Drinking water quality has a direct impact on our well-being since 70% of our body consists of H2O. Water plays a vital role in virtually all bodily functions; especially in:
* Detoxifying the body
* Lubricating joints of the skeletal system
* Supporting the digestive system
* Regulating body temperature
* Delivering nutrients and oxygen to cells
Are we unknowingly drinking contaminated water? Contaminated water doesn’t always look murky. In fact, many contaminants lurk within seemingly crystal-clear water.
Did you know that consuming water containing these contaminants may have various adverse health effects?
Bacteria - diarrhoea, dysentery, cramps, fever
Viruses - hepatitis, pneumonia, vomiting
Pesticides - damage the liver, heart, stomach
Asbestos - cancer
Sodium - exacerbate high blood pressure
Arsenic - nervous system damage, cancer
Radium - bone cancer
Trihalomethanes - cancer
Contaminants are often broken into different categories, or types, as seen below:
1. Biological contaminants include "living organisms" such as bacteria, virus, cysts, etc. These are responsible for millions of deaths each year.
2. Organic contaminants include pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, pharmaceuticals, etc. and are found in water all over the world. They can cause, among other things, endocrine system disruption, cancer and death.
3. Inorganic contaminants include dissolved solids such as nitrates, nitrites, asbestos, calcium, magnesium, etc. plus dissolved metals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium, copper, etc.
4. Chlorine/Disinfection By-Products, also known as DBPs, include such things as Trihalomethanes and Bromides. Dozens of these compounds have been recently identified and are considered carcinogenic.
5. Aesthetic contaminants are those considered to be non-health threatening, in and of themselves, and include things like taste, odour, colour, etc.
Water Treatments
1. Reverse Osmosis (R.O)
R.O is a common treatment technology that produces high quality water. Pressure forces water against a semi-permeable membrane to purify water at a molecular level. R.O typically incorporates a sediment filter and an activated carbon filter, which removes chlorine and reduces volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
R.O is effective against virtually all health and aesthetic contaminants. According to a recent investigative report by Associated Press, R.O is one technology that removes virtually all pharmaceutical contaminants, which are among the most dangerous and stubborn contaminants today. Its high water purity is the reason why it is used throughout the food and beverage industries. R.O. membranes can differ in quality. The use of pumps in an R.O. system can increase the water pressure, thus helping the system to achieve the maximum efficiency. The virtual porosity of a good R.O membrane/system is as small as 0.0001 microns.
Reverse osmosis removes:
* Biological contaminants such as Bacteria, Parasites and Viruses
* Organic contaminants such as Herbicides, Pesticides and Pharmaceuticals/Medication
* Inorganic contaminants such as Dirt, Sediment, Asbestos, Nitrates and Nitrites
* Total Dissolved Solids such as Calcium, Fluoride, Magnesium and Sodium
* Heavy Metals such as Arsenic, Copper, Lead and Cadmium
* Radioactive Ions like Radium and Strontium
* Disinfection By-Products such as Trihalomethanes
2. Boiling
Bringing water to a boil for at least 10 minutes is an effective method to kill most types of disease-causing organisms that often cause diarrhoea, fatigue, cramps and nausea when ingested. Although that does not remove them from your drinking water, it does kill them and ensure that they will not cause illnesses.
However, boiling water does not purify it as it does not provide any safeguard against other contaminants that enter our water supply, for instance heavy metals, pesticides or even lead from your piping system. Boiling water also has no effect on turbidity (cloudy water), foul tastes and odours. Water that has been boiled often tastes flat.
Boiling water kills:
* Most Biological contaminants such as Bacteria, Viruses and Parasites
Unless it is used in combination with other water treatment methods, boiling water does not kill/remove:
* Some Biological contaminants such as Cryptosporidium
* Organic contaminants such as Herbicides, Pesticides and Pharmaceuticals/Medication
* Inorganic contaminants such as Dirt, Sediment, Asbestos, Nitrates and Nitrites
* Total Dissolved Solids such as Calcium, Fluoride, Magnesium and Sodium
* Heavy Metals such as Arsenic, Copper, Lead and Cadmium
* Radioactive Ions like Radium and Strontium
* Disinfection By-Products such as Trihalomethanes
3. Activated Carbon
Activated carbon can come in granular or solid block form. Also known as GAC, this form of carbon has been processed to make it extremely porous with a very large surface area for ‘collecting’ organic molecules on its surface. Due to its high degree of micro-porosity, just one gram of quality activated carbon can have a surface area of approximately 2 tennis courts.
This is an inexpensive and well-established technology for the reduction of a wide range of aesthetic contaminants, and is quite effective in the reduction of some health contaminants, for example volatile organic compounds like benzene and other petroleum-based contaminants. However, it does not bind well to alcohol, strong acids, metals and most inorganic materials like iron and lead.
Activated carbon removes:
* Most Organic contaminants such as Herbicides and Pesticides
* Some Inorganic contaminants such as Dirt and Sediment
* Disinfection By-Products such as Trihalomethanes
It does not remove:
* Most Biological contaminants such as Viruses and Bacteria
* Inorganic contaminants such as Asbestos, Nitrates and Nitrites
* Some Organic contaminants such as Pharmaceutical Drugs/Medication
* Total Dissolved Solids such as Calcium, Fluoride, Magnesium and Sodium
* Heavy Metals such as Arsenic, Copper, Lead and Cadmium
* Radioactive Ions like Radium and Strontium
4. Ultraviolet Light
UV light can disrupt the DNA of micro-organisms like bacteria and viruses, thus inactivating them. Therefore they cannot reproduce.
One downside of UV is that if dust or film coats the UV bulb or if micro-organisms ‘hide’ behind other larger contaminants, the straight-moving UV light is blocked, rendering it ineffective. UV is also ineffective against non-biological contaminants like lead, arsenic, chemical residues and pharmaceutical drugs. That’s why it should always be pared with other types of filtration, such as a sediment filter and a carbon filter. UV systems require careful maintenance.
Ultraviolet light is effective against:
* Biological contaminants such as Bacteria, Parasites and Viruses
Unless used in combination with other water treatment methods, a UV light system is not effective against:
* Organic contaminants such as Herbicides, Pesticides and Pharmaceutical Drugs/Medication
* Inorganic contaminants such as Dirt, Sediment, Asbestos, Nitrates and Nitrites
* Total Dissolved Solids such as Calcium, Fluoride, Magnesium and Sodium
* Heavy Metals such as Arsenic, Copper, Lead and Cadmium
* Radioactive Ions like Radium and Strontium
* Disinfection By-Products such as Trihalomethanes
5. Ozone
An ozone generator converts some of the oxygen found in air to O3, or ozone. Ozone-saturated bubbles mix with water and one weak oxygen atom in each O3 molecule attaches to organic molecules in water and oxidizes them in a way similar to chlorination.
Ozone is effective for treating pathogens like coliform bacteria and legionella, but it is not effective against hard-shelled cysts like Cryptosporidium or Giardia lamblia without using high contact times and concentrations. As ozone is primarily effective against biological contaminants, it should always be paired with a carbon-based, sand-based or other media based filtration system to remove other types of contaminants.
Ozone destroys:
* Most Biological contaminants such as Bacteria, Parasites and Viruses
Unless used in combination with other water treatment methods, an ozone system is not effective against:
* Some Biological contaminants such as Hard-shelled Cysts
* Certain Organic contaminants such as Herbicides, Pesticides and Pharmaceutical Drugs/Medication
* Inorganic contaminants such as Dirt, Sediment, Asbestos, Nitrates and Nitrites
* Total Dissolved Solids such as Calcium, Fluoride, Magnesium and Sodium
* Heavy Metals such as Arsenic, Copper, Lead and Cadmium
* Radioactive Ions like Radium and Strontium
* Disinfection By-Products such as Trihalomethanes
6. Distillation
Distillation produces high quality treated water by heating the water until it turns to steam. The steam travels through a condensation coil, where it is cooled and condensed back into liquid form. The condensed water in the second section is usually substantially free of contaminants.
Distillation provides a high degree of effectiveness against a broad range of health contaminants but it is ineffective against Volatile Organic Contaminants (VOC) such as benzene and radon, which give off harmful vapors that can move through the system with the steam. The high energy requirements, relatively long production time and the need to use strong chemicals to clean the heating coils may also be discouraging factors.
Distillation removes:
* Biological contaminants such as Bacteria, Parasites and Viruses
* Inorganic contaminants such as Dirt, Sediment, Asbestos, Nitrates and Nitrites
* Total Dissolved Solids such as Calcium, Fluoride, Magnesium and Sodium
* Heavy Metals such as Arsenic, Copper, Lead and Cadmium
* Radioactive Ions like Radium and Strontium
It does not remove:
* Organic contaminants such as Herbicides, Pesticides and Pharmaceutical Drugs/Medication
* Disinfection By-Products such as Trihalomethanes
7. Filtration
Filtration operates to physically remove contaminants, thus their effectiveness depends greatly on the micron size of the filters.
a) Method: Particle Filtration (from 1 micron to 100 micron)
Cartridge-type filtration is used to remove sediment through the usage of a filter material:
* Pleated impregnated cellulose (20 micron) - removes dirt, rust, scale and fine silt
* Pleated synthetic fabric (from 1.0 to 100 micron) - removes clay, fine silt and scale particles
* String-wound fiber (from 0.5 to 100 micron)- can remove coarse undissolved particulates to fine particulates depending on its micron size
* Bonded filter - can remove different particulates depending on fine, medium or coarse micron rating
b) Method: Microfiltration (from 0.2 to 5 micron)
Microfiltration uses a filter media to physically prevent biological contamination like protozoan cysts and bacteria (but does not remove viruses) from passing through. Ceramic and solid block carbon are commonly used to provide microfiltration.
Ceramic filters can often be cleaned and reused a few times before they lose effectiveness while carbon block media usually has to be disposed of after each use. However, carbon block provides additional treatment for certain health-related and aesthetic contaminants (see activated carbon section).
Please see ‘Contaminant Size Diagram’ to view what contaminants these filters can remove (depending on their micron size).
8. Alkaline-Ion
Also known as water ionizers, microwater machines or restructured water machines, these are mainly electrolysis machines. During electrolysis, water is separated into alkaline acid fractions by exploiting the electric charge of the calcium and magnesium ions present in nearly all sources of drinking water.
Some parties have claimed that drinking alkaline water will help to maintain body fluid at the optimal pH, thus providing many health benefits. However, this has not been scientifically proven. In fact, it has been said that the pH of drinking water has little to no effect on body fluid pH as it will be neutralized by the highly acidic pH of our gastric fluid in the stomach. Water that is sufficiently alkaline so as to significantly affect gastric pH is unlikely to be considered potable and may even interfere with digestion.
An Alkaline-Ion system does not remove any contaminants. Removal of contaminants depends solely on the quality of its pre-filter(s).
It does not remove:
* Biological contaminants such as Bacteria, Parasites and Viruses
* Organic contaminants such as Herbicides, Pesticides and Pharmaceutical Drugs/Medication
* Inorganic contaminants such as Dirt, Sediment, Asbestos, Nitrates and Nitrites
* Total Dissolved Solids such as Calcium, Fluoride, Magnesium and Sodium
* Heavy Metals such as Arsenic, Copper, Lead and Cadmium
* Radioactive Ions like Radium and Strontium
* Disinfection By-Products such as Trihalomethanes