Wildfires Impact Quality of Water Supply

'Chocolate Milk Shake-Like' Debris Mixture Overwhelms Treatment Plants, School Of Mines Study Says

Alan Gathright, New Media Producer | TheDenverChannel.com

GOLDEN, Colo. -- Rain runoff following a wildfire can compromise drinking water quality and overwhelm water treatment plants with a "chocolate milk shake-like mix" of debris, according to a new study by the Colorado School of Mines.

This can affect tap water that might have a smoky taste and could fail to meet federal drinking water standards, says engineering graduate students whose study suggests ways cities government can protect drinking water after a wildfire.

This is a real-time risk for communities like Colorado Springs, where the Waldo Canyon Fire has scorches 15,324 acres of hillside terrain, and the National Weather Service had issued a flash flood watch for the wildfire's "burn scar" Wednesday afternoon.

In the study, School of Mines graduate researchers worked with the city of Golden on scenarios exploring how a fire in the Golden area would adversely affect the water supply in Clear Creek, the city's source of drinking water.

"This project simulated a range of detrimental wildfire run-off conditions utilizing a surface water treatment pilot plant at the Colorado School of Mines in close collaboration with the City of Golden's drinking water treatment plant," said Professor Jörg Drewes.

The study found that rain runoff mixes leftover wildfire debris and sediment that can thwart purifying mechanisms inside downstream water treatment plants.

"While impacts of wildfires have been studied by scientists from forestry, biology and hydrology, this study is the first that combines these experiences with water treatment engineering and focuses on adverse effects on drinking water quality and appropriate response strategies," Drewes said.

Here's a link to the study: http://tinyurl.com/7lee3pa

Water Fluoridation - Are You For or Against?

Phoenix set to reassess fluoridation

by Lynh Bui - Jun. 10, 2012 10:55 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention proclaimed it one of the 10 greatest public-health achievements of the 20th century.

Every U.S. surgeon general since the 1950s has endorsed the practice. And the American Dental Association calls it the "single most effective public-health measure to prevent tooth decay."

But despite overwhelming support from the government and medical professionals, the debate over fluoridating public water systems, which largely subsided after the Cold War, has resurfaced.

Phoenix has become the latest Valley city to reassess the controversial cavity-fighting policy as several City Council members are proposing to save money or limit government's reach by discontinuing water fluoridation in the nation's sixth-largest city.

The City Council Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee is scheduled to decide Tuesday whether the entire council should vote to suspend the city's use of fluoride in city water. A change would affect the more than 1.4 million Phoenix residents who use the city's fluoridated tap water for drinking, bathing and brushing their teeth.

Anti-fluoride activists have continued to rally against municipal fluoridation of water for decades, worried that overdoses could lead to weight gain and muscle pains from thyroid problems, discoloration of teeth and other yet-to-be-discovered side effects. They also worry that ingesting too much fluoride could damage bones the same way it has been found to eat away at tooth enamel.

Read more: 

Discolored, smelly tap water. That can't leave a good taste in your mouth

Residents near Lake Houston complain of smelly, discolored water

KHOU 11 News,  Houston, Texas

HOUSTON—Residents in a brand new neighborhood on the shores of Lake Houston say the biggest problem they have is what drew them here in the first place: the water.

It’s not the water in the lake, but the water coming from their taps that is the trouble. They said the water is discolored brown, white, even pink sometimes and horrible smelling.

Hundreds of residents met Thursday night to try and decide exactly what they can do to get the problem fixed.

The MUD district said that it is doing all it can, most recently sending a letter to residents telling them about a hyper chlorination program that started last week.

The water is a mix of the lake and well water, and people who live here say it is still a problem.

One resident showed us the water in his bathroom sink. Read more...

Soft and hard water behave differently, from cleaning power to corrosion potential

Apparently, all tap water is not created equal.

Some water is deemed "hard," and other is considered to be "soft." And here's the confusing part: Hard water isn't better than soft in all situations, and soft isn't always preferable.

Confused yet? We explain the ins and outs of each below.

The basics

Hard water: Contains relatively high amounts of calcium and magnesium. This happens when the water comes in contact with rocks or soil. In the United States, 85 percent of the water is hard, according to aU.S. Geological Survey.

Soft water: Contains few or no extra elements. It can be naturally occurring, or produced with water treatment devices that remove hardness elements, such as calcium and magnesium.

Cleaning

Hard water: Certain minerals in the hard water interact with the soap or detergent, which keep it from interacting with soils, stains and dirty dishes.

Soft water: Softened water reduces the need for detergent by more than 50 percent because it doesn't contain the minerals that interact with the cleaning products. Washing in the cold water setting instead of the hot water setting achieves the same or better stain removal compared to results in hard water, according to a 2011 study conducted by the Scientific Services S/D Inc, a New York-based laboratory focused on testing laundry detergents.

Showering   Read more..