lyon, Hartland, Howell, and Brighton stopping by to comment on the well water treatment systems that we have done for them as far back as 25 years ago. The success of the show in my mind is truly gauged not by how many “leads” you get or how many “deals” you close, but by how many people you help. We aren’t dealing with a new deck, a pest control product or new window treatment. We are dealing with water, the one and only necessity that every living thing needs to survive. A product that not only myself, but the entire staff at Advanced Water Treatment take very seriously. We all live and bleed water treatment. I think each and every one of the people that stopped by our booth could see the passion that we put into our day there.

We had many inquiries about some of our city water products and our remineralization filters, due to the growing health issues associated with chlorine, fluoride and reverse osmosis water. Our exclusive city water softeners have been used for years on water in communities such as Fenton, Linden, and Hartland. They are growing in popularity due to water concerns in cities such as Novi, Rochester, Troy and Farmington who were thought to have had safe water up until now. A lot of these new concerns can be attributed to the difficulties that arose in Flint recently.

One question that is becoming more and more common, is whether or not reverse osmosis water is the best water for us to drink. I mean, we remove everything from the water even the good stuff like calcium and magnesium, leaving slightly acidic water to be consumed. We now have a solution for this particular concern. We utilize a remineralization cartridge after the reverse osmosis in order to add the good minerals back to the water. So, you end up with PH balanced, great tasting water. If you read a Dasani bottle of water it says “purified water enhanced with minerals”, meaning they purify the water then add minerals back to it. Don’t you truly deserve the bottled water quality out of your tap at your faucet and not an acidic replica? The banter back and forth out about R.O. water can go on for weeks. We at Advanced Water are here to provide you with a variety of options to meet your water quality goals, not to provide you with a boxed solution. Everyone’s water is different. Everyone’s taste is different. Everyone’s water consumption is different. We are wholeheartedly committed to taking all of these factors into account when helping YOU choose the best water treatment equipment possible to suit YOUR individual needs.

So, whether you are looking to treat your rusty, smelly well water….or looking to polish up your city water, rest assured, Advanced Water Treatment has the solution for whatever your needs are. We have serviced cities such as Howell, Brighton, Hartland, South Lyon, Linden, Fenton….and many more for almost 40 years and are very familiar with the variety of water chemistry around southeastern Michigan.

The entire staff at Advanced Water Treatment would like to extend a thank you to our current customers and to all of our future ones as well. We look forward to seeing each and every one of you for years to come at these shows and we appreciate your continued referrals and support!

When I am on a sales appointment, I often get asked: “when your installer shows up, what should I expect?” I feel that it is time to clarify this question and lay out exactly what I expect from my factory authorized installation crew while they are on the job, as well as what I expect from them before they leave the office for an install.

On the day of the install, you should receive a phone call from the installer or crew member letting you know when they will arrive at your home to proceed with the install. They should let you know that they will be the one in your home completing the work so that there is no question when they arrive at your home as to who they are and what they want. We will be posting an employee profile page on our website soon. This will enable you to familiarize yourself with our installers and their qualifications prior to your actual install date.

The installation crew should arrive in a clean and presentable manner, take time to explain to you the install process and give you an approximate time as to when the job will be completed. If necessary, floor coverings will be put in place at this time. Please remember, for safety reasons, that it is not always possible to put tarps on stairs. If there is a special consideration that needs to be taken on the stairs, the crew is prepared to do so in a safe manner.

Once the old equipment is disconnected, the crew will quickly remove it. They will clean the area around the old equipment as best as possible. The trucks are equipped with wet-dry vacuums to clean up the area in which they are working. The crew will take every precaution possible to ensure that the job site is left in better condition than when they arrived.

The plumbing and installation should look neat and straight. You can see some examples of the installs we have performed on our website, as well as our Facebook page. The crew member should ask if the location chosen for the equipment is acceptable. Sometimes we are limited on options as to where the equipment may be installed. However, if there are multiple options for locations, it is your decision to make.

Once the installation is complete, it is normal for the water to come out of the faucet with a strange color and/or odor due to turning the water off and back on. It is normal for there to be air in the lines and possibly have some plugged faucet screens. These can be cleaned quite easily by simply unscrewing them and rinsing them out.

After the new water treatment equipment is installed, we may leave it in a cycle, depending on the specific unit. We usually leave the iron filters in a cycle and set the softeners to regenerate that night. Generally speaking, the water may have a slightly discolored look and taste like plastic for a day or so. This is due to the fact that everything is new. I assure you that the taste will go away after the first regeneration. For the next couple days, if you have had an iron filter installed, it is normal to get a black ring in the toilet. This is just the media fines coming out of the iron filter itself. They will go away after the first few regenerations. After all of the residue is flushed out of the system, the water should be better tasting, smelling and feeling that you have ever experienced before.

This home in Howell, MI required a series of our Evolve equipment including a water softener, iron filter, and tannin unit. Not pictured, but also installed is an Ultrowater reverse osmosis drinking water system.

If for any reason you are not 100% satisfied with anything me or one of the representatives does, please feel free to contact myself at brad@awtworks.com or at the office anytime at (800) 273-9978.

Within the first month, a representative will be contacting you from Advanced Water Treatment to ensure that everything is going as expected with your new water treatment system and to address any questions that may have arisen since the installation. If there are questions, please do not hesitate to ask them. If needed, an Evolve Series certified technician will come out and go over the system with you again and check to make sure that everything is working properly. We want to be your water treatment company for life. We are here to earn your business, not take it for granted.

In the future, you can expect to hear from Advanced via a friendly phone call to make sure that your new water treatment system is providing you with the quality of water that you deserve. You never know where we may run into one of us. We love reuniting with our customers and hearing how well things are going with the equipment. I especially enjoy seeing the customers with whom we have been dealing with since I was a kid. I go into people’s homes frequently where the water softener that my dad put in in the 70’s is the oldest appliance in the home. It is an amazing feeling to know that our equipment is still there and most often the oldest thing in the home.

Advanced Water Treatment looks forward to being your water treatment company far into the future. We appreciate the confidence that you, our customers, have had in this organization for the last 38 years.

Cheers to better water, and a better quality of life!