Bottle Drops, Utilities and Water Dealers

I read this article and it reminded me of two issues we still encounter in our industry:

Water Quality Improvement dealers and water utilities still don’t get along as well as they should..
Certain water quality improvement marketing techniques are outdated and borderline deceptive.

Water is the lifeblood of all industry, our very civilization hinges on the quality and quantity of water that we have available. Water utilities are tasked with a difficult job: Deliver lots of water at a cheap price. Since the vast majority of water delivered by a utility is never used within the home or consumed by humans, it makes no sense to deliver extremely clean water throughout a city; it would be cost-prohibitive and illogical. It makes far more sense to deliver a “utility-grade” water through the entire system; water that meets or exceeds minimum standards and is generally usable. Individual users can then (at their own expense) improve their water quality to meet their specific standards or requirements for drinking, bathing, cleaning or business/industry. Utilities live in constant fear of being sued by consumers, so they never want to even hint that their water isn’t “perfect” and “pristine”.

It is time for us all to be realistic: Utilities do the very best job that they can within the operational and financial restrictions placed upon them. Utility-grade water in the United States is better than many other nations but it is NOT perfect and there is nothing wrong with educating end-users about products/services to make their water better. Utility managers need to acknowledge that they provide a utility-grade water, and that there is indeed room for improvement in quality and even aesthetics like taste, and odor.

Water quality improvement dealers need to realize that the utility is their friend; delivering good water that can usually be significantly improved without spending too much of their customer’s money. I wish more dealers would do business the way that my ProFlow dealers do, and spend more on water quality training, research and education than they do on marketing. Be the best, don’t just tell people that you are!

Bottle-drops and other similar water-quality marketing techniques frequently concern consumers, especially when the water dealership has words like “environmental” in their name. There are better ways to do business in the 21st century, and certainly better ways to begin your relationship with a prospective new customer.

There are many ways to market yourself to prospective customers, but the best way is to so a good job at a fair price.

The WQA’s Code of Ethics is very helpful to dealers who need guidance in these matters.

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Soft Water not for Drinking? – Is softened water corrosive?

Hard water contains calcium and/or magnesium ions. These ions make soap hard to lather, giving hard water its name. For water to be called “soft”, it must be devoid of these hardness ions. There is a significant difference between “naturally soft” water and “ion exchange softened” water.

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World Water Day 2011

Today is World Water Day…it is a good reminder that we all should conserve our precious liquid asset that we do often take for granted. Millions of people around the globe don’t have running water in their homes, and even more of then have to work more than a mile to get access to “clean” water. Naturally, the water quality improvement industry is continuing to make access to clean drinking water cheaper and easier. Technologies like Ultrafiltration, ultraviolet irradiation,reverse osmosis, nanofiltration and EDI/CDI are making previously undrinkable water drinkable and at increasingly lower prices. In developed nations, we are improving residential water quality while minimizing discharge and costs of production, but there is still so much more to be done. As end-users we should be mindful of how long we run faucets during routine tasks like dish-washing, dental hygiene, and grooming. Commercial and industrial users should continue to streamline their processes to minimize waste and provide cleaner drain effluent discharge. My personal pet peeve is the proliferation of ornamental grren grass in arid areas like Utah; we need to landscape with xeric plants that are beautiful and beneficial without wasting copious quantities of water. I’m using this day to plug my favorite charity – Water for People please go to their website and contribute to this valuable cause.

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Fix those Leaks!

Across the country, household leaks waste more than 1 trillion gallons of water per year – enough to supply the water needs of Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles combined. Easily corrected household leaks can increase homeowners’ water bills by 12 percent. To help consumers find and repair easy-to-fix leaks, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is promoting the third annual Fix a Leak Week, March 14 through 20.

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The New Aquamatic NXT Stager Controller

I am very excited about the new Aquamatic NXT Stager Controller assembly.

This innovative assembly incorporates the benefits of the 3214 NXT with the proven aquamatic stager – a winning combination indeed! When fabricating commercial/industrial water softeners, dealkalizers, deionizers, and specialty media filters, one usually prefers to incorporate the simplicity of the Fleck seal and spacer design to minimize fabrication effort and ensure high-reliability. Frequently, one has to incorporate Aquamatic diaphragm valves instead, whether for flow, materials compatibility, or simply engineered specifications. Pentair’s vision and foresight in incorporating the 3214 into this platform allows the designer/manufacturer to incorporate the simplicity, reliability, and network connectivity of the NXT platform with the proven flexibility and reliability of the Aquamatic stager.

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