Monday, March 24

There Are Rules For a Reason

Todays Water Tip:
Common household bleach makes a great econimical disinfectant. Mix 1-3 tablespoons of bleach into a gallon of water, depending on the the job. Use to wipe down counter tops, tables, bathrooms, changing tables, etc.

Rules
My phone is starting to ring. This is the beginning of our busy time of year. I was recruited from my full time job 3 years ago to work with my husband Bill who is a Certified Water Operator, Backflow Assembly Tester, Cross Connection Specialist, and Sanitary Surveyor (he also holds another full time job supervising the local county water dept.).

Through this venture, I have become passionate about the protection of water. I have now seen the other side of the coin. I have seen how easily water can be contaminated and what the utility workers have to go through in a water emergency. I now hand deliver public safety notices at night, counseling customer's about emergency's, risks and health issues. I trudge through back yards carrying dog biscuits in my pocket, just in case I meet an unfriendly face (with fangs).

Water does not just flow through your tap effortlessly, especially in a public drinking water system. That tap water is part of a fairly complicated system that has taken a lot of planning, construction, specialized equipment, government compliance, and ongoing maintenance. We are so lucky to have this resource. There are over 1 billion people in the world that do not have access to clean safe drinking water.

There are many rules put in place by the government concerning drinking water and are for good reasons. Gone are the day's where we can assume that our water is always safe. The more people sharing a water system, the higher the risk of contamination. You don't always know what your neighbor is doing. He may be dangling a hose in his garden pond or a bucket of chemicals. This water could be siphoned back into the drinking water if the water system were to lose pressure (a state approved backflow assembly would prevent this contamination).

Follow the rules set in place by Department of Health and your Water Purveyor. These rules keep us all safe.

The wide spectrum of water uses, turn round and round, like a
water wheel. I welcome your comments.