What’s in Your Water???? See What the EPA, CDC and other agencies say is Acceptable….

There are so many different Agencies that are all involved with the Regulations for making water Drinkable. As I was doing my research I was directed from the EPA to the CDC and many other places to find what is acceptable to be used in the production of creating Clean Drinking water (EPA – Clean Water – CWA and the Safe Drinking Water Act – SDWA).  Below I have placed some of my research findings: (If you would like me to research your area…. Leave me a message!)

CDC Publications for chemicals used to Purify Drinking Water says the following:

Community Water Treatment

Drinking water supplies in the United States are among the safest in the world. However, even in the U.S., drinking water sources can become contaminated, causing sickness and disease from waterborne germs, such as Cryptosporidium, E. coli, Hepatitis A, Giardia intestinalis, and other pathogens.

Drinking water sources are subject to contamination and require appropriate treatment to remove disease-causing agents. Public drinking water systems use various methods of water treatment to provide safe drinking water for their communities. Today, the most common steps in water treatment used by community water systems (mainly surface water treatment) include:

Figure illustrating the water treatment cycle, showing coagulation, sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection

Figure courtesy of EPA

  • Coagulation and FlocculationCoagulation and flocculation are often the first steps in water treatment. Chemicals with a positive charge are added to the water. The positive charge of these chemicals neutralizes the negative charge of dirt and other dissolved particles in the water. When this occurs, the particles bind with the chemicals and form larger particles, called floc.
  • SedimentationDuring sedimentation, floc settles to the bottom of the water supply, due to its weight. This settling process is called sedimentation.
  • FiltrationOnce the floc has settled to the bottom of the water supply, the clear water on top will pass through filters of varying compositions (sand, gravel, and charcoal) and pore sizes, in order to remove dissolved particles, such as dust, parasites, bacteria, viruses, and chemicals.
  • DisinfectionAfter the water has been filtered, a disinfectant (for example, chlorine, chloramine) may be added in order to kill any remaining parasites, bacteria, and viruses, and to protect the water from germs when it is piped to homes and businesses.
Learn more about water disinfection with chloramine and chlorine on theDisinfection page. 

Water may be treated differently in different communities depending on the quality of the water that enters the treatment plant. Typically, surface water requires more treatment and filtration than ground water because lakes, rivers, and streams contain more sediment and pollutants and are more likely to be contaminated than ground water.

Some water supplies may also contain disinfections by-products, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals, and radionuclides. Specialized methods for controlling formation or removing them can also be part of water treatment. To learn more about the different treatments for drinking water, see the National Drinking Water Clearinghouse’s Fact Sheet Series on Drinking Water Treatments.

To learn more about the steps that are taken to make our water safe to drink, visit the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Public Drinking Water Systems webpage. To learn more about the 90+ contaminants EPA regulates and why, visit EPA’s Drinking Water Contaminantspage.

Water Fluoridation

Community water fluoridation prevents tooth decay safely and effectively. Water fluoridation has been named one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century 1. For more information on the fluoridation process and to find details on your water system’s fluoridation, visit CDC’s Community Water Fluoridation page.

Click Here for my source page!

Then, I clicked on the Fact Sheet Series on Drinking Water Treatments.  Once on that page, Click on the “Disinfection” and you will see the “Comparing Disinfectants” Here are just a few of them:

#1

Chlorination (Gas) At normal pressures, elemental chlorine is a toxic, yellow-green gas, and is liquid at high pressures.

ADVANTAGES Chlorine is very effective for removing almost all microbial pathogens and is appropriate as both a primary and secondary disinfectant.

LIMITATIONS Chlorine is a dangerous gas that is lethal at concentrations as low as 0.1 percent air by volume.

PROCESS Chlorine gas is released from a liquid chlorine cylinder by a pressure reducing and flow control valve operating at a pressure less than atmospheric. The gas is led to an injector in the water supply pipe where highly pressurized water is passed through a venturi orifice creating a vacuum that draws the chlorine into the water stream. Adequate mixing and contact time must be provided after injection to ensure complete disinfection of pathogens. It may be necessary to control the pH of the water.

EQUIPMENT A basic system consists of a chlorine cylinder, a cylinder-mounted chlorine gas vacuum regulator, a chlorine gas injector, and a contact tank or pipe. (See Diagram A on page 4.) Prudence and/or state regulations would require that a second cylinder and gas regulator be provided with a changeover valve to ensure continuity of disinfection. Additional safety and control features may be required. A gas chlorinator should be installed in a room or chamber with direct emergency access to outside air and fitted with an exhaust fan ventilation system. Federal and state safety regulations must be observed. If not onsite, selfcontained breathing apparatus and a chlorine cylinder repair kit should be available within a reasonable time frame and/or distance.

CHEMICALS Chlorine gas is supplied as liquid in high pressure cylinders.

#2

Chlorination (Sodium hypochlorite solution) Sodium hypochlorite is available as a solution in concentrations of 5 to 15 percent chlorine, but is more expensive than chlorine gas (as available chlorine).

ADVANTAGES Sodium hypochlorite is easier to handle than gaseous chlorine or calcium hypochlorite.

LIMITATIONS Sodium hypochlorite is very corrosive and should be stored with care and kept away from equipment that can be damaged by corrosion. Hypochlorite solutions decompose and should not be stored for more than one month. It must be stored in a cool, dark, dry area.

PROCESS Sodium hypochlorite solution is diluted with water in a mixing/holding tank. The diluted solution is injected by a chemical pump into the water supply pipe at a controlled rate. Adequate mixing and contact time must be provided.

EQUIPMENT A basic liquid chlorination system, or hypochlorinator, includes two metering pumps (one serving as a standby), a solution tank, a diffuser (to inject the solution into the water), and tubing.

CHEMICALS Sodium hypochlorite solution is readily available. Sodium hypochlorite can also be generated onsite by electrolysis of sodium chloride solution in specialized proprietary equipment. The only supplies required are common salt and electricity. Hydrogen is given off as a by-product and must be safely dispersed.

#3

Chlorination (Solid calcium hypochlorite) Calcium hypochlorite is a white solid that contains 65 percent available chlorine and dissolves easily in water.

ADVANTAGES When packaged, calcium hypochlorite is very stable, allowing a year’s supply to be bought at one time.

LIMITATIONS Calcium hypochlorite is a corrosive material with a strong odor that requires proper handling. It must be kept away from organic materials such as wood, cloth, and petroleum products. Reactions between calcium hypochlorite and organic material can generate enough heat to cause a fire or explosion. Calcium hypochlorite readily absorbs moisture, forming chlorine gas. Therefore, shipping containers must be emptied completely or carefully resealed.

PROCESS Calcium hypochlorite may be dissolved in a mixing/holding tank and injected in the same manner as sodium hypochlorite. Alternatively, where the pressure can be lowered to atmospheric, such as at a storage tank, tablets of hypochlorite can be directly dissolved in the free flowing water by a proprietary device that provides flow-proportional chlorination with gravity feed of the tablets.

EQUIPMENT The equipment used to mix the solution and inject it into the water is the same as that for sodium hypochlorite. Solutions of 1 or 2 percent available chlorine can be delivered by a diaphragm-type, chemical feed/ metering pump or by tablet chlorinator.

CHEMICALS Calcium hypochlorite can be purchased in granular, powdered, or tablet form.

PAGE OF FOUR All chlorine added to drinking water must meet American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and NSF International, formerly the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) standards. ANSI/NSF Standard 60: Drinking Water Chemicals—Health Effects covers water treatment chemicals

To See All the Rest of the Chemicals for Disinfectants, Click Here!

My First and then Final Stop was at the EPA where the keep you going in circles to try to find out any information. So, I finally found something that I felt was of interest. On this site I couldn’t copy and paste anything so CLICK HERE and then go down to the bottom of the page and it has a form “SDWA Categorization Worksheet” and look at it…. Check out the “Check all Treatment Processes That Apply”….makes me wonder….

Does this Matter to You????  It truly makes me wonder why all of these Caustic Chemicals supposedly make our water drinkable… but is it safe?? It may be cleansed of all microorganisms that can cause diseases in Humans but….. What about the effects of the Chemicals ingested over long periods of time…..Hmmmm food for thought.. or should I say Water for thought…. 

Posted in What's in Your Water.