Common Water Contaminants & Remedies
Common Water Ailments & Remedies
Contaminant | MCL/Action Level | Common Sources/Notes | Conventional Treatment Method(s) |
---|---|---|---|
Alkalinity | 400 mg/L | Naturally Occurring/Subsequent to Treatment | Reverse Osmosis, Anion Exchange |
Aluminum | 0.05 to 0.2 mg/L | Natural deposits | Distillation, Reverse Osmosis, PE Cation |
Ammonia | Highly Variable | Natural/Industrial Waste/Disinfection with Chloramines | Distillation, Ion Exchange with Clinoptilolite, Specifically Designed Redundant Series Softening |
Antimony | 6 ug/L | Natural/Industrial Waste | Coagulation, Reverse Osmosis |
Arsenic | 10 ug/L | Natural deposits, smelters, glass, electronics wastes, orchards | Reverse Osmosis, NTO, Anion Exchange, Activated Alumina, Manganese Greensand |
Barium | 2 mg/L | Natural deposits, pigments, epoxy sealants, spent coal circulatory system effects | Reverse Osmosis, Distillation, Cation Exchange Softening |
Boron | 1 mg/L | Natural/Boiler Blowdown Pollutant | Reverse Osmosis, Distillation, Selective Anion Exchange, Deionization |
Cadmium | 0.005 mg/L | Natural deposits, galvanized pipe corrosion, batteries, paints | Reverse Osmosis, Distillation, Submicron Filtration |
Chloramines (as Cl2) | 1-4 mg/L | Municipal Disinfection (Total Free) | Water additive used to control microbes, Catalytic GAC, Fine Mesh GAC, KDF-85, Clinoptilolite for Residual Ammonia Adsorption |
Chloride | 250 mg/L | Naturally occurring | Reverse Osmosis |
Chlorine | 1-4 mg/L | Water disinfection (Test as Free Chlorine) | Activated Carbon, KDF |
Chromium-6 | 0.1 mg/L | Natural deposits, mining, electroplating, pigments | Reverse Osmosis, Anion Exchange |
Coliform | Zero | Indicated Contamination by Animal Wastes and Possible Pathogens | Redundant Monitored Disinfection. Chlorination, Contact Time, Absolute Filtration, UV |
CO2 | N/A | Naturally Occurring/ levels above 50 ppm may need treatment | Aeration, Soda Ash or Caustic Soda Injection, Calcium Carbonate and/or magensium oxide filtration |
Color | 15 Color Units | Multiple | Reverse Osmosis, pilot testing, Bone Char, Coagulation, Anion Exchange, Ultrafiltration |
Copper | 1.3 mg/L | Natural / industrial deposits, wood preservatives, plumbing corrosion | Reverse Osmosis, Polyphosphates, Ion Exchange Softening |
Cryptosporidium | Zero | Animal or human waste, contaminated food products | Reverse Osmosis, UV, 1 Micron Absolute Filtration |
E.coli (Escherichia coli) | Zero | Naturally occurring, human or animal wastes | Ultraviolet, Redundant Monitored Disinfection. Chlorination, Contact Time, Filtration, UV |
Fluoride | 2 mg/L | Natural deposits, fertilizer, aluminum industries, water additive | Reverse Osmosis, Bone Char, Activated Alumina |
Giardia | Zero | Naturally occurring, human or animal wastes | Reverse Osmosis, Carbon Block (0.5 micron), UV, 1 Micron Absolute Filtration |
Hardness | ≈3 GPG | Naturally Deposits | Ion Exchange Softening and Various Alternates. |
Heavy Metals | Varies | Naturally occurring, manufacturing byproduct | KDF, Titanium Oxide, RO, Distillation |
Hydrogen Sulfide | N/A .05 mg/L | Natural Rotten egg taste and odor | Iron Reduction Filter, KDF 85, Catalytic GAC, Oxidation or Aeration Followed by Filtration, Replace Magnesium Water Heater Anode with Aluminum or Zinc. |
Iron | 0.3 mg/L | Natural deposits | Iron Reduction Filter Oxidation or Aeration, Followed by Physical Filtration, Ion Exchange, Special Media (e.g. FerriLite) Filtration. |
Langelier Index | >0.0 | Natural and Human Impact | Used to predict corrosivity of water. -2 to 0.0= Moderately Aggressive, |
Lead | 0-15 ug/L | Pollution, corrosion | Micro-D, Reverse Osmosis, DI, Special Design Ion Exchange Softener, Special Design GAC Cartridge., KDF. |
Log Reduction | N/A | N/A | Logarithim or Exponent of 10. 1 Log = 90%. 2 Log = 99%. 3 Log = 99.9%... |
Magnesium | N/A | Natural deposits | See Hardness |
Manganese | 0.05 mg/L | Natural deposits | Iron Reduction Filter Oxidation or Aeration, Followed by Physical Filtration, Ion Exchange, Special Media (e.g. FerriLite) Filtration. |
Mercury | 0.002 mg/L | Crop runoff, natural deposits, batteries, electrical switches | Reverse Osmosis, Activated Carbon |
Methyl TertiaryButyl Ether (MTBE) | 20-40 ug/L | Leaking underground gasoline storage tanks. | High Capacity GAC, Air Stripping above ≈100 ug/L. |
Nitrate | 10 mg/L | Animal waste, fertilizer, natural deposits, septic tanks, sewage | Reverse Osmosis, Ion Exchange |
Nitrite | 1 mg/L | Animal waste, fertilizer, natural deposits, septic tanks, sewage | Reverse Osmosis, Ion Exchange |
Perchlorate | ≈4 ug/L | Industrial Wastes | Reverse Osmosis, Anion Exchange |
pH | ≈8.5 | Natural and Human Causes | Low pH: Calcium Carbonate, Magnesium Oxide, Soda Ash. High pH: Acidify e.g. White Vinegar. |
Radium | 5 pCi/L | Natural deposits | Reverse Osmosis, Special Designed Ion Exchange Softening |
Radon | 3000 pCi/L | Natural deposits | Aeration/Venting, Activated Carbon |
SAR (Sodium Adsorption Ratio) | <3.0 acceptable for most irrigation. | Measure of the suitability of water for agricultural irrigation as determined by the solids dissolved in water. | High sodium levels in water can replace calcium and magnesium in the soil causing poor infiltration of water and air. The use of water with a SAR above 3.0 for irrigation needs to be carefully considered or soil/crop damage may result. |
Selenium | 0.05 mg/L | Natural deposits, mining, smelting, coal/oil combustion | Reverse Osmosis |
Silica | N/A | Natural deposits | Reverse Osmosis in conjunction with deionization to remove up to 90%, low levels can mimic hardness. |
Silt Density Index (SDI) | ≈4 at 15 Minutes | Suspended Matter, used primarily to predict membrane fouling potential | Physical filtration, coagulant, settling tank. No correlation to NTU. |
Sodium | N/A | Natural and Human Causes | Reverse Osmosis |
Sulfate | 250 mg/L | Naturally-occurring | Reverse Osmosis, ion exchange |
Tannin | ≈50 APHA Units | Naturally-occurring | Anion Exchange, Bone Char, Chlorination, Reverse Osmosis |
Total Dissolved Solids | 500 mg/L | Erosion of naturally occurring mineral deposits | Reverse Osmosis |
Trihalomethanes (THMs) | 0.08 mg/L | By-product of chlorination in drinking water | Activated Carbon, KDF |
Turbidity | N/A (1 NTU max. recommended) | Soil runoff, Natural | Whole-House Sediment Filter, Reverse Osmosis, Coagulant |
Uranium | 0.03 mg/L | Natural occurring | Reverse Osmosis, Anion exchange |
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) | Varies | Industrial Wastes | Activated Carbon, Aeration |
*Data herein is provided as a courtesy and is subject to change without notice by IWP.
References:
❐ Impact Water Products. Ontario, California, U.S.A.
Conversation 0 Comment(s)