Just look at the top benefits of drinking water!

Drinking plenty of water each day prevents dehydration, cleans out the body and promotes healing processes.
A steady diet of 8 glasses of water a day (ideally, half your body weight in ounces of water), when it’s pure and free of contaminants, will:

• Improve your energy
• Remove toxins and waste products from your body
• Allow for proper digestion
• Increase your mental and physical performance
• Help you lose weight
• Reduce headaches and dizziness
• Keep skin healthy and glowing

There is a difference between drinking pure water and beverages that contain water. Coffee, soft drinks, tea and fruit beverages may contain substances that are not only harmful, but actually contradict some of the positive effects of the added water.

For each cup of coffee you consume, your body needs 3 cups of water to compensate for the water loss that occurs due to coffee’s diuretic effect.
Other caffeinated beverages, such as soft drinks and tea, also stimulate the adrenal glands and act as diuretics, robbing your body of necessary water. Soft drinks contain phosphorus, which can lead to depletion of bone calcium, and various acids, which can cause erosion of the enamel on your teeth. A 12-ounce can of regular soda contains the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of white sugar and loads of empty calories.

Fruit beverages or drinks such as PowerAde, Gatorade, lemonade, etc. may be fortified with vitamins or calcium, but usually has 10% or less real fruit juice. Sugar is the added sweetener. If you are drinking too much of these beverages daily, you may be unknowingly adding extra unwanted pounds to your waistline.

Reservoir Tips

Reservoirs must be properly maintained to ensure the best possible water quality. Treatment of reservoirs may harm fish, and care should be taken. 

Poorly maintained reservoir

These procedures are based on our experience with reservoirs since 1968 and are our recommendations. They should be used as a guide only. Please remember to take all necessary precautions when using chemicals.

Aeration
Dugout aeration will tend to inhibit algae growth, and will lessen the odour problems associated with anaerobic decomposition.

Taste, Odor, Color
The foul taste, odour and colour in reservoir water usually results from algae or water plants. Decomposing algae and plants on the bottom of the water produce hydrogen sulfide gas, which gives the water a "rotten-egg" taste and odour. By the end of winter, water may become black. Control of algae and plants during the spring and summer will reduce these problems.

Controlling Aquatic Vegetation
All preventative and mechanical methods should be considered prior to chemical treatment.

Preventative Methods 
Deeper dugouts with steeper slopes reduce the shallow areas where plants grow rapidly. Limit nutrients:  

• Flood diversion dikes with gated culvert inlet.
• Grass the water course and the area around the dugout.
• KEEP LIVESTOCK OUT!

Mechanical Methods

• Hand pull plants
• drag a heavy chain or harrows across the bottom to cut plants

Polydex

Polydex is a mineral based bacteriostatic algaecide liquid concentrate that can:

• Reduce algae, bacteria and associated toxins
• Improve colour, taste and smell in the water
• Reduce suspended solids
• Reduce organic film build up in lines

It is easy to apply and quickly disperses. Initial treatment is 1:60,000 followed by periodic testing with maintenance dosages at 1:500,000

Copper Sulphate (Bluestone)
Copper sulphate can be an effective treatment for algae. It is more effective if used before the algae population becomes heavy. To apply, it may be placed in a burlap sack and dragged around the reservoir, or the water filling the
reservoir may run over the sack. The dosage is 1 to 2 pounds per 100,000
gallons.

If heavy blooms of blue-green algae develop, use caution. Another source of
water should be used for 2 weeks after treatment. Copper sulphate is toxic to fish. If you must treat a dugout containing fish, treat 1/3 at a time and space the treatments 24 hours apart. Water usage should be avoided for 24 hours.

Turbidity
Reservoirs that become turbid (muddy) will usually clear by themselves. Be
careful not to confuse colour caused by decaying algae or organic matter with
turbidity, as treatment is different. If turbidity persists, Alum may be used. The alum should be dissolved in water 1/2 pound per gallon) and spread evenly over the surface. The dosage is 10 to 20 pound per 100,000 gallons.

Reglone A (Diquat)
This chemical is used to control aquatic plants. Treated water should not be used by humans or animals for 2 weeks. Contact your supplier for correct dosage.

Granular Chlorine
More effective than Copper Sulphate for organic matter and algae is granular
chlorine. It may be simply broadcast over the surface. The dosage is 4# per 100,000 gallons. In severe cases, it may be necessary to repeat treatment in a week.

Copper sulphate treatment may be
applied at the same time for enhanced
results.

Gravel Filters 
Gravel filters installed in or beside the
dugout are not recommended. 

Floating Intakes
During the summer, 80% of the impurities are close to the bottom. A floating intake, 3 feet from the surface willcollect the best water. During winter, lower the float to below the expected ice level.

Floats may be constructed by 16' of 1 1/2" pipe coupled in a ring, or 3' of 3" PVC or ABS pipe capped at each end.

Blue Green Algae
Blue—Green Algae can be toxic. Please follow this link to Alberta Environment
information:

http://www.environment.alberta.ca/documents/Blue-green_algal_FS.pdf

Should you drink soft water?

One of the most common questions that we hear about water softeners is whether we should drink the water. It's a great question and one of the first things that I wanted to know when we started.

A water softeners purpose is to remove the hardness minerals from water. Hardness minerals cause:

• Bathtub ring and film on shower tiles
• Excess soap usage in bathing, laundry, dishes
• Laundry to wear out faster
• Scaling in your water appliances, reducing life
• And a lot of other problems that we have covered in an earlier post  

But really, if you think about it - this is really the "Working" water in your home. A Water Softener is designed to improve the working water in you home.


So now I better get to the question.


The way that a water softener works is called "ion exchange" but really that just means that it trades the hardness minerals for the sodium in your water. The amount of sodium that a water softener will add to your water depends on the hardness, but normally here it works out to about 80 milligrams of sodium in a liter of water. A single slice of bread is 125 - 150 milligrams. 

So really, if you are not on a sodium restricted diet, the answer is normally yes. Here's some information from the Mayo Clinic.


What can you do if you have a water softener and don't want to dringk the water?

1. If the plumbing lines are accessible, you can bypass a tap for your drinking water
2. You can use potassium chloride to recharge your water softener. A couple of brands are Nature's Own or Softtouch. This product is about 5 times the price of salt, but then you will be getting potassium instead of sodium.
3. You can drink bottled water.
4. Many people are deciding that they want better drinking water. Reverse osmosis systems can provide the best drinking water and remove the sodium.

The Hard Cost of Hard Water

Do you realize how much hard water costs you?

We've been installing water softeners for 44 years, but today many people consider them a luxury. So we've put together some facts for you.

A recent article by Money Talks News lists these effects of Hard Water:

1. Calcium rings or deposits in tubs, sinks, or dishwashers
2. Spots on dishes or shower doors
3. Reduced foaming and cleaning abilities of soaps and detergents
4. Reduced hot water supply
5. Dingy and yellowed clothes with soapy residues
6. Clogged pipes, shower heads, or faucets
7. Leaky pipes

 Over 85% of homes in Canada have hard water, but you should get yours tested. Most water treatment companies offer water tests (ours is free), or you can contact a lab. If you have municipal water you can contact your water authority. Private water supply owners can contact their public health unit.


So what do the numbers mean?

Surface water in Southern Alberta runs from 7 - 18 grains per gallon hardness - pretty hard. 


If You Have Hard Water What Do You Do About It?
You are guessing I'm going to say get a water softener aren't you? Good guess. You can rent or own water softeners. The choice is yours. We generally feel that if you are going to have the softener for more than 4 years, it is probably cheaper to own it. However, many home owners choose to rent simply so they never have to worry about service or replacement. 

The Water Quality Association commissioned a study that found that water softeners are one of the best ways to save energy. They keep water heaters and appliances running efficiently, and they keep shower heads and faucets flowing freely.

This past year, another study funded by the WQA – and conducted by a different company – found that water softeners also allow you to wash your clothes in cooler temperatures and to use less laundry and dish detergent. In other words, they’re saying that if you have a water softener installed, your clothes will come out just as clean even though you reduced the temperature and detergent by 50 percent.

Newsletter

Look at this - Our June Newsletter is out a couple of days early!

Check it out!

A GREEN Switch

There is a switch going on. A GREEN switch. The switch from bottled water to reusable water containers has been seen across the country, in businesses, homes, waiting rooms, people are seeing the value in drinking from the tap of a filtered water system.

Even Nestlé, the world’s biggest food company, is seeing shrinking water sales as more people are switching to the tap, as reported in Bloomberg News reports. Nestle owns more than 60 water brands including Perrier, Vittel and Pure Life, the world’s best-selling label, and relies heavily on western Europe and North America. 

The world’s biggest food company has been losing ground since 2006 as consumers switch to tap and filtered water and as concerns over the environmental impact of plastic packaging and energy used in transportation deter some shoppers, said Hope Lee, an analyst at Euromonitor International in London.

Consumers are driven by certain social trends, and recently many have found the regular manufacturing and delivery of plastic water bottles and jugs to be costly and damaging to the planet. Purchasing reusable water bottles and bottleless water coolers are affordable options for almost anyone. Filtered water dispensers can be installed in public and private spaces to give people the option to fill their reusable containers.

We can make the switch from bottled to bottleless quick and easy. Our certified water specialists will help you choose from a variety of purification systems and install it so you can enjoy great water on tap.

We are almost 70% Water

We are made up of so much water, it should really make us think about the water that we consume.

• 85% of gray matter in the brain is water
• 83% of blood is water
• Even bone is 22% water.
• Total water in an average adult - 37 Liters
• Sound is conducted through the middle ear by water
• Water serves as a cushion for the brain and spinal cord
• Water serves as a lubricant for moving surfaces such as joints, the heart, and intestine.
• Water moistens the surface of the lungs for gas diffusion.
• Water is the medium for digestion, absorption, metabolism, secretion, and excretion.
• A six-year study of more than 20,000 healthy men and women aged 38-100 in the May 1, 2002, American Journal of Epidemiology found that women who drank more than 5 glasses of water a day were 41% less likely to die from a heart attack than those who drank less than two glasses. The protective effect was even greater in men!
   

Do you think it matters what water you put in your body?