So how many of you out there missed the switch from chlorine to chloramine for disinfection of our drinking water? I started looking into it when I happened across an article in Salon.com November of last year that spoke about the connection between increased levels of lead in the water and the switch to chloramine disinfection.
So what exactly is chloramine? Chlorine and ammonia. And why was the disinfection method of our drinking water changed? Because the chlorine by-products, called THMs (trihalomethanes), are "associated" with various types of cancer and miscarriages. (That's another way of saying that they just are not ready to admit the connection and its far-reaching health consequences.) The EPA introduced stage 1 and stage 2 of the "Disinfection Byproducts Rule" in response to those concerns.
Well, sounds good on the surface...but down in the depths of the watery details, interesting phenomena show up. The first would be increased lead levels in the water. This is caused by the chloramine leaching lead from old pipes, brass fixtures, and anywhere it can get it. This feels like a kind of pick your poison situation to me. Live with the THMs or get lead in exchange. Except we are not in charge of the decision, the EPA is.
The second consequence that has been showing up has been elastomer degradation of rubber washers, toilet flappers, backflow gaskets, washing machine gaskets, etc. There has since been a growing market in chloramine resistant products of this sort. Better to keep the people healthy even if the washers and gaskets suffer, I suppose.
All this makes good water filtration more important that ever, ideally a point of entry system to protect all the various rubberized products that could be affected by chloramine, and a filtration system that is good at removing not only lead, but ammonia, too. The chlorine and ammonia in chloramine separate, and ammonia is very difficult to filter out without a whole house GAC filtration system.
I looked up my local Casitas Municipal Water District, and sure enough, they have been using Chloramine since 2002, though the water report does not show high lead levels. The LA water district has actually been using chloramines since the 1980's, so in some areas it is not a recent change. The increased lead levels are scary, and have been popping up all over, in D.C., Massachusetts, Maine, Oregon, Michigan and Rhode Island. Perhaps those areas have a higher likelihood of having older lead pipes. These folks in San Francisco have formed an organization to educate and warn people about chloramine dangers. Sure...it improves the taste and reduces the THMs, but haven't we just traded one group of health concerns and disadvantages for another?
Comments (4)
Man, these are issues that should get out there more...people simply just dont know the dangers or risks they are taking with the water and food they drink and eat everyday. Even people who buy bottled water...I am sure they drink coffee from Starbucks most likely has tap water in it. The water in Neveda and Arizona tastes like pool water to me, I am glad that the water here in Eugene, OR is non-chlorinated, non-flouridated and comes from a nearby river which is simply filtered. Keep up the great blog.
Posted by JT | May 29, 2007 9:42 AM
Thanks for stopping by, JT. You know, bottled water is no guarantee, either - according to the NRDC (National Resources Defense Council)25% of it is tap water! I envy you your clean water source.
Posted by Wendy Stroud | May 30, 2007 12:58 AM
Wendy, i know your interest in Ecosmarte comes from that OJAI CA holistic and sustainable philosophy but in addition to the chloramines (Ecosmarte takes them to ND on an EPA signature lab test with a five year filter platform) did you know that carbon filtration alone only removes about 99 per cent of the water treatment chemical? The "clean" water side of the filter will always show one part per trillion chloraform, bromoform and several other trihalomethane water treatment chemicals. Ecosmartes liquid oxygen renders the THMS filterable yielding the ND result on the after test thru Watercheck at the National Testing Laboratories for the 70 plus Volatle Organic Chemicals. Perhaps this is why for twelve years I have taken numerous phone calls from parents of autistic children, children of Alzheimers patients and families of chemically damaged people telling me how well the people have responded to the whole house water they now receive. CA(The MTBE capital of the world) leads the marketing restrictions placed on whole house water so you will not find this information in any of our marketing material or website.
Posted by larry couture | May 31, 2007 6:46 AM
Thanks for the info, Larry (our CEO and founder).
Most people would hear the "99% removal" and think that their carbon filtration system is doing a good job...but our customer feedback shows that even that 1% seems to make a dramatic difference. And if there exists a system that will remove all of the water treatment chemicals - why wouldn't you choose it?
For our readers who are unfamiliar with water-speak: ND is "none detected" on water tests. So the oxidation part of ECOsmarte technology ensures complete removal of water treatment chemicals and by-products by rendering them filterable. Point being - carbon filtration alone is not optimal, because there's that nasty 1% still in your drinking water...and your shower...and your bath.
Posted by Wendy Stroud | May 31, 2007 10:54 AM