Safe clean water for drinking and cleaning is our most precious resource. For many of us, water is provided by our municipal water company through a series of piping and distribution systems. Water may come from an aquifer beneath the surface or it may come from reservoirs from far away. Some homeowners may be fortunate enough to have their own well and supply their own water. Here on Long Island our water comes from the Aquifers below. New York City receives its water from the reservoirs from upstate New York. Unfortunately, our water is contaminated to some extent with nitrates, pesticides, herbicides, E.Coli, sediments, rust, and debris. The water companies do a good job removing most if not all, however our water is “treated” and each homeowner should have a water filtration system to protect themselves from these contaminants in case treatments fail.
I recommend several different types of filtration systems to have on your home. Each type of filtration system provides different levels of protection and containment removal and many are inexpensive to install and maintain.
- On the main water line as it enters your home I recommend installing a sediment filter to remove rust, sediment, debris, etc. this will help protect your faucets and porcelain throughout the house. In case of a water main break or some other catastrophic problem with the water system supply, a sediment filter (5 micron) will help protect the home water distribution system. A sediment filter will also protect and provide longer life to your more expensive filtration system for drinking/washing/bathing water. I like Aqua Pure Systems. You can learn more about their different filtering systems at aquapurefilters.com.
You can also view this article by Rodales Organic life which outlines some of their favorite systems. - For the kitchen sink, I recommend an activated charcoal filter system. This type of filter removes pesticides, herbicides, chlorine, and lead. This filter can be mounted under the sink and should be used for drinking and cooking water. These filters typically last 6 months to a year depending on the size of the family and they work great. A good quality manufacturer for Long Island purification is Multi Pure.
- Almost all water is treated with chlorine which is a known carcinogen and very unhealthy. It is used to kill bacteria and is very effective. Fortunately chlorine is a gas and if you filled a pitcher of water and let it sit for an hour or more the gas will escape from the water and leave it safer to drink. Chlorine in the shower or bath is a different problem and there are now activated charcoals products that you can purchase that can easily be installed on the shower head or bath tub spout that will remove this containment.
- Reverse Osmosis systems work great however they are expensive; take up a lot of room (if installed under a kitchen sink) and waste a lot of energy and water to produce pure water.
- Minerals in water are good, however if you have too much calcium or magnesium in your water – considered “hard water” then this too will have to be treated using “salts” to combine with these positively charge ions and removed. Water on Long Island is not considered “hard water”.
- Sprinkler systems operate best when water is free of sediment and rust so a sediment filter is recommend if a problem occurs.
- A good organization to learn more about your water is the National Sanitation Foundation and can be found at nsf.org. Also, I recommend contacting your water district, visiting their office and or website. Water districts continually monitor their water and have test results available for your review.
- I recommend a high quality water filtration system and bottle your own water. Purchasing bottle water is expensive and very damaging to the environment and to you!
Rain Rich is experienced and qualified to install these systems into your home. If you would like a free consultation then please call me at 631-423-2211, email us at irrigationspecialist@rainrich.com or click here to fill in this form.
