Water Quality / Drinking Water

[2chatter]

So...Erin Brockovich has been on our water district recently to make changes - not a good sign, right? I’ve done a tone of reading and essentially, they are doing a chlorine burn off which is resulting in high chlorine, chloramine and chromium 6 levels. People are getting pool-level tests on tap water in my neighborhood.

So TTMA any filtration systems you have/use - shower, house, taps, countertop, pitchers. I always drink tap water and DD drinks 130 ounces/day so we need to figure this out and the discussion online locally is too overwhelming. Ideas for how DD carries that much water to school?

I ordered one Pelican filter for our shower but we have two more showers. Hoping it helps my hair be less dry - it’s currently out of control.

[k3am]

We aren't on city water and have incredibly hard water here. Really bad.

We bought a whole home water softener that has a charcoal filter for purification. It's the best tasting water. You can drink our shower water. (It's a Kinetico. It's basically the Ferari of water softeners).

For your DD, you can buy a water bottle that has a Britta filter built in. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004GN8RDY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

ETA: We love our Kinetico so much that we refused to leave it for the new buyers. Our contract specifically states that they can have all the appliances but we keep the water softener. 

[freezorburn]

You can also find hydration packs, or just the reservoirs, that you can put in any bag. Camelbak is probably the best known, but some retailers are not carrying them anymore because of their parent company links them to a gun mfr. REI has a few other options.

[covergirl82]

We also have serious water issues where I live (Scotchguard chemicals from a local company that dumped in the river that flows through town as well as other dump sites where houses are now...PFOA and PFAS are the chemicals)...and Erin Brokovich has visited here recently too. So far my house/street has not been identified as being in the "danger zone," but I'm following it closely and considering having a water filter installed.

From what I have learned, charcoal filtration, as k3am mentioned, is the best. You can do a whole-house filtration, or single-point-of-use (i.e., under the sink). Charcoal filters do have to be replaced, and I assume the frequency depends on how often it is used and/or how much bad stuff is getting trapped in the filter.

[2chatter]

The challenge with water is DD cannot carry a backpack after she arrives at school. She won’t ask for accommodation as she doesn’t want to be the weird kid with the water pack. With as much as she drinks though it might make sense to have her hang it in her locker and refill during the day. I don’t think she has room - but maybe a teacher would keep it in
their room for her. I’ll present that idea to her - she has a Camelback so that part would be easy!

[mommyatty]

She could get the water bottle with a built in filter. There are tons at REI for campers who need to drink river water. Or the Britta one, which you can get at Target. Then she can just use the water fountain.

[2chatter]

Just ordered Brita bottles for all three kids - they don’t filter chloramine, but none of the bottles appear to be RO, so at least they filter chlorine.

[2chatter]

Update - this is our water from three different taps. The downstairs faucet in the bathroom - where the kids can reach to fill their water bottles - is a ten for chlorine. I wouldn’t let them swim in that.

[k3am]

2chatter, honestly with water you're that concerned about, I'd call a water company and let them come out, test your water, and recommend the best system for you. I'm willing to spend money to have the best quality water I can get considering how big of a role it plays in your life.

[mommyatty]

2chatter, WOW! Does your water smell of chlorine?

[2chatter]

It does smell of chlorine. Right now it smells more like bleach. We are slowly outfitting the house with filters - but I need to talk to DD’s doctor and call the Mayo Clinic nurse line - RO filters remove minerals that might help her autonomic dysfunction; charcoal filters leave chloramine and chromium 6 - it’s overwhelming.

[mommyatty]

2chatter- I just talked to one of my coworkers, who handles water systems for our company. He said the issue isn’t the choramine, which is counteracted with ozone treatment. It’s that they are doing a routine chorine flush right now, which will be over March 26. He also lives in one of the affected cities. (I don’t.) So, it’s gross but short-lived.

[2chatter]

It’s an annual thing here, apparently, and lasts one month each time. And I’m not convinced that they don’t amp up the chlorine other times — it smells like this more than once a year, but I thought I was being weird about it. They don’t test during the one month burnoff, but due to public outcry, just said they will schedule their first test. I’m a little disappointed in myself as my second major was environmental studies and my internship was with LCRA. I was being a lemming...

[phdmomma]

2chatter, typically you need to pressurize the water to force it through RO, which is why you dont see it on water bottles, whereas for a charcoal filter gravity or drinking through the bottle will do it. In RO you are filtering out anything larger than 0.1 nanometers, which is why you need to force the water through itty bitty holes. In a charcoal or activated carbon filter the carbon has a bunch of little holes that increases the surface area of the carbon for the chemicals to adsorp to, and get out of the water.

Did the water utility let you know about the chlorine flush?

[2chatter]

They did - but have always insisted that it is entirely safe. And it may be. But their contention is that levels remain in the acceptable range, and neighbors have tested and had their water tested and got similar results to mine - which isn’t even acceptable for swimming.

I watched the city council meeting and both the water district and the city are testing the water despite their contention that they have no reason to believe there is an issue. So that’s something.

I made my coffee with bottled water and it tasted SO much better!