Facts about Water
A good place to start when considering which water filtration system is the right choice for you is to learn about what is factual with regards to the water supply coming to your home.
FACTS regarding Disinfection by Products (DBP’s)
The town water supply coming from our reservoirs has to be treated with chlorine which is added in either a liquid, tablet or gas. Chlorine has been added to water since the early 1800’s, it is necessary to ensure that the water coming to your tap does not contain water borne disease such as cholera.
The issue is that by adding chlorine to the pipeline coming to your home, it comes into contact with organic matter such as decaying vegetation, chlorine reacts with the organic matter to form toxic chemical disinfection by products (DBP’s).
The fact is that chlorine in itself in diluted form is not a major risk to your health, it is the DBP’s that are potentially harmful to your health! Currently levels of DBP’s are monitored to ensure that they are within guidelines set out by National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), it is important to note that there are many DPB’s in the water and nobody is entirely sure what effect this chemical cocktail has on our long term health, this information below form the USA is quite sobering.
President Obama’s Cancer Panel is a three-person body made up of distinguished scientists or physicians. It reports to President Obama on the development and execution of the National Cancer Program. The panel’s report, titled “Reducing Environmental Cancer Risks: What We Can Do Now” states, “Filtering home tap or well water can decrease exposure to numerous known or suspected carcinogens and endocrine-disrupting chemicals.” The report goes on to highlight the added importance of protecting children. “To the extent possible, parents and child care providers should choose house products that will minimize children’s exposure to toxics.”
The DBP’s that are of a particular concern are Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) and Trihalomethanes (THM’s).
Harmful VOCs are typically not acutely toxic, but instead have compounding long-term health effects. Because the concentrations are usually low and the symptoms slow to develop, research into VOCs and their effects is difficult.
THM’s are environmental pollutants and many of them are considered to be carcinogenic.
All of our water filtration systems will remove VOC’s.
FACTS regarding Lead
Up until 1989, lead solder was used to join the pipes in Australian homes. The water running through the pipes can leech out this lead and over a period of years this lead can be ingested by the consumer (YOU).
A study conducted by Dr Brian Gulson, in 1992 in the Sydney suburbs of Turramurra, Burwood, and Epping and in Broken Hill in the far west of New South Wales, revealed that the lead levels in first flush tap water in many cases exceeded the acceptable level.
Further studies conducted in Perth (WA) in 1993 on cold water from kitchen taps have indicated that 5% of samples were above the acceptable lead level as defined by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
Water Authorities in Australia have begun to add Ammonia to the water supply which forms monochloramines (chloramines) this has lead to corrosion of copper pipe work in the USA and when mixed with fluoride this also speeds up the process of lead leeching into the potable water supply.
Not all carbon filters will remove lead, we have several systems which effectively remove lead and chloramines from the water.
FACTS regarding Cryptosporidium and Giardia
Cryptosporidiosis is typically an acute, short-term infection, but can become severe and non-resolving in children or people with a low immune system. Giardiasis is an infection of the small intestine caused by a tiny parasite called Giardia lamblia.
Cryptosporidium cannot be removed from the water by current disinfection processes.
Both microorganisms are generally found in our drinking water catchment areas after heavy rain fall due to “run off” They live in the stomachs of infected warm-blooded animals and can be introduced into the water supply by animal droppings being washed into the dams. NSW Health states:
“not all filters remove or inactivate harmfulmicroorganisms. If a filter is used it should be certified against an appropriate standard (such as AS/NZS 4348 or ANSI/NSF 53). An absolute 1 micron (or smaller) filter is necessary to remove Cryptosporidium and Giardia”.
FACTS regarding Fluoride
Fluoride has been added to the water supply in all Australian Capital Cities except Brisbane for decades.
Arthritis Australia has endorsed water fluoridation, stating that “Arthritis Australia is in favour of water fluoridation. There is no reputable scientific evidence that water fluoridation causes or worsens symptoms of arthritis”.
Water fluoridation has been endorsed by Osteoporosis Australia.
It is a myth that Europe has banned fluoridation of water.
Cancer rates in the rest of Australia (mostly fluoridated for decades) are no higher than in Queensland (largely non-fluoridated).
We know that this is an emotive subject and that there are many arguments for and against having fluoride in the water supply, it is probably something that should be left up to the consumer to decide however as it is already in the Australian water supply and it isn’t going to be removed any time soon we offer a cost effective way to remove Fluoride from your drinking water.The following Nations previously fluoridated their water, but stopped the practice, the years that they carried out fluoridation are in brackets.
Federal Republic of Germany (1952–1971)
Sweden (1952–1971)
Netherlands (1953–1976)
Czechoslovakia (1955–1990)
German Democratic Republic (1959–1990)
Soviet Union (1960–1990)
Finland (1959–1993)
Fluoride Removal Systems
FACTS regarding Bacteria
Yes bacteria can exist in the water coming to your home, E. coli bacteria was first detected in the drinking supply for the Kariong (NSW) area on the 3rd of February 2012, however a boiled water alert was not issued until the afternoon of February 6.