Comments on: The Water Wars an’Woes: Bottled vs. Tap?

By: MattXIV

MattXIV — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:51:48 +0000

who knows what goes on in treatment plants

Generally some variation on the following:-Rough filtering to get large solids out if necessary (when pulling water from a river as opposed to groundwater).-pH is adjusted if necessary.-A flocculant added to scrub up the particulate.-Filtration to get particles and flocculant out (normally through sand with some activated carbon, but there’s a variety of techniques).-Oxidizer added to break down any organic stuff that made it through.-Pump it on out.Other steps may be taken to deal with high content of organics (generally extra activated carbon treatment), hard water, or toxic compounds. There generally won’t be much of a water waste stream – the water from backwashing the filters can normally just be sent back to the beginning of the process. If ion exchange is used, stripping the absorbed ions out to regenerate the column can generate a water waste stream that requires special treatment (normally adding an ion that forms an insoluble salt with the undesired ion that the exchanger was used to remove), but can then be sent back into the process.

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:35:32 +0000

We have no deposits in Minnesota but I think we recycle a lot. In Mass, at least when I lived there, there were depoists on some cans/bottles, and it became standard practice to put the bottles/cans out for homeless people to come by and pick up. They were making a killing. I a low level, homeless sort of way.

By: Umlud

Umlud — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:28:40 +0000

I wonder if there is a difference in recycling rates in places where there are deposits, places with no deposits, and places with partial deposits (e.g., MI where only fizzy drinks – beer and pop/soda – have deposits, but non-fizzy drinks – wine, liquor, water, juice – don’t).

By: arby

arby — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:02:33 +0000

How about a quantum sea change in the epicenter of the air? Now with extra nano!I considered a ceramic filter when the diverter valve died on the previous counter top model. (I don’t know why I didn’t just search for a replacement valve, duh.) My neighbors use a ceramic one with a rainwater cistern system. Pretty expensive, big countertop footprint, but what made me decide against it was my high sediment load. They do a fine job, great tasting water, and should last for ages when used with an already clean municipal source. I figured, with zero data, that the fine pore structure would quickly clog with my water. nanonano, rb

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:09:41 +0000

Dune: Right, but getting the water out of the tap also uses water, yes? This varies a great deal from place to place, I’m sure, but there is often energy involved, and who knows what goes on in treatment plants, etc.

By: Dunc

Dunc — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:57:24 +0000

Aside from that, I think this means that 300 percent of the water you drink is ‘consumed.’

Well, you’ve got to produce the bottles, which probably involves using water somewhere in the process, and you’ve got to clean and sterilize all your process equipment regularly. Plus they almost certainly rinse and sterilize every bottle before filling. And it wouldn’t surprise me if they use water for cooling either parts of the equipment and / or for cooling the product after a pasteurisation process.

By: Mike Haubrich, FCD

Mike Haubrich, FCD — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:54:20 +0000

I have a filter pitcher in the fridge. It is largely a symbolic trick to get the kids to think they are drinking something as “good” as bottled water. I bought it five years ago, and the filters are supposed to be changed every three months. (Why?) I hain’t changed it yet and can’t tell the difference. Our tap water is very good tasting water.Bottled water is handy for car trips, etc, and for all of its faults, it is better than bottled pop. And bottled pop (soda) is probably just as expensive to the environment as bottled water, if not more so.

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:16:18 +0000

“…there is a sea change in the air.” Ah, man, please tell me you were just being cute. That was cute. They call me Mr. Cute.Have you looked into ceramic filters? You just scrape the scum off and boil them every now and then.Joe, I’m coming down for a drink!

By: Julie Stahlhut

Julie Stahlhut — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:57:06 +0000

If I want plain water, I just drink tap water. Not only does it offend me to pay inflated prices for filtered tap water in a bottle, but I invariably hate the bottled stuff. I don’t like to drink things that are completely flavorless, so even the rankest, most chemically overtreated tap water tastes better to me than the bottled kind.That said: I do drink a lot of seltzer, club soda, or mineral water — I happen to like fizz, which to me makes all water taste better. I buy store brands to keep the cost down, and try to get it in glass instead of plastic if possible.

By: arby

arby — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:00:03 +0000

“…there is a sea change in the air.” Ah, man, please tell me you were just being cute.I use a kinda funky dug well that has to be Cloroxed after every rain, and the cheapest method for me is a counter top unit that attaches to the faucet. It uses the large (10 inch) charcoal filter element that is usually used as one filter in a whole house assembly. The housing was about $50 and the filter cartridges are $5. They should last for thousands of gallons when used with municipal water sources, making it way cheaper than Britta type filters. Even with my heavy particulate and funk load, they last for several months. And if your problem with the tap water is only particulates, and not taste, the string filter cartridges are even cheaper. rb