Thinking About Water in New Ways

Culligan in Nova Scotia is more than just water coolers. Actually, most Culligan dealerships are.

While water stories have filled the country’s news cycles recently, not many people stop to consider the other side of water. In fact, most people in the business community would be fairly surprised to discover that the Halifax-area Culligan Water dealer Camren Fleck helps local industries use water for more than just drinking.

For example, Fleck and his team helped Cape Cod Wood Siding when hard water attacked boilers feeding their kiln oven. Using very sophisticated G2 Series Reverse Osmosis technology, Culligan installed two 1000-gallon tanks to help keep the company’s lines clean, and kept Cape Cod’s operation efficient ( and profitable). Moreover, Fleck is among a very few number of water consultants in North America to utilize this new industrial water technology. His experience is a testament to how seemingly unrelated markets and products converge in today’s business.

But this unique, and overlooked, water service does not stop with Cape Cod. Fleck’s Culligan services everything from area-hospitals to breweries – highlighting the breadth of businesses that benefit from a strong water industry.

Canadian Culligan Dealer Helps Winter Wonderland

This article is from last year, but gives you a good flavor of the time and energy it takes to create these outdoor masterpieces. The bottom of the post is where you can find Culligan's role.

From the Ottawa Citizen
2008

For the past half dozen years or so, the National Capital Commission has stocked Winterlude with blocks of ice from a company called Iceculture, based in Hensall, Ont., just southeast of Goderich on the southeastern shore of Lake Huron.

Iceculture claims to be possibly the world's largest supplier of crystal-clear ice, and certainly North America's biggest. Each year, the company makes 25,000 blocks of ice for clients around the world. Apart from Winterlude, for example, the company recently hauled 90,000 kilograms of ice -- roughly enough to fill a school bus, and also the amount of water a fin whale draws in a single gulp -- to Dubai and then spent two weeks building an ice lounge, called Chill Out, inside a shopping mall. Next month, they'll head to Thailand to construct a similar one there.

This year, Iceculture will ship 1,800 blocks of ice to Winterlude, each weighing about 140 kilograms (300 pounds) and measuring 100 centimetres by 50 centimetres by 25 centimetres. That's enough ice to cover an NHL rink to a thickness of 15 centimetres. Its total weight of about 245 metric tonnes is roughly equivalent to four times the weight of all the players currently on NHL rosters.

But what makes the ice blocks clear?

According to Iceculture general manager Heidi Bayley, the secret is in the freezing process, which is designed to remove the trapped bubbles of air that typically make the ice cubes in your freezer so cloudy.

"It's very simple, but it's really sensitive," she says. "We have tanks that freeze the blocks from one side through to the other -- the cooling elements are on the bottom of the machine. At the same time, we circulate the water so that, as it freezes from one side, the circulation actually pushes any air out.

"The second thing we do," adds Bayley, "is we run it through an RO (reverse osmosis) system, a really giant Culligan water system that removes any impurities and minerals, such as calcium, which can add white spots to the blocks."

Moms and Marines: All the news that's fit to drink...

So here at Water Wise Guy HQ, which is located in a secret location inside a volcano in a remote jungle on an island outside of Argentina, we get alot of Google Alerts - 163 a morning to be precise. When you get so much information over a long period of time, you start to notice strong trends in water news from around the world.

Here are a few trends the Water Wise Guy team has been seeing from the cornfields of Nebraska to the rain of the Northwest to the deserts of Arizona.

1. There are alot of boil orders out there. Period. Water main breaks, flood contamination, etc have caused the ordinary citizen to take extra precaution with their water.

2. Arsenic is a big issue in the Midwest. If you live in the fine cluster of middle states, get your water tested.

3. The New York Times and AP are investigating water quality like it's going of style. But it isn't. The wealth of data these recent research studies have put together is amazing - check them out when you get a chance.

4. Proactive and responsible testing is the way to go if you want to avoid some major health issues. Whether it be the Marines, or expectant moms - water quality must be a priority.

5. No one understands what reverse osmosis is. Read this post and get your learn on.

That's it from the Water Wise Guy today! Drink. Tweet. Repeat.

What the heck is reverse osmosis?

Recent reports have brought up more questions than answers about drinking water, either from the tap or bottled. It is vital to take steps towards improving the water you drink, especially with the constant uncertainty of how clean our drinking water is. Installing a reverse osmosis system in your home, at your kitchen sink, is a convenient and logical solution to ensuring your clean water.

You may be asking yourself, what does a reverse osmosis system actually do? If my water needs to be filtered, why not use one of those water pitchers, my refrigerator filter or a screw-on faucet filter?

To understand the benefits of reverse osmosis, and what differentiates it from a filtered water pitcher, begin with understanding the process of osmosis. Osmosis is the natural movement of a lesser concentrated liquid through a semi-permeable membrane, into a solution of a higher concentration. Osmosis equalizes the concentration of the liquid on both sides of the membrane. Simply put, it mixes clean purified water with contaminated water.

Reverse osmosis reverses this process by creating pressure to force the contaminated water through a semi-permeable membrane that removes the gunk and junk; thus producing delicious drinking water. Moreover, a reverse osmosis system is made up of four carbon filters. Each filter removes specific contaminants from the water.

Function of each filter:

o Filter One: This filter removes sediment; the big stuff.

o Filter Two: Allows the sediment-free water to travel through the filter, trapping and removing organic chemicals and chlorine. These are the smaller particles that water pitchers, refrigerator filters, and screw-on facet filters definitely miss.

o Filter Three: This membrane removes 90-98 percent of the chemicals left in the water, depending on the water pressure and temperature. The trapped sediments are then dumped into a drain. The filtered water flows into a two to three gallon storage tank.

o Filter Four: When the water is ready to be enjoyed, the stored water flows through this final carbon filter removing any possible taste and odor left in the water. Essentially, polishing the water.

A reverse osmosis system’s filter process pushes water through four filters, in comparison to a filtered water pitcher, refrigerator filter and a screw-on faucet filter that runs water through a carbon filter once. A reverse osmosis system, like Culligan’s AC-30, provides you with an endless-supply of clean, safe drinking water right at your kitchen sink.

H-2-Uh Oh!

This is a simple tally of all the reported contaminants found in our country’s water this year. Keep in mind, the year is only half over.

All of these pharmaceuticals, chemicals and compounds were reported in a variety of news and government sources, including the Associated Press and the US Geological Society.

From rat poison ingredients to rocket fuel, your drinking water is constantly assaulted by substances both regulated and non-regulated. While the 1974 Safe Drinking Water sets minimum standards for water quality, modern chemistry might
simply be outrunning the utilities.

On another note, some of these contaminants were prevalent in private wells, which do not have to pass the Safe Drinking Act’s requirements if the well serves less than 25 people.

Don’t chance it. Filter it.

• Atrazine**** (Welcome to the list!)
- America's most loved herbicide that has been known to disrupt hormones and cuase birth defects

• Anti-convulsants*
- Treats epileptic episodes, and now conveniently at your tap without a doctor’s prescription.

• Arsenic***
- Skin and circulatory system can be at risk with arsenic in the water.

• Boron***
- Affects gastrointestinal, reproductive and developmental functions – sounds exciting.

• Codeine*
- Powerful painkiller used in a variety of ways.

• Dichloroethylene***
- This agent used in dry cleaning chemicals has been shown to incur liver issues. Ask the people of Crestwood, IL how they feel about it.

• Hydroquinone*
- Everyone loves a little face cream in their water, right?

• Fluoride**
- Children could get mottled teeth. Utilities are actually reconsidering their fluoride policies these days.

• Iron***

• Lithium carbonate*
- Believe it or not, this chemical is actually used in fireworks because of the deep red flame it gives off upon combustion. Mmmmmm….

• Maganese****
- Can result in damaging neurological effects.

• Mood stabilizers*
- Who doesn’t want psychiatric medication coming out of the tap?

• Mercury**
- Drinking water with mercury can hurt your kidney functions.

• Nicotine Compounds *
- These compounds are associated with the production of nicotine patches.

• Nitrates***
- Infants younger than six months can become seriously ill with too many nitrates in the water. Babies beware.

• Perfluorochemicals**
- This substance is used to make firefighting foam.

• Perchlorates**
- Rocket fuel anyone?

• Pesticides***
- It’s just poison in the water.

• Radium***
- Increased risk of cancer when radium is regularly in your diet.

• Radon***
- Radon is shown to increase the risk of lung cancer.

• Sex hormones*
- Enough said.

• Strontium***
- Linked with abnormal bone development, fun to say and more fun to drink.

• Tetracycline hydrochloride*
- Treats acne and tastes great!

• Tranquilizers*

• Uranium***
- Shown in tests to increase the risk of cancer.

• Vanadium***
- Shown to stimulate cancer cells in animal tests

• Warfarin *
- Agent used in rat poison and also handy in blood thinner.

Wondering what kind of filters are right for you and your family? There are plenty of options out there, and you should consult an expert.

For example, Culligan’s reverse osmosis system, Aqua-Cleer, is the only filter on the market with a dedicated arsenic filtration membrane. So if arsenic is an issue in your area like it is in places like Minnesota, you may want to call your Culligan Man.

*Reported by the Associated Press; ** Reported by multiple sources; *** Reported by the US Geological Society, **** Reported by The New York Times