Water Quality InformationWritten By Actual Experts

Analies Dyjak  |  Policy Nerd

For Hydroviv’s assessment of Chattanooga, Tennessee’s drinking water quality, we collected water quality test data from the city’s Consumer Confidence Report and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. We cross referenced Chattanooga’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 Chattanooga’s drinking water.

Where Does Chattanooga Source Its Drinking Water?

Chattanooga sources its drinking water primarily from the Tennessee River. Water is treated at the Tennessee American Water Citico Water Treatment Plant before being distributed to the 177,000 residents of Chattanooga.

Disinfection Byproducts In Chattanooga’s Drinking Water

In recent years, Chattanooga has had a major problem with disinfection byproducts or DBPs. DBPs form when the chlorine-based disinfectants that are routinely added the water supply, react with organic matter. DBPs are split into two categories; Haloacetic Acids-5 (HAA5) and Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs). Concentrations of TTHMs averaged 70 parts per billion, but were detected as high as 89.1 parts per billion in Chattanooga water. HAA5 concentrations averaged 41.8 parts per billion and reached levels as high as 51.4 parts per billion. For a bit of perspective, the EPA set a Maximum Contaminant Level of 60 parts per billion for HAA5 and 80 parts per billion for TTHMs. While Chattanooga's water quality is technically still in compliance, these levels are definitely high. 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. Regulatory agencies have very little knowledge about the adverse health effects of DBPs, and their toxicity.

Lead In Chattanooga’s Drinking Water

Lead enters tap water through old lead service pipes and lead-containing plumbing. 10% of sites that were tested for lead had concentrations over 2 parts per billion. Environmental Protection Agency, Center for Disease Control, and American Academy of Pediatrics all recognize that there is no safe level of lead for children. However, this years lead levels in Chattanooga are relatively low compared to other major municipalities in the US.

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 Chattanooga’s tap water quality, 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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Analies Ross-Dyjak  |  Water Nerd
**Updated March 24, 2020 to include new chlorine switch dates

Our Water Nerds have received a ton of questions about a noticeable change in the taste and smell of Washington DC's tap water. While we've heard lots of interesting hypotheses, what's really happening is that the Washington Aqueduct (where DC Water purchases water from) has recently switched over its disinfectants from chloramine to chlorine, for an annual "spring cleaning" of the distribution lines. DC residents can expect funky-tasting water from March 23-May 4, 2020.

How Are Chloramine and Chlorine Different?

We answer this question in much more detail in a different post, but here's the skinny on chlorine in drinking water: Like a growing number of US cities, Washington, DC uses chloramine as the primary disinfectant for a couple of reasons:

1. Chloramine persists longer in the distribution system, so it does a better job killing bacteria in areas of the water distribution system that are near the end of the pipes, or don't have as high of flow as other areas.

2. It forms fewer disinfection byproducts in the presence of organic matter.

3. Chloramine-treated water doesn't have as strong of a taste as chlorine-treated water.

While these are all great reasons to use chloramine, most cities that use chloramine undergo a more aggressive disinfection cycle for a few weeks each year (aka "Spring Cleaning"). 

What Are The Impacts of Switching to Chlorine?

People often find that the water tastes and smells like pool water during the disinfectant switch, in addition to your bathroom smelling like swimming pool's locker room after showering. If you want to fix this problem... you have a couple of options that don't involve bottled water (horrible for the environment and less regulated than tap water!).

1. Get a water filter that's designed to handle it (and lead, chromium 6, VOCs...)!

2.  If you let chlorinated tap water sit in a pitcher overnight, a good amount of the chlorine taste and smell will go away. However, many people find that the water tastes "stale" when this happens (from the less volatile disinfection byproducts).

When Will Washington, DC's Water Switch Back Over to Chloramine?

The "Spring Cleaning" period is scheduled to take place from March 23 until May 4, 2020. After May 4, the water utility provider will switch the disinfectant back over to chloramine. Until then... non-Hydroviv users will just have to hold their noses!

Other Great Articles We Think You'll Love:
Tap Water Chlorination: The Good, The Bad, The Unknown
What Are Disinfection Byproducts and Why Should I Care?
Fluoride in Municipal Tap Water: What You Need To Know

Anya Alvarez  |  Contributor

Sports is big business in the United States. Most recently it was valued as a $60.5 billion industry in 2014 and is expected to reach $73.5 billion by 2019.

Due to its growth, water usage and water quality solutions are becoming a growing interest to sports leagues.

As one can imagine, the use of water at sports facilities is particularly high. But a new report shows the different ways sport venues can promote water conservation in the industry.

Currently, over 240 million spectators attend games annually, with the total square footage of the facilities expanding over hundreds of millions. By implementing water saving initiatives, sport venues can save an exponential sum of money. For instance, the University of Minnesota saved $412,000 through the implementation of water and energy conservation measures. From 2006-2011, the Seattle Mariners saved approximately $1.5 million in utility costs, this included reducing water usage by 25 percent and MetLife Stadium installed water-efficient plumbing, also reducing their annual water usage by 25%.

Golf courses are also becoming more proactive in reducing water usage. In California alone, golf courses account for the highest water usage in non-agricultural businesses, at over 100 billion gallons a year. However, more courses in California are using recycled water and leaving zones of unused fairway unwatered. Before California’s governor Jerry Brown implemented mandatory water restrictions, due to the state’s drought, golf courses had put themselves on a “water diet,” aiming to use less than 20% of water than usual.

But while the sport industry is trying to lessen their environmental impact, there is another issue to address: water quality solutions for water-sports.

Recently, Florida’s agency in charge of protecting the state’s water, implemented new measures that imposed limits on 39 additional toxins and updated their limits allowed on 43 other chemicals dumped into Florida’s rivers, streams and coastal waters. They are also allowing at least 10 new chemicals to be discharged into water.

Environmentalists felt these new regulations were unsatisfactory and actually believe water quality in Florida will be further harmed, stating, “higher levels of carcinogens and chemicals that can disrupt natural hormones to [will] discharged into Florida waters.” As stated before in Hydroviv’s previous blog post, even if toxic levels are regulated in water, it should still be considered toxic.

Trash in ocean waters is another issue that plagues water sports enthusiasts. Andrea Neal, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Blue Ocean Sciences, is working to make oceans a safer place for swimmers, divers, and fishers. Plastics, paper and other debris, ranging from microscopic toxins to everyday garbage, pose life-threatening hazards to human and marine life.

Other grassroots movements are not waiting for local governments to clean up the oceans, taking it upon themselves to remove trash. In Oregon alone, semi-annual walking beach clean ups over the last thirty years, have collected 2.8 million pounds of trash, mostly comprised of cigarette butts, fishing ropes, and plastic bottles.

For river sports, like kayaking and canoeing, water quality is also an issue. Project AWARE in Iowa travels around the state rivers cleaning up the the trash themselves, ensuring that people who enjoy the water for recreational sports will not be exposed to anything harmful.

And with the growth of water sports, like paddle boarding, whose market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 15.05% during the period 2016-2020, safer and clean water will be even more crucial.

“It takes love and commitment, patience and persistence to keep cleaning up habitats,” says Wallace J. Nichols, Ph.D., co-founder of four grassroots water advocacy groups. “Clean water is important though, to sustain fit life on the planet.”

With that in mind, since the sports industry will continue to grow across all spectrums, it will be necessary for it to continue to reduce its water usage and also maintain water quality control. Effective and lasting change in these two areas will come when governing bodies of local municipalities and the sports industries begin working together to make this happen.

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Analies Dyjak  |  Policy Nerd

Orthophosphate became popularized by the public in the 2001, during the lead crisis in D.C. Lead contamination in many cities including D.C. and Flint, occurs when a public water utility provider switches disinfectants from Chlorine to Chloramine. This switch results in lead pipe corrosion, which then allows for lead to leach into the drinking water supply. When the lead problem initially occurred, cities such as Flint, Michigan, Durham and Greenville, North Carolina, and Jackson, Mississippi didn’t learn from D.C’s mistakes and all had lead outbreaks. This article discusses the common additive used to combat lead contamination in drinking water.

What is Orthophosphate?

One of the methods used by municipalities to prevent lead service pipes from leaching is by adding phosphate to the drinking water supply. Orthophosphate is the corrosion inhibitor most commonly used by water suppliers. When added to a water source, it reacts with lead to create a mineral-like crust inside of the lead pipe itself. This crust acts as a coating which prevents further lead corrosion. 

Does Orthophosphate Fix Lead Contamination?

In terms of eliminating lead contamination at the exposure point, Orthophosphate does remove it from tap water. Some areas have found a reduction in lead concentrations of up to 90%. However, Orthophosphate is somewhat of a bandaid to temporarily fix the presence of lead in drinking water. Lead service pipes still exist and drinking water still technically passes through them. Additionally, if the orthophosphate layer is removed or breaks, lead will begin to leach back into waterways. Maintenance of lead service pipes can disrupt the crust and create cracks in the Orthophosphate layer. Finally, not all municipalities are adding orthophosphate to drinking water because of its cost. If you have any questions regarding drinking water contamination in your area, send us an email at hello@hydroviv.com.

If you’re interested in learning more about water filters that have been optimized for your 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.

Analies Dyjak  |  Policy Nerd

Orthophosphate became popularized by the public in the 2001, during the lead crisis in D.C. Lead contamination in many cities including D.C. and Flint, occurs when a public water utility provider switches disinfectants from Chlorine to Chloramine. This switch results in lead pipe corrosion, which then allows for lead to leach into the drinking water supply. When the lead problem initially occurred, cities such as Flint, Michigan, Durham and Greenville, North Carolina, and Jackson, Mississippi didn’t learn from D.C’s mistakes and all had lead outbreaks. This article discusses the common additive used to combat lead contamination in drinking water.

What is Orthophosphate?

One of the methods used by municipalities to prevent lead service pipes from leaching is by adding phosphate to the drinking water supply. Orthophosphate is the corrosion inhibitor most commonly used by water suppliers. When added to a water source, it reacts with lead to create a mineral-like crust inside of the lead pipe itself. This crust acts as a coating which prevents further lead corrosion. 

Does Orthophosphate Fix Lead Contamination?

In terms of eliminating lead contamination at the exposure point, Orthophosphate does remove it from tap water. Some areas have found a reduction in lead concentrations of up to 90%. However, Orthophosphate is somewhat of a bandaid to temporarily fix the presence of lead in drinking water. Lead service pipes still exist and drinking water still technically passes through them. Additionally, if the orthophosphate layer is removed or breaks, lead will begin to leach back into waterways. Maintenance of lead service pipes can disrupt the crust and create cracks in the Orthophosphate layer. Finally, not all municipalities are adding orthophosphate to drinking water because of its cost. If you have any questions regarding drinking water contamination in your area, send us an email at hello@hydroviv.com.

If you’re interested in learning more about water filters that have been optimized for your 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.