Ephraim recently experienced a massive power surge in certain parts of the city. This surge caused damage to many appliances, including water softeners, conditioners, and(more…)
Month: December 2010
Merry Christmas!
2010 was a fun year for me, I presented whitepapers at multiple industry conferences and also participated in a number of productive projects with Saraswati(more…)
Is there less lead in our water now?
The 111th Congress has passed an amendment to the Safe Drinking Water Act which creates a federal limit of 0.25% for the maximum lead content of any plumbing component used for potable water intended for human consumption that is smaller than 2″ in diameter. I think that the intent of this bill is good, but it really doesn’t do more than make people feel good and cause a massive increase in the cost of delivered components, especially brass which is very difficult and costly to machine when the lead levels drop that low. Municipal distribution piping is a greater source of lead than the fixtures themselves, and should be addressed as a much higher priority. This bill will become effective in 2013, so expect an influx of high-lead components from China over the next year or two.
Salt Lake City’s water unsafe, according to EWG
I read this article in the Salt Lake Tribune this morning… The EWG is drawing attention to the presence of Hexavalent Chromium in water supplies nation-wide. Yes, this is an important issue, but one can’t react emotionally to information like this and we certainly don’t need more federal regulation. Since less than 1% of municipally supplied water is actually consumed by humans, why should the other 99% be treated to “drinking” water levels? It just doesn’t make sense!
Tiny organisms can cause big problems
Tiny organisms can cause big problems In this month’s column, I’ll discuss a situation that can happen frequently, have a large financial price tag for(more…)
Using protozoa to test water quality
I read this very interesting Press Release today. It appears that Mr. Gallager has developed a truly unique way to monitor for changes in water quality by simply observing the activity of Protozoa that react to specific waterborne contaminants. I believe that this technology is merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg. We’ll continue to see further development of bi-nanotechnology; creating a synergy between mechanical and organic systems.