Article for: private well owner, spring user, city water customer, regulated water supply, water utility customer, homeowner, landlord, tenant, drinking water
The Flint water crisis reportedly started in 2014 and ended in 2019, but in reality the “crisis” started prior to 2014 and probably has not ended. Why? The problem with corrosion within the water system and individual’s homes clearly started prior to 2014 and the customers and users within the system were not aware of the short-comings in their drinking water quality, the need for corrosion control, need to replace service laterals, plumbing within their homes, the need to be proactive in protecting your personal and families’ health, lack of public outreach and education, and not knowing the wrong signs of a corrosion problem The main purpose of this article is to help identify the warning signs of a potential corrosion problem with your drinking water. The signs of a corrosion problem come in many forms, but it is important for the user to take responsibility for keeping their eyes open. Corrosion of our drinking water supplies is a very common water quality and public health issue that is related to not only the raw water quality, level of pretreatment, status of the community distribution system, the internal plumbing for a building, the usage and management of water within the building, and the fixtures used within the system. This sounds overwhelming, but there are clear warning signs you may have a problems.
The most common signs of a problem with corrosion included the following:
Staining of porcelain fixtures, such as sinks, drains, or tubs that appear green, blue-green, and reddish brown.
Coatings on aeration devices that appears greenish-gray or bluish green and particles on the screen of the aerator that appear green, bluish-green, greenish-gray, reddish-brown, yellow-brown, or even bluish-gray.
Discoloration of water piping near solder joints and/or pin-hole leaks in piping and the premature failure of water appliances and water heaters.
Old piping in a home that may include lead pipes or piping that was installed using high lead solder, such as lead service lines and galvanized piping.
The first flush of the water from the tap may have a bitter taste.
What is the age of your home, when was the house last remodeled, and the piping in your home?
YOUR household plumbing may be the cause for lead in your drinking water. In older homes, lead was used to make the piping and/or solder. In homes, built prior to 1930’s water pipes were primarily made from lead. These pipes can be identified because the piping tends to have a dull gray color, can be scratched with a key, and a magnet will not stick to the piping. In buildings built between the 1930’s and early 1980’s, copper pipes were often used, but the solder contained elevated levels of lead. The primary source of the lead includes the use of lead pipes, lead lined tanks, and use of 50/50 lead/tin solder. Because of the concern with lead, the EPA banned the use of high lead solders in 1986.
In the 1950’s and 1960’s galvanized water lines was utilized in new home construction. Currently, this type of piping is not widely used, but it is more commonly used with well water applications. This piping is steel piping that has a zinc coating to reduce the tendency for the piping to corrode. When this pipe corrodes, the pipe rust from the inside of the pipe and then works outward. When this occurs, the water may produce intermittent discolored water that tends to be brown, yellow, or reddish brown, and the piping will likely clog with rust and most likely collapse over time. This does not mean that a newer home is safe from lead contamination; in fact, the available data suggests that buildings less than 5 years old can have high levels of lead.
In fact, buildings built prior to 1986 likely contain some lead plumbing. Prior to 2014, the legal definition for “lead free” was plumbing fixtures with a lead content of less than 8 %. In 2014, the term was redefined to include only fixtures with a lead content of 0.25% and newly installed fixtures must use the “lead free” materials, but this did not apply to fixtures currently in use.
What You Can Do to Protect Yourself and Your Family?
After getting this information, you should do the following:
Inspect your plumbing system for signs or evidence of a corrosion problem and low cost lead screening testing (water) or (paint,dust, soil).
Take note of the visual and aesthetic signs of a corrosive water problem.
Get Your Drinking Water Tested and the Results Reviewed by a Professional. At a minimum, we recommend the “Corrosion Check” Water Test Kit.
Act to improve your drinking water quality by reporting problems to your local water authority for public water supplies or if your water comes from a private water source take the necessary action to reduce the risk to the health of yourself and your family and to reduce the potential costs associated with the premature failure and/or invalidating the warranty of water related appliances, water leaks and associated damage, and/or the additional operational costs associated with inefficiencies associated with clogged or corroded piping/equipment.
Update fixtures and piping and consider the use of point-of-use filters or a whole-house water treatment system. Before installing a water treatment system, please get a comprehensive water quality test (City Water) or (Well Water).
Our Motto is ” Learn / Diagnose / Test “
Learn – learn about your source and system.
Diagnose – determine the warning signs or symptoms of a problem and get the water tested and problem diagnosed.
Test – implement an approach to mitigate the problem and test to make sure the problem is corrected.
Source: Oram, Brian; “Lead In Drinking Water – Is There Lead In My City Drinking Water ?”, Water Research Center / Know Your H20 Program, 2020.
Violations At NJ Utilities Enumerated In New Report
By Sara Jerome, @sarmje
“A new analysis of New Jersey drinking water reveals widespread challenges.“More than 1.5 million New Jerseyans are served by a utility that has been cited for excessive contaminants since April 2014, when the Flint water crisis was revealed, according to an analysis of U.S. EPA data by USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey,” The Asbury Park Press reported. “The data shows that water utilities in the Garden State have racked up at least 226 contamination violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act since Flint became synonymous with tainted tap water and put other water systems under a spotlight,” the report continued. The report shows the state’s water challenges extend even beyond Newark, which is undergoing a major lead crisis.”
“City officials in Newark said they learned in October that lead water contamination wasn’t just affecting a dozen homes, but was a “widespread problem,” potentially impacting as many as 40,000 residents. But, a newly-released email shows officials were warned at least seven months earlier — months they spent insisting the water was “absolutely safe to drink,” and assuring residents that the issue was confined to a small number of homes.
Beginning in April of this year, through messages on its website and in public statements, the city blamed old infrastructure for elevated lead levels in tap water samples. New court records in an ongoing federal lawsuit over the city’s lead problem, however, show a consultant pointed to another cause: Newark’s water treatment at one of its plants no longer appeared to work — an early sign that the issue could be widespread.
CDM Smith, the consultant hired by Newark to study how the city was treating its water, submitted its draft report in October but shared its initial findings with three officials as early as February, records show.
In a Feb. 22 email to the city’s top water department officials — including then-director Andrea Hall Adebowale and then-deputy director Kareem Adeem — the consultant said a preliminary review showed Newark’s method of preventing lead from corroding off old plumbing and dissolving into the distribution system “has not been effective.””
Identifing and fixing system wide water distribution problems related to corrsion is not fast or easy.
Part of the problem may be your own household plumbing, fixtures, and service lines – have a plumber check your piping.
In my opinion, it is the user that will first notice a problem. These problems could be identified as a blue-green coating of aerators, blue green water, a metallic taste, and in the extreme corrosion and leaky pipes.
Check your home for lead paint and dust hazards.
We strongly recommend all water users to due the following:
“In 1654, Rembrandt painted a woman, in Amsterdam, bathing in a stream. As she lifts her nightdress above her knees and treads deeper, the woman is stepping from one world into another. Among art historians, the transition she is making is metaphorical. But to a biologist, it is also ecological.
We imagine water to be clean, and we imagine clean to mean lifeless, and yet all the water you have ever bathed in, swum through, or drunk has been full of life, from bacteria to tiny crustaceans. So, too, the pipes in which it travels. As water passes through pipes in general and showerheads in particular, a thick biofilm builds up. Biofilm is a fancy word that scientists use to avoid saying “gunk.” It is made by individuals of one or more species of bacteria working together to protect themselves from hostile conditions—including the flow of water, which constantly threatens to wash them away—via their own excretions.”
This is a very timely article – we work with a lot of private water systems, public water supply systems, and businesses that have a biofilm problem and to be honest I have had this problem in my home (s) that were serviced by both city water and well water.
First Step – Learn
Biofilms and Bacteria – bacteria does not normally grow free-living in the drinking water, but attached to the piping or surfaces within the system as a biofilm. This microbiological community can include a variety of organism that may be aerobic (like or need oxygen), anaerobic (low oxygen), or facultative(in the middle). The bacterial coating may be clear or discolored, create odors, contain trace metals, or promote microbiologically induced corrosion. The bacteria can impact the quality of the drinking water and the integrity of the distribution system. When people test city or well water, they normally only test for total coliform bacteria and may be E. coli., but that is not enough.
Second – Diagnose
The next step is to diagnose, but diagnose is really using a combination of observations and testing to determine if there may be a problem or concer.
We recommend the following:
Visually inspect the plumbing – look in the back of the toilet tank is the wall discolored, if discolored does it feel slimy, look in the bathroom do you see films or coating on showerheads or other surfaces. If you have any clear tubing, does the tubing have any observable films or coatings. If you have a particle filter, does it feel slimy.
Are there any odors or strange smells to the water.
If the water sits, does it have a floating metallic sheen on the surface.
Have you been experiencing problems with discolored water that is black, brown, or even greenish blue?
Flush the water heating tank – what do you see?
If you observe a film or coating, you may have a biofilm problem.
If the bacteria is pink, this may be Serratia marcescens. This is typically an airborne bacteria and we suggest that you wash the services with an anti-microbiological cleaner, monitor and control the humidity of the room, regularly clean the surfaces, wipe down showers after use, and keep the ventilation fan running for at least 20 minutes.
The next question is do you have any health issues?
If health issues are gastrointestinal and you have slime coatings – We recommend testing for total coliform, E. coli., and slime forming bacteria, and standard plate count.
If you do not have health issues, but have slime coatings with discolored water, we would recommend total coliform, iron related bacteria, slime forming bacteria, and standard plate count.
If you major health issues that include respiratory issues with or without gastrointestinal issues we recommend total coliform, E. Coli, and Waterborne Pathogen Panel.
Third Step – Test/ Monitor
Testing can include a variety of measures that include:
Learn the latest tools and online resources, to help manage home energy costs and shop for electricity. Save money by learning how your home uses and loses energy. Explore an overview of the benefits and limitations of renewable and nonrenewable fueled systems, including mini-split heat pumps and on-demand hot water systems. What is the latest and greatest heating technology? What do you buy if your hot water tank fails?
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Presenters include PPL Electric Utilities’s Regional Affairs Director Alana Roberts, and Michael Touey, Key Accounts Manager, also Larry Reeger, Green Building Associate Professor at SUNY Sullivan.
Have you read your warranty on that $ 1500.00 appliance, GUESS WHAT? If your drinking water quality is not appropriate your warranty may be invalid. The same goes for the water heater, other heat exchange devices, dishwashers, clothes washers, and other water related appliances. At the Eastern Regional Water Quality Conference in September 2017, I meet Kris Toomey from LH Brubaker Water Conditioning. He told me a bit about his business.
“Appliances and water treatment go hand in hand. The benefits of soft water for appliances are plentiful. It is a perfect marriage between providing an appliance that improves the quality of life for a family and offering water treatment equipment to ensure the long-term reliability of the state-of-the-art appliances and at the same time providing a barrier to protect the family. Providing the appropriate water quality treatment of the household water is like offering an additional “insurance policy” for the house, family, and the appliance. Not only are you protecting their investment, but you are helping with soap savings, skin and hair benefits as well as protecting the plumbing system, water heater, and plumbing fixtures. In many cases, this action is necessary to protect the warranty on the new equipment. There is no better feeling than ensuring that the family walking through your door making an investment in their home is given the right information to ensure the reliability of the appliances. Every fridge that leaves the store has an opportunity for an RO system to provide the highest available purified water option and this additional barrier protects not only the appliance, but also the family.”
For example: Depending on the hardness of your drinking water, the concentration of the total hardness or hard water or the corrosiveness of the water may void or invalidate the manufacturers warranty, the HOME Warranty, and any extended warranty of your water related appliances, such as: dishwasher, refrigerator, washing machine or water heater due to its corrosive nature. A typical water heater warranty, for example, could state that the heater is covered for anywhere between 6 -12 years. If you actually read the warranty, it may actually list specific water quality parameters that should not be exceed or conditions, such as scale formation due to water quality or corrosive water conditions. Therefore, if you buying a water appliance from a business that does not recommend getting your water tested and you are on a private well or on city water that has occasional problems, you should ask about the terms of the warranty and get your drinking water tested. At a minimum, the Know Your H20 Team recommends the installation of a whole house particle filter (Well Water or City Water (basic approach / advanced approach)) to protect home water appliance from corrosion related to the presence of particles in the water that could damage piping.
“The local water quality is one of the factors that contributes most significantly to the long-term performance and longevity of water heating equipment. Specifically, highly alkaline water will lead to the accumulation of scale, which will impact the efficiency of tankless and gas storage water heaters and can lead to decreased equipment life.”
and
“Hard water cut that efficiency by 48% due to scale build up and shortened the life of the heating elements. In some test instances, tankless water heaters failed after 1.6 years of use.” (Source)
Even though 60% of the human body is water, water is a resource that is often taken for granted. The primary concerns with water relate to having adequate quantity of the proper quality. In terms of hydration, drinking water is probably one of the best ways to keep your body healthy. Water is used in your body to help maintain your temperature and ensures the proper operation of your circulatory, digestive, and neurological systems. Water is one of the pathways that potential contaminants and disease causing agents can enter the body, so the quality is also important. Therefore, we need drinking water of adequate quantity of the proper quality.
When the body is not properly hydrated, our body’s response is to make us feel thirsty, but if you miss this clue watch out for dry mouth, swollen tongue, weakness, dizziness, confusion, palpitations, and fainting. If over hydrated, you can become water intoxicated or hyperhydration. If hyperhydration occurs, the kidneys can not process all the water and the system becomes overwhelmed. There are phone apps and other tools to help you to remember to drink enough water, but our general recommendation is if you feel thirsty it is time to get a drink and given a choice pick water.
Water comes in many forms, which can include premium bottled water, tap water, spring water, carbonated water, soda, coffee, tap water, nutrient infused water, juices, and purified water. Of all these, it is my professional opinion that we just need to drink water. The two most common sources of drinking water for a community is either public water or a private water source. A public water source is always regulated by both the federal and state governments and many may call this city water or tapwater, but well or spring water may be from a public or private source. If you get your water directly from a well or spring, this is a private source and this is not commonly regulated.
If you get your water from city water, the most common health concerns are related to the presence of chlorine-by-products or corrosive by-product in the United States, the public water supply systems are disinfected using various forms of chlorine and phosphate is added to attempt to control corrosion. The chlorine is used to disinfect the water, but it can react with naturally occurring organics to form trihalomethanes, i.e., a potential carcinogen; while phosphate will react with the metals in the water to form a scale or coating on the inside of the piping, see “Flint, Michigan”. If you are on well water, the most common problems are the presence of bacteria and elevated levels of salts in the water, like nitrate, chloride, and sulfate, or corrosive water. In some cases, the water may contain elevated levels of radionuclides and trace metals, like arsenic, iron, lead, and manganese. The quality of the drinking water depends on type of water, location, level of treatment, the condition of your plumbing, and your home or house. In some areas, the community is concerned about pipelines and natural gas development, but a hidden problem may be the existing quality of their drinking water.
For citizens, our general recommendations related to drinking water are:
1. City Water Customers– Review any annual “Consumer Confident Reports” produced by your water supplier and act accordingly.
2. Private Water Sources -Get your water tested, at least annually, and have the results review by an expert (our Mail order program) or maybe conduct a in-home screening test yourself and calculate your Water Quality Rank.
3. Look out for potential problems with your drinking water, based on what you can see, taste, smell, or otherwise detect with your senses or problems that may be caused by the water.
4. Review our Drinking Water Diagnostic Web Application.
A few short phrases we should try to remember.
We ALL Live Downstream !
Groundwater and Surface water are Connected!
We are Part of the Water Cycle – Not just an Observer!
We Launched Two – New Phone Apps and they are Available for IOS and Android Platforms
Know Your H20? – Know Your H2O? is an educational tool that can help you diagnose the problem with your water. This app will lead you through a series of questions to pinpoint the issues with your water. You can reach your diagnosis through describing symptoms that are effecting your home, your health, or the water itself. This App is linked to the Water Research Portal.
Baseline Water Testing (Pennsylvania) – The PA Baseline Testing mobile app is an educational tool for residents of Pennsylvania who are impacted by Oil & Gas Development or Subsurface Coal Development. By selecting which factor impacts your region, you can discover various recommendations and tiers of water testing that can help bring you piece of mind about the safety of your drinking water. Got Data? You can also submit your own testing data and results to help continue to build the PA Clean Water Team’s database.
The program helps you to identify the existing and historic environmental hazards in your community.
We are working with a national environmental database search company to offer a report to help you understand your home or your future homes environmental health status within a community.
We are doing this by taking a snapshot of the current and historic environmental concerns and hazards in the community and a review of select criminal activity.
Featured Activities or Issues: Old Landfills, Leaky Fuel Tanks, Hazardous Waste Sites, Department of Defense Facilities, Superfund Sites, Radiological Sources, Clandestine Drug Labs, Floodplains and Wetlands and more.
Happy New Year, I would like to propose we make one additional commitment this year. This commitment is to care about the water we drink as we try to remember how we impact or influence the quality and quantity of the water resources. Although it is the beginning of a new year (wishing you GOOD Luck in 2017!), for the water cycle the new year started in October. This is the time of the year when the aquifer begins to recharge. Many people are unaware that the aquifer must recharge, it is not infinite. In Pennsylvania and the Northeastern United States, we are blessed with having abundant water resources, but something we should not take for granted. In 2016, we had an interesting election year that brought up many concerns. Also in the news, came a reminder of the limitlessness of the water. A number of regions of Pennsylvania were put on a drought advisory and many small streams, springs, and even a few shallow wells dried up, i.e., no water. With 2016 in the rear-view mirror, I would like to suggest a few small steps to help move us forward in a positive direction. These steps are as follows:
Learn about how and where you get your drinking water – Does your water come from a private source or city water supply source?
If the water is from a private well- When did you have the water tested? For parts of Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey, it is not uncommon for about 40 to 50% of private wells to have a problem that may make the user or a guest sick.
If you are on a city water source- Have you ever looked at the Annual Confidence Report about the quality of your drinking water? The most common problem with community water sources is elevated levels of trace metals like lead and chlorine by-products like trihalomethanes, i.e., suspected carcinogens. For information on water testing, please visit water-research.net.
Are you using your water wisely? There are ways to use our drinking water resources more efficiently. A website titled, wateruseitwisely.com, offers over 100 tips on how to best use water. My favorite tip is “Turn off the water while you brush your teeth and save up to 4 gallons a minute. That’s up to 200 gallons a week for a family of four”. There are over 4 million households in Pennsylvania, this one lifestyle change could save 41.6 billion gallons of water. This is only one change!
Our surface water and groundwater are connected, and “we all live downstream”. This phrase means that how we use the groundwater resources directly impacts the surface water resources and we all are interconnected. Therefore, when using cleaning products, chemicals, or managing a waste we all live downstream from someone else. For example, the biggest source of man influenced global oil pollution is not massive spills or leaks. Only 8% of man influenced oil pollution comes from pipelines and major releases. The biggest sources are the small leaks from our boats, cars, and other means of transportation and the improper disposal of waste oil by individuals.
Know Your H20? – it is important to know how you can influence the quality of the water resources, but it is also important to know the historic hazards in your community that may be contributing to a problem. With this in mind, it is important to learn about the historic hazards in your community and surrounding your home. The Keystone Clean Water Team offers neighborhood or community hazard survey reports for communities within the Unities States. The 501 c3 offers a few free reports each month. To get more information about this program, please visit – https://www.knowyourh2o.com.
The best way to start off the New Year is not with a significant lifestyle change, but baby steps. Make a few basic commitments and make small changes that will help you and your family save and conserve water, check the quality of your drinking water, learn about the hazards in your community, and perhaps implement 1 item each month that will save and conserve water. It is important to remember that the less water you use, the more money stays in your pocket.
A few short phrases we should try to remember.
We ALL Live Downstream !
Groundwater and Surface water are Connected!
We are Part of the Water Cycle – Not just an Observer!
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