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Household Water Treatment: The Industry Perspective. Ohio Water Quality Association Webcam Presentation March 5, 2010. Joseph F. Harrison, P.E. CWS-VI Technical Director Water Quality Association 4151 Naperville Road Lisle, IL 60532 (630) 505-0160, ext. 512 jharrison@wqa.org .
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Household Water Treatment:The Industry Perspective Ohio Water Quality Association Webcam Presentation March 5, 2010 Joseph F. Harrison, P.E. CWS-VI Technical Director Water Quality Association 4151 Naperville Road Lisle, IL 60532 (630) 505-0160, ext. 512 jharrison@wqa.org
What is the Water Quality Association (WQA)? WQA is the not-for-profit trade association representing: • Corporations and companies who provide equipment and services in the • Residential, commercial, industrial and small community-noncommunity water supply treatment industry.
WQA Represents • 2500 Incorporated Companies and Corporations that: • Manufacture and Sell Household Water Treatment Equipment • Throughout All States, Canada, and the World.
The Water Quality Association: • Point-of-Use and Point-of-Entry (POU and POE) water quality improvement industry. • Visit WQA at www.wqa.org
Professional Education and Certification • Educational seminars • Home correspondence • Course books • Professional certification - - 2000+ certified professionals • Certified Water Specialists • Certified Installer • Certified Sales Representative • Certified Contractual Operator • To achieve any WQA-certified title (CWS, CI, CSR, CCO), a person must pass a rigid written exam. • All certifications are valid for 3 years. Certified personnel must recertify by obtaining continuing education credits.
Annual Convention/Exhibition • 4,000 industry attendees • 300 company exhibitors • 80 hours of technical educational presentations
Government and Public Relations Government and legislative representation Public relations Consumer education Up-to-date industry news through newsletters, bulletins, and research reports
Gold Seal testing and ANSI & SCC-accredited product certifications- Level playing field independent third-party alternative option to NSF International certifications - 300 companies and 4,000 water products maintain their required certifications to the NSF/ANSI Standards though the ANSI- and SCC- accredited WQA Gold Seal Certification ProgramTechnical and scientific information Water Quality Association
WQA promotes independent research through its support of the Water Quality Research Foundation.
WQA2009 Issues and Projects • WQRF Research Projects • Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water • Septic Tanks • Physical Water Treatment • California Water Softener Legislation • California Lead-Free Law
“Household Water Heating Efficiency Improvements from Softened Water” by Battelle Memorial Institute. “Investigation of the Enhancement of Performance of Laundry Detergents, Dishwashing Detergents, and Fabric Softeners by the Use of Soft Water” by Scientific Services S/D. Inc, Sparrow Bush, NY
Battelle Research Objective: Demonstrate residential water softeners to be one of the very best energy savers in households
US Household Energy Usage Source: www.energystar.gov Water heaters: Second highest energy consuming area of a home.
Battelle Study Scope • Heating Efficiency Improvements from Softened Water in Household Water Heaters • Gas Fired Storage Type • Electric Storage Type • Tankless Water Heaters • Heater Maintenance and Repair Differences Between Hard and Softened Water • Longevity and Maintenance of Fixtures and Appliances • Low Flow Showerheads • Low Flow Faucets • Clothes Washers • Dishwashers • Calculate Carbon Footprint of a Typical Household Using Softened Water Versus One That Uses Hard Water
Battelle Study Procedure • Accelerated scale test to represent 12 years of water heater and water using appliance/fixtures usage operations in households. • 10 units of each type (5 on hard water - ~25 grains per gallon and 1.5 ppm iron, and 5 on softened water - ~0 grains per gallon and 0.0 ppm iron) to give 95% confidence in results. • Weekly thermal efficiencies calculated with monitoring data from: • Water temperatures and flows • Gas usage and BTU content and variations • Watt-hour measurements of electricity consumptions
Battelle Research Showerhead ComparisonsSoft Water Hard Water
Scientific Services S/D, Inc. Research Study Objective: Show laundry and dishwashing enhancements by use of soft water
Scientific Services Laundry Experiments • 3 Water hardnesses • 0, 15, and 30 grains per gallon. • 9 Stains • Blood, catsup, ground-in-clay, coffee, dust-sebum (ring-around-the-collar), grass, lipstick, red wine, and baby food. • 4+ Detergents • Tide liquid, Tide powder with bleach powder, All Small and Mighty, and HE detergents in a front loading HE washing machine. • 3 Detergent levels • 100%, 75%, and 50 % of recommended dose • 3 Water temperatures • 68 0F, 90 0F, and 110 0F.
Scientific Services Dishwashing Experiments • 3 Water hardnesses • 0, 15, and 30 grains per gallon • 8 Hard-to-remove soils • Baked on egg yolk, baked on macaroni and cheese, corn starch slurry dried, spinach slurry baked on, baked on milk residue, cooked cereal, tea, and baked on brownie mix paste. • 5 Detergents • Cascade powder, Cascade liquid, Electrasol, Ecover powder, Palmolive liquid (non-phosphate detergent). • 3 Detergent dosages • Trial 1: fill small cup only (30 grams), fill large cup only (50 grams), fill both cups (80 grams) • Trial 2: 5 grams, 11 grams, 17 grams • Measure via ASTM Standard scoring • Spotting • Filming • Cleaning
Scientific ServicesFabric Softness and Static Tests • Evaluation of fabric softness and static via accepted ASTM standards • 3 Water hardnesses • 0, 15, and 30 grains per gallon • Detergents • Tide liquid, Tide liquid plus liquid Downey Fabric Softener, Tide with Touch of Downey, and no detergent at 0 and 30 gpg of water hardness. • Terry towels are conditioned at controlled humidity and panelists rank towels by feel after many replicates to provide statistical significance to the relative results.
Associated Press Investigation Reported On March 9, 2008 Pharmaceutical, Endocrine Disrupting, Personal Care Products Found in Drinking Water of 41 Million Americans Antibiotics Anti-Convulsants Caffeine Mood Stabilizers Sex Hormones Tranquilizers Birth Control Pills Chemo Therapy Agents Etc.
Do They Matter? No Known Effects 1,000,000 to 10,000,000 times lower than therapeutic doses. Consumption of amounts in drinking water for an entire lifetime is still many times lower than even one clinically prescribed dose. First reported in US waters by the EPA in 1975.
Parts Per Trillion (ppt) Are Very Low More of these today is not due to greater contamination, but a reflection of the increasingly sensitive laboratory analytical technology. A part per trillion is equivalent to ½ of an inch in the distance between the earth and the moon, or one second in 750 years. Soon science will breach the parts per quadrillion and even lower levels where perhaps a bit of almost anything will be found almost everywhere.
On The Other Hand: One part per trillion (ppt) can still amount to millions of contaminant molecules in each drop of water. A part per quadrillion can have thousands of contaminant molecules per drop of water. (A drop of water contains about 10 million trillion molecules.)
Consumers Are Concerned The Words Are Scary. Drinking your neighbors drugs. Anti-seizure medications, hormone therapies, mood stabilizers, pesticides, etc. Our Bodies May Suffer From Smaller Amounts Delivered Continuously. Chemotherapy drugs can act as a powerful poison. Hormones can hamper reproduction and development. Depression and epilepsy medicines can damage the brain and behavior. Antibiotics can allow humane germs to grow into more dangerous forms. We Hear About Low Sperm Counts, Earlier Age Puberty, Increased Testicular Cancer, Breast Cancer, More Diabetes, Sex Changes In Affected Fish, Etc?
What Do We Know About Drinking Water Treatment? • Reverse osmosis and nano-filtration removed all the drugs tested by the Colorado School Of Mines in one study at full-scale facilities in Arizona and California in 2002. • Activated carbon, ozonation, and advanced oxidation with hydroxyl radicals also have been shown effective in studies for many of the compounds. • The Orange County California Ground Water Replenishment Project treats 70 million gallons per day of treated sewer water with microfiltration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet light with hydrogen peroxide (hydroxyl radical) disinfection. No EDCs, PCPs, or pharmaceuticals have been found to get through to the reuse ground water/drinking water.
WQA and WQA Members Participate to Develop and Write NSF/ANSI Standards NSF Task Group On EDCs, Pharmaceuticals & Personal Care Products In Drinking Water Over 20 Experts From Manufacturing, Regulatory, and Academic Communities Select A Subset Of Representative Compounds. Consider Types Of Treatment Technologies (e.g., RO, Carbon, Ozone) For Development of Test Protocols For Substantiating Claims
NSF EDC, Pharmaceruticals & PCP Task Group Goals Identify Target Contaminants. Identify Analytical Methods For Reliable, Low Level Detection and Measurement. Determine Contaminant Levels Present In Drinking Water For Establishment Of Influent Challenge Levels. Develop Criteria For Selecting Maximum Allowable Effluent Concentrations.
NSF Task Group Deliberations Dilemma Between Questions Being Raised About The Significance Of Any Health Effects And Consumer Desires To Have Safe Water That Is Free Of Any Contaminants To Drink? What If There Are No Health Effects For These Part Per Trillion Exposures To Pharmaceuticals In Drinking Water? The Task Group Will Deliberate Should We Have Certified Performance Claims For Contaminant Reduction Based On Consumer Desires Where There Are No Health Effects?
On-Site Waste Treatment (Septic) The septic “tank” is just a pre-treatment… The real treatment takes place in the leach field… GASES FROM HOUSE SCUM TO LEACH FIELD SLUDGE
Example of Alleged Concerns About Water Softener Discharges: Onsite system not designed for additional flow. Salts/TDS might kill microbes in the treatment tank. Brine alters the density in the settling tank causing solids to lift and carry over from the tank. Salt causes concrete in the tank to degrade. Sodium will swell clays in the drain field and prevent perking.
Fact or Speculation? • Onsite system not designed for additional flow. • Water softener wastes are lower in volume and rate of addition than waste from many automatic washers. • Salts/TDS might kill microbes in the treatment tank. • Bacteria divide and grow most rapidly and virulently at osmotic potential associated with about 17,000 mg/liter NaCl. • Brine alters the density in the settling tank causing solids to lift and carry over from the tank. • Maximum concentration of chlorides found in Creekwood Subdivision pilot study of operating septic tanks was 781 mg/liter chlorides (1300 mg/liter NaCl) for DIR softener discharges and 4814 mg/liter chlorides (7900 mg/liter NaCl) for TC softeners. • Salt causes concrete in the tank to degrade. • Concrete stands up well in sea water pillars and in cement brine tanks. • Sodium will swell clays in the drain field and prevent perking. • Calcium and magnesium divalent cations in the water softener waste discharge add permeability and counteract the effects of sodium on clay soils.
Preponderance of Evidence As Seen From WQA’s Perspective • The water treatment industry does not see grassroots evidence from home owner customers of water treatment equipment causing waste system problems. • 1 million household water softeners have been sold each year since the 1950’s. • A water softener life is about 10 years • Estimate at least 30% of softeners on well water households and with private onsite wastewater systems. • 3 million water softeners discharging for 40 years and more to onsite wastewater systems without apparent problems.
