Whole house water filtration systems are becoming very popular because everyone wants clean water to drink. The bottled water industry is a multi-billion dollar industry selling everything from purified tap water to pristine spring water to even water derived from glaciers in Iceland. Water filters for your home have also become big business with filters ranging from localized filters for sinks to filters to treat water for the whole home.
Why Do We Need a Water Filtration System
Most water, whether derived from a tap or well, contains contaminants from the environment or industrial pollution. These contaminants can be naturally occurring minerals to man-made pollutants.
In Sonoma County a number of factors can attribute to water contamination. One of the challenges we face is pesticide runoff from local wineries which permeate into the groundwater that feeds into the Russian River. Decreased water levels from droughts or flow reduction increase the risk of harmful algae outbreaks.
The Russian River serves as the main water supply for much of Sonoma and Marin Counties. The Russian River Watershed covers about 1500 square miles in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties and is a closed loop system. A closed loop system is one in which wastewater goes through a treating process to remove contaminants and particles for reuse then recycled back into the system. While this system is a very sustainable system and provides clean water, your home water filtration system will add one more step to ensure your water is contaminant free.
How a Water filter system works
The water filter purifying system becomes the point of entry for your water. It serves the whole house not just the kitchen or bathroom faucet. And it basically operates on 4 step process:
- The first process removes the impurities, particles and contaminants over 5 micros. In addition to purifying the water this will prevent clogging further down the system.
- The second process removes any chlorine and other contaminants from the water. While chlorine is useful at the processing plant as it removes biological contaminants, it makes the water smell and taste bad.
- The 3rd process involves a carbon or activated-charcoal filtration. Carbon and activated-charcoal are different terms used interchangeably to describe the same thing. Don’t be confused when you see both. Activated-charcoal activation improves the taste of your water while removing any impurities and contaminants that did not get removed during the first two processes. As a result, the EPA recommends this process to give you that little added protection to remove harmful contaminants.
- The fourth step flushes away all the debris filtered out by the first three steps. Water filtration systems that use reverse-osmosis produce the most waste and systems that use activated-charcoal.
Costs
The average cost of a system is around $1600, but they can be as low as $400 and as high as $10,000. The cost will vary depending on your needs and budget. These systems will need professional installation. Call Sun Fire Plumbing if you want to find out what kind of whole house water filtration system will fit your needs. We can help walk you through the process.