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Problems We Found With Fort Wayne Drinking Water

Emma Schultz @ Monday, November 27, 2017 at 10:21 am -0500

Emma Schultz, M.S. | Scientific Contributor
**Updated July 18, 2019 to include current data

For our assessment of Fort Wayne's tap and drinking water, we aggregated water quality test data from Fort Wayne City Utilities, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as from samples that we collect and analyze. We cross reference these data with toxicity studies in the scientific and medical literature, and look at upcoming regulatory changes. The water filters that we sell in Fort Wayne are optimized with these drinking water problems in mind.

Source Of Fort Wayne Drinking Water

Fort Wayne’s tap and drinking water is surface water-based and originates in the St. Joseph River. Fort Wayne operates two dams on the St. Joseph River to ensure sufficient water supply during periods of drought, with emergency reserves available from the Hurshtown Reservoir near Grabill. Water is treated and filtered at the Three Rivers Water Filtration Plant before being distributed to consumers.

Lead In Fort Wayne Drinking Water

Fort Wayne is in violation of the Lead and Copper Rule, with lead levels that exceed the federal Action Level. Lead enters into a Fort Wayne consumer’s tap and drinking water through old lead service pipes and lead-containing plumbing. According to the most recent report, the lead levels in Fort Wayne are 18.4 parts per billion, which is above the 15 part per billion Action Level. When corrosion control measures fail (such as recently happened in Flint, Michigan), lead leaches into the drinking water and can reach toxic levels. EPA, CDC, and the American Academy of Pediatrics all recognize that there is no such thing as a safe level of lead.

Chromium 6 In Fort Wayne Drinking Water

Chromium 6 is a highly toxic metal that is not regulated by the EPA. Fort Wayne’s tap water recently averaged 215 parts per trillion for chromium 6. These levels are 11 times higher than the concentration determined to have a negligible impact on cancer risk.

Disinfection Byproducts (DBPs) In Fort Wayne Drinking Water

DBPs are a category of emerging contaminants that are formed when chlorine-based disinfectants (added to the water supply to protect it) combine with naturally-occurring organic matter. Although these chemicals are not fully regulated, the EPA has explicitly stated that they are linked to an increased risk of bladder cancer, as well as kidney, liver, and central nervous system problems.

Use Of Chlorine In Fort Wayne Tap Water

Like many cities in the United States, Fort Wayne adds chlorine to the water supply to keep consumers safe from waterborne pathogens. While not considered harmful at low levels, many people find that when they remove the chlorine from their tap water, they notice an improvement in taste and odor. When you choose to filter your Fort Wayne tap water, we believe you will notice an immediate taste enhancement.

Still Have Questions About Fort Wayne’s Tap Water?

Hydroviv is a water filtration company that uses water quality data to optimize water filters for each city’s water. The chemicals that we list above are what we consider to be “points of emphasis” so we can build the best water filter for Fort Wayne tap water, but all of our water filters provide broad protection against other contaminants commonly found in drinking water (e.g. VOCs, heavy metals [including lead], pharmaceuticals, solvents, pesticides, mercury).

If you’re interested in learning more about water filters that have been optimized for Fort Wayne tap water, feel free to visit www.hydroviv.com, reach out by email (hello@hydroviv.com) or through our live chat. We also frequently post water-related news on Twitter or Facebook.

Please Share This Fort Wayne Water Quality Article On Social Media With Anyone You Think Would Benefit From The Information!

Things To Know About Warren's Drinking Water

Analies Dyjak @ Friday, December 15, 2017 at 2:36 am -0500

Kezia Snipe | Hydroviv Research Analyst

For Hydroviv’s City of Warren, MI water quality report, we aggregated water quality test data from City Of Warren Water Division, the city's water provider and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as from samples that we collect and analyze. We cross reference these data with toxicity studies in scientific and medical literature, and look at upcoming regulatory changes. The custom water filters that we offer at Hydroviv are optimized with these numbers in mind.

Source Of Warren Drinking Water

Warren's source water comes from the Detroit River, situated within Lake St. Clair, and several watersheds within the US and Canada.

Lead In Warren Drinking Water

Lead enters tap water through older lead service pipes and lead-containing plumbing. When corrosion control measures put in place by the municipality fail (like what happened in Flint), lead drains into the drinking water, and can reach dangerous levels. Currently, 10% of samples analyzed for lead in Warren is .48 parts per billion. Though Warren's city water quality is well within compliance with federal regulations, the EPA and CDC have both acknowledged that there is no safe level of lead, and federal regulations do not take into account levels measured at an individual tap.

Chromium 6 In Warren Drinking Water

Chromium 6 is an extremely toxic metal that is not currently regulated by the EPA. In recent years, Warren's city water quality averaged 110 parts per trillion. For the sake of perspective, these levels are over 5 times higher than the concentration determined to have negligible impact on cancer risk.

Disinfection Byproducts (DBPs) In Warren Drinking Water

DBPs are a category of emerging contaminants that form when chlorine-based disinfectants react with naturally-occurring organic matter. Although these chemicals are not currently regulated very well, the EPA has admitted that they are associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer, as well as kidney, liver, and central nervous system problems.

Still Have Questions About Warren Drinking Water?

Hydroviv is a water filtration company that uses water quality data to optimize water filters for each customer's water. The contaminants that we list above are what we consider to be major “points of emphasis” that we use to build water filters that are built specifically for Warren, but all of our our filters provide broad protection against a wide range of contaminants (including lead).

If you’re interested in learning more about water filters that have been optimized for Warren tap water, or just have questions about water quality in general, feel free to visit www.hydroviv.com, reach out by email (hello@hydroviv.com) or through our live chat. We also frequently post water-related news on Twitter or Facebook. We pride ourselves in being a reputable source of information on water quality, and your questions will be answered by scientists, not salespeople (we don't have any salespeople).

Please Share This City of Warren Water Quality Report On Social Media With Anyone You Think Would Benefit From The Information!

Problems We Found With Hialeah's Drinking Water

Emma Schultz @ Tuesday, December 5, 2017 at 3:22 pm -0500

Emma Schultz, M.S. | Scientific Contributor

For our Hialeah water quality report, we aggregated water quality test data from the City of Hialeah’s Department of Public Works, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as from samples that we collect and analyze. We cross reference these data with toxicity studies in the scientific and medical literature, and look at upcoming regulatory changes. The water filters that we sell in Hialeah are optimized with these issues in mind.

Source Of Hialeah Drinking Water

The city of Hialeah's drinking water is groundwater-sourced, and comes from the Biscayne and Upper Floridan Aquifers. Most of Hialeah’s water is purchased from Miami-Dade County; water pumped from the Biscayne Aquifer is treated at facilities owned and operated by Miami-Dade County before being distributed to Hialeah. The Hialeah Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Plant is jointly owned by the City of Hialeah and Miami-Dade County. Water at this plant is pumped from the Upper Floridan Aquifer.

Arsenic In Hialeah Drinking Water

Arsenic is a dangerous heavy metal known to cause cancer, among other health problems. Arsenic originates in source water. While the city of Hialeah's water is in compliance with EPA water quality standards, consumers should take note that the EPA's standard balances toxicity against the costs of removing arsenic from drinking water; the standard is therefore quite high. Hialeah’s most recent tap water quality report listed average arsenic concentrations ranging from 0.8-1.5 parts per billion for Miami-Dade County water, with an average concentration of 1.5 ppb. We strongly advocate that tap water with more than 1 part per billion be treated to remove arsenic, especially if there are children in the home.

Lead In Hialeah Drinking Water

Lead enters consumer tap water through old lead service pipes and lead-containing plumbing. When corrosion control measures fail (such as recently happened in Flint, Michigan), lead leaches into drinking water and can reach toxic levels. Recent analysis for lead in the city of Hialeah's water found a 90th percentile concentration of 2.1 ppb, with one location (out of 124 sampled) exceeding the Action Level of 15 ppb. Despite the Action Level being set at 15 ppb, both the EPA and CDC recognize that there is no such thing as a safe level of lead. In addition, federal regulations cannot possibly take into account levels measured at an individual tap.

Chromium 6 In Hialeah Drinking Water

Chromium 6 is a highly toxic metal that, while monitored, is not regulated by the EPA. The city of Hialeah’s tap water recently averaged 66 parts per trillion for chromium 6. These average levels are 3.3 times higher than the concentration determined to have a negligible impact on cancer risk.

Disinfection Byproducts (DBPs) In Hialeah Drinking Water

DBPs are a category of emerging contaminants that form when chlorine-based disinfectants react with naturally-occurring organic matter. Although these chemicals are not well regulated, the EPA has stated that they are associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer, as well as kidney, liver, and central nervous system problems. DBPs in the city of Hialeah’s tap water had a 2016 local running annual average of 43 parts per billion.

Use Of Chlorine and Chloramine In Hialeah Tap Water

Like most cities in the United States, Hialeah’s Reverse Osmosis plant adds chlorine to its water supply to keep consumers safe from waterborne pathogens. 2016 levels of chlorine, while under the Maximum Residual Disinfect Level of 4.0 ppb, averaged 3.2 ppb, close to the MRDL threshold. While not considered harmful in low concentrations, many people find that removing the chlorine from their water supply results in a taste and odor improvement.

Unlike the Hialeah RO plant, Miami-Dade County’s water is disinfected with chloramine, which is produced by mixing chlorine and ammonia. Chloramine is responsible for what many customers report as the “bad taste”of tap water, and unlike chlorine this bad taste will not fade if a container of water is left in the fridge overnight. Most one-size-fits-all water filters use filtration media that doesn’t adequately remove chloramine, but the filters that Hydroviv builds for Hialeah’s Miami-Dade water use special filtration media that is purpose-built to remove chloramine as well.

In 2016, the local running annual average for chloramines was 2.6 ppm and the upper detected range was 4.5 ppm, which is over the MRDL of 4.0 ppm. Based on previous Hialeah local running annual water averages, this is an Maximum Contaminant Level violation.

When you choose to filter your tap water for either chlorine or chloramine, especially with levels as high as those in Hialeah, we believe you will notice an immediate taste enhancement.

Still Have Questions About Hialeah’s Tap Water?

Hydroviv is a water filtration company that uses water quality data to optimize water filters for each city’s water. The chemicals that we list above are what we consider to be “points of emphasis” so we can build the best water filter for Hialeah tap water, but all of our water filters provide broad protection against other contaminants commonly found in drinking water (e.g. VOCs, heavy metals [including lead], pharmaceuticals, solvents, pesticides, mercury).

If you’re interested in learning more about water filters that have been optimized for Hialeah tap water, feel free to visit www.hydroviv.com, reach out by email (hello@hydroviv.com) or through our live chat. We also frequently post water-related news on Twitter or Facebook.

Please Share This City of Hialeah Water Quality Report On Social Media With Anyone You Think Would Benefit From The Information!

Problems We Found With Chesapeake Drinking Water

Emma Schultz @ Saturday, December 16, 2017 at 5:16 pm -0500

Emma Schultz, M.S. | Scientific Contributor

Updated June 18, 2021 to include updated data

For our Chesapeake water quality report, we aggregated water quality test data from the City of Chesapeake Department of Public Utilities, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as from samples that we collect and analyze. We cross reference these data with toxicity studies in the scientific and medical literature, and look at upcoming regulatory changes. The water filters that we sell in Chesapeake are optimized with these issues in mind.

Source Of Chesapeake Drinking Water

The city of Chesapeake’s drinking water is of mixed-source origin and comes from several locations. Chesapeake’s Northwest River Water Treatment Plant treats surface water from the Northwest River, as well as brackish groundwater from four wells. The Lake Gaston Water Treatment Plant treats raw water purchased from the city of Norfolk, and plans to treat surface water from Lake Gaston in the future. Treated water is purchased for some portions of Chesapeake from Norfolk and Portsmouth. Additional groundwater comes from the Western Branch wells, including Wells #1 and #3, and the Aquifer Storage and Recovery Well. Lastly, the private company Aqua Virginia, Inc. serves approximately 523 customers in the Norfolk Highlands neighborhood of Chesapeake.

Lead In Chesapeake Drinking Water

Lead enters into the city of Chesapeake's tap water through old lead service pipes and lead-containing plumbing. When corrosion control measures fail (such as seen in Flint, Michigan), lead leaches into drinking water and can reach hazardous levels. Recent analysis for lead in Chesapeake's water found 90th percentile concentrations of <3 parts per billion. These are not violations, since the 90th percentile concentrations are the levels used to compare with the EPA standard (with an Action Level of 15 ppb), but both the EPA and CDC recognize that there is no such thing as a safe level of lead. In addition, federal regulations cannot take into account levels measured at an individual tap.

Chromium 6 In Chesapeake Drinking Water

Chromium 6 is a highly toxic metal that, while monitored, is not regulated by the EPA. Chesapeake tap water quality from the two water treatment plants recently topped out at 90 parts per trillion for chromium 6; values ranged as high as 60 ppt for South Norfolk, and 380 ppt for those in the Western Branch area. These levels are 4.5, 3, and 19 times higher, respectively, than the concentration determined to have a negligible impact on cancer risk.

Disinfection Byproducts (DBPs) In Chesapeake Drinking Water

DBPs are a category of emerging contaminants that form when chlorine-based disinfectants react with naturally-occurring organic matter. While these chemicals are not well regulated, the EPA has stated they have an association with an increased risk of bladder cancer, as well as kidney, liver, and central nervous system problems. DBPs in Chesapeake’s tap water had highest locational running annual averages of 63 ppb for their treatment plants (with upper detected levels of 109 ppb).

Use Of Chloramine In Chesapeake Tap Water

While most cities use chlorine as their primary disinfectant, the city of Chesapeake's water (from all sources) is disinfected with chloramine, produced by mixing chlorine and ammonia. Chloramine is primarily responsible for what customers report as the “bad taste” of tap water, and unlike chlorine this taste will not fade if water is left in the fridge overnight. Most one-size-fits-all water filters use filtration media that doesn’t adequately remove chloramine, but the filters that Hydroviv builds for Chesapeake use special filtration media that is purpose-built to remove chloramine as well.

In 2016, the running annual average for chloramines was 3.24 ppm for water from the two treatment plants, and the upper detected range was 4.26 ppm, which is over the Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level of 4.0 ppm. For Norfolk water, the running annual average was 2.79 ppm (upper range of 4.4 ppm), and for Portsmouth water, the running annual average was 2.08 ppm (upper range of 4.0 ppm). It is important to note that while these upper ranges are above the MRDL, this is not a violation, as it is the running annual average values that are compared to the MRDL.

Still Have Questions About Chesapeake’s Tap Water?

Hydroviv is a water filtration company that uses water quality data to optimize water filters for each city’s water. The chemicals that we list above are what we consider to be “points of emphasis” so we can build the best water filter for Chesapeake tap water, but all of our water filters provide broad protection against other contaminants commonly found in drinking water (e.g. VOCs, heavy metals [including lead], pharmaceuticals, solvents, pesticides, mercury).

If you’re interested in learning more about water filters that have been optimized for Chesapeake tap water, feel free to visit www.hydroviv.com, reach out by email (hello@hydroviv.com) or through our live chat. We also frequently post water-related news on Twitter or Facebook.

Please Share This City of Chesapeake Water Quality Article On Social Media With Anyone You Think Would Benefit From The Information!

Problems We Found With Denver, Colorado Drinking Water

Emma Schultz @ Monday, January 22, 2018 at 1:15 pm -0500

Analies Dyjak, M.A. | Policy Nerd
**Updated May 28, 2021 to include current data

For our 2021 report of Denver water quality, we collected water quality test data from Denver Water and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. We cross reference the city’s water quality data with toxicity studies in scientific and medical literature. The water filters that we sell at Hydroviv are optimized to filter out contaminants that are found in Denver’s drinking water.

Where Does Denver Source Its Drinking Water?

Denver Water is the water utility provider for the city of Denver, which services 1.4 million residents. Denver’s drinking water is fully supplied from surface water sources. The South Platte River and its tributaries, the Dillon Reservoir, and the other tributaries above the Fraser River are the primary drinking water sources. Denver Water stores water is several mountain reservoirs, which are then sent to one of three treatment plants before being distributed into homes.

Lead in Denver’s Drinking Water

Lead enters tap water through old lead service pipes and lead-containing plumbing. 10% of taps test for lead in Denver, had concentrations over 6.7 parts. To make matters worse, houses built before 1986 were most likely built with lead plumbing and lead fixtures. EPA and CDC both recognize that there is no safe level of lead, especially for children.

Chromium 6 in Denver’s Drinking Water

Chromium 6 is a highly toxic metal that is not regulated by the EPA. The city of Denver recently detected levels of Chromium 6 above the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment public health goal of 20 parts per trillion. The levels of chromium 6 average 37.8 parts per trillion in Denver drinking water. The state of California set their own health advisory level because Chromium 6 is not regulated by the federal government. EPA has acknowledged that Chromium 6 is a known human carcinogen through inhalation, but is still determining its cancer potential through ingestion of drinking water. Lung, nasal and sinus cancers are associated with chromium 6 exposure.

Disinfection Byproducts (DBPs) In Denver’s Drinking Water

Disinfection Byproducts are a category of emerging contaminants which means they have been detected in drinking water, but the risk to human health is unknown. DBPs are formed when chlorine-based disinfectants are routinely added to the water supply to kill bacteria. EPA regulates two different types of DBPs: Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs) and Haloacetic Acids-5 (HAA5). Regulatory agencies have very little knowledge about the adverse health effects of DBPs, and their toxicity. EPA has however acknowledged their link to an increased risk of bladder cancer, as well as kidney, liver, and central nervous system problems.

Chloramine in Denver’s Tap Water

Denver's drinking water is disinfected with Chloramine, which is being more broadly used over chlorine in water treatment facilities. Chloramine is primarily responsible for what customers report as the “bad taste” of tap water, and unlike chlorine this taste will not fade if left in the fridge overnight. Most one-size-fits-all water filters use filtration media that doesn’t adequately remove chloramine, but the filters that Hydroviv builds for Denver use special filtration media that is purpose-built to remove chloramine as well.

It’s important to note that only a handful of contaminants are required to be included in annual Consumer Confidence Reports, and that there are hundreds of potentially harmful unregulated contaminants that aren’t accounted for. If you’re interested in learning more about water filters that have been optimized for Denver’s tap water feel free to visit www.hydroviv.com to talk to a Water Nerd on our live chat feature or send us an email at hello@hydroviv.com.

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The Lead And Copper Rule: What You Need To Know
Why Does My Water Taste Bad?
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