What is a Water Environment
Most cities do an excellent job ensuring reliable, clean, and safe water is delivered to their customers. We have tested the water in many distribution service zones (and every corner of each zone)within the state of Utah. In most cases, the results of this testing confirm that the water supplied by the municipalities meets all EPA and State requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act and that it is delivered to the residents as “balanced” (i.e., not too corrosive or overly scaling).
Through our testing, we have discovered that every home and building has its own, unique water environment. Each contains a combination of plumbing materials, appliances, water conditioners, and other factors that can present a unique and specific water treatment challenge (your water environment). Some buildings may have only PEX (plastic), copper, or galvanized plumbing, but most have a combination of these materials. As water flows through the various materials of the plumbing, appliances and fixtures, its chemistry can be altered in ways that are distinctive. Further changes to the water quality could occur as attempts to improve it are made in a variety of ways including filters, water heaters, softeners, RO filter systems and/or combinations thereof. Depending upon a complex set of factors, as it flows through the plumbing, water wants to balance. It achieves that balance by either leaching metals from the materials it encounters (corrosion) or by depositing minerals (scaling).
To predict how a building’s Water Environment is maintaining its balance requires a specific set of chemical tests at various points within the building. Water test kits or probes for hardness, pH and TDS[total dissolved solids] have been used by skillful plumbers; but additional, often complex, tests and parameters are necessary to accurately and precisely determine how the water quality is being altered. Previously, these additional tests were impractical as they were only available through expensive, off-site water testing laboratories. Often, when incomplete testing is utilized, water conditioning products are recommended that could result in unbalanced water, creating an unpleasant taste, scale, and corrosion issues.
Did you know that the water quality can change from faucet to faucet?
A study recently completed by Andrew J.Whelton (Associate Professor of Civil, Environmental and Ecological Engineering at Purdue University) has identified “surprising differences in the water quality from different taps in the same home [or building]”. In a webinar sponsored by the Water Quality Association in July of 2020 titled “WaterQuality Variances in Multiple Locations of a Home” Mr. Whelton discussed the finding from his report. Full report link
Retego has tested water in many homes and in every case, the issues with taste and odor have been isolated to either faulty equipment, piping, or poor combinations of improperly configured water treatment/softener appliances, plumbing materials and/or improper maintenance.
We welcome the opportunity to show you how you can obtain the best results by developing your homes’ Water Quality Management Plan to ensure that your systems are properly configured and balanced. Click HERE for more information.
