If you are on a Bedrock Well in Southern New Hampshire and you live in a Town known for poor water quality the odds are about 50% that you will have either Radon, Arsenic, or Uranium in your drinking water.

A couple years ago I was preparing to present information at The NHAR Convention in a round table type discussion. I thought it best to do some homework first. So I contacted a friend of mine who owns a chain of Water Testing Laboratories in New Hampshire and Maine. He agreed to summarize how many tests he had performed for Radon in water, Arsenic, and Uranium in his Labs and compare the total number of tests performed to the number of tests that came out high. Looking at the test results it was important to consider that the majority of the tests conducted were drawn from wells in Towns known for poor water quality. The interesting thing that came from the information was that the average well came out high almost 50% percent of the time for at least one of the three contaminants. The real kicker here is that included within the total number of tests performed are the Post tests following Water Treatment Systems installations. Which should always be low. So, If you remove the Post test samples the average percentage of failing tests would be even higher.

If you would like more information about Radon in water, Arsenic, or Uranium, please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com.

If you or someone you care about has a home with a Bedrock well in Southern Maine or New Hampshire please consider having the water tested for these three contaminants. There is no way of knowing what we may have been exposed to in the past. All we can do is be certain of what we expose ourselves to in the present.

Thank you for your continued support of Secondwind Water Systems. We truly appreciate your business and referrals. If you have any Water questions please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com or call 1-800-287-5767. Until next time this is Chris Saltmarsh CWS-6 saying, “Thanks for reading!, remember to test, and enjoy your great water”…

If you are the owner of an Ultra Violet Light System (UV) you should be aware that these systems require Annual Preventative Maintenance (PM).

Even thought you can see that the bulb lights up through the eye portal, the Bulb still needs to be replaced Annually. UV sterilization doesn’t kill Bacteria, it sterilizes it by making Bacteria unable to reproduce. As a UV bulb ages it weakens. Eventually the bulb is unable to create the high intensity UV light necessary to sterilize bacteria, although it does still produce some light.
For more information on UV sterilization visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com.

In addition to replacing the bulb it is also important to check and clean the UV Quartz sleeve and change any pre-filters. The Quartz sleeve cannot be clouded by staining or hardness scale, and cannot have scratches or pits. Anything that might block the light from shining on Bacteria as it flows through the UV is a serious problem. To assure that your UV is working properly it is best to have it serviced by a WQA certified installer. This will insure that the job is done right, and that your water will remain bacteria free for another year.

Thank you for your continued support of Secondwind Water Systems. We truly appreciate your business and referrals. If you have any Water questions please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com or call 1-800-287-5767. Until next time this is Chris Saltmarsh CWS-6 saying, “Thanks for reading!, and remember to have your UV serviced
every year, enjoy your great water”…

So, you own a Reverse Osmosis Systems (RO). Did you know that in addition to Annual Cartridge changes it is important to test the Membrane as well.

RO membranes have a finite service life. For most systems the Membranes will usually last 3-4 years. If your system is equipped with Permeate Flush you can expect the Membrane service life to be much longer. This is a process where the membrane is rinsed with Treated RO water whenever the RO comes up to full pressure. By cleaning Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) from the Membrane you eliminate a natural process called TDS creep. TDS trapped on the membrane is naturally attracted to the clean water on the treated side of the Membrane. TDS on the dirty side of the membrane will penetrate the membrane and cause it to decay, and it will also effect the final water quality when the system is re-pressurized. So not only does the Permeate Flush process increase the service life of membranes, it will also give you a more consistent water quality. For information on RO Drinking Water Systems from Kinetico offering permeate flush in the design visit our website at www.secondwindwatersystems.com. Although permeate flush RO Drinking Water Systems have been made available to the public for a considerable amount of time there are many systems out there in the field that do not have permeate flush, and so further discussion of membrane degradation is important.

One of the steps included in any RO Annual Maintenance Package should be to test the TDS before and after the Membrane. This will tell you how efficiently your membrane is working for you. Most Membranes will produce a drop in TDS of 90-95% when operating at maximum efficiency. The TDS results should be documented and compared to the newer results year after year. Eventually the Membrane will require replacement, and you will be on top of it. If your RO is removing primary contaminants it is also important to test for those contaminants before and after the Membrane on a regular basis in addition to TDS.

Other factors can shorten membrane life, such as Chlorine, Hardness, Metals, Bacteria Bio Slime, and over use. These are the things that a WQA Certified Water Specialist will make you aware of as you make your Water Treatment Equipment decisions.

Thank you for your continued support of Secondwind Water Systems. We truly appreciate your business and referrals. If you have any Water questions please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com or call 1-800-287-5767. Until next time this is Chris Saltmarsh CWS-6 saying, “Thanks for reading!, and remember that RO membranes should be checked every year, enjoy your great water”…

One of the water contaminants that we see making itself more and more common in New Hampshire is road salt. Our little State is always growing and safe roads are so important to our lives and our future. No one wants the salt trucks to stop doing their job.

The most common problem sites are at the end of a cul-de-sac or a dead end road where the salt trucks have to stop or turn around. Large hills tend to receive extra salting and major highways as well. Removing the Total Dissolved Solids created by Road salt Intrusion is not a simple process. Once the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) are removed the water then needs to be treated again for corrosion control. Chloride which is found in Salt is what makes your car rust. It will also corrode other metals, like your pipes faucets, hot water tank, and furnace. Sodium of course can be linked to high blood pressure.

If you find that your TDS is on the rise take a good long look at where the surface water run off is going on your property. Make sure that it isn’t flowing right towards your well. I have seen many yards that pool up like a lagoon with a well head sticking up right in the middle. Proper grading along the sides of the road can help. Drainage ditching to run storm water and salt away from your well head protection area can also be very effective.

Think of the area around your well as being sacred to your health. I would recommend a 75 foot radius around any well, that is kept clear of Salt, Fertilizer, Herbicide, Insecticide, Animals Waste, decaying vegetation or basically anything bad that you wouldn’t want to drink! Perhaps a 75 foot radius is more room than you can spare but hopefully you get the picture.

Certainly there are wells on Islands, and along the sea shore that have no other option than to treat for the removal of the salts. However, if you can avoid treating for road salt by grading and protecting your water source you will be way ahead of the game.

Thank you for your continued support of Secondwind Water Systems. We truly appreciate your business and referrals. If you have any Water questions please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com or call 1-800-287-5767. Until next time this is Chris Saltmarsh CWS-6 saying, “Thanks for reading!, and remember protecting your well head does make the grade, enjoy your great water”…