What about Potable Water?

[mobrouser]

Now, what cant they serve up proper drinking water out of the tap? That is the question of the day here.

because once e-coli invades a water system, it is extremely difficult to remove. the cost in RD would be prohibitive. every inch of pipe would need to be inspected for breaks where contamination could reenter. every inch of the water system, from the tap in your condo all the way back to the filtration plant, needs to be flushed again and again to remove any trace of the contaminant.



mob

 

[Miko]

back to square one

that is: second posting on this thread.
Only realistic way of getting clean tap water for now.

 

[lhtown]

I am all for "drinkable" water. Perhaps a much more realistic near term, first step, goal for the country than "drinkable" water would be "treated" water that is available 24/7.

For example, when we lived in San Jose, Costa Rica there was always water albeit with low pressure at times. Most people considered the water "drinkable", but it really wasn't recommended. At least you could shower in it and brush your teeth in it without fear of picking up something. I drank it for several months and then stopped after a bout with parasites.

Frankly, for us and most of the country, that would be a vast improvement over the current situation. Also, I think it would be an achievable goal for the water companies. How to actually get them to do it, well, I have no ideas. Anyone?

 

[philly]

update

started adding purification drops to the bottled water and haven't had any problems since...makes me wonder....if anyone thinks there having a problem with the bottled try the drops...8 per gallon....it comes in a little blue bottle...purification something....its probably just chlorine though!

 

[jsizemore]

a little late

Miko I know this thread is really old but I was wondering do you still do the water systems? What about heavy metals are they a problem in Sosua.
What about Ozone systems do they work? WHat is the cost of the system and once a house/apartment is retrofitted what about existing garbage int he pipes?
John

 

[Miko]

to answer your questions

jsizemore, I did reply by email. One other important step is to also clean those faucet grids which also have contaminated sediments trapped into them. Just unscrew and clean out with bleach. The problem with reverse osmosis is the time and amount of water supplied with those systems.

 

[kingofdice]

back to UV

I think with all of the DR's drinking water problems, the best assurance of having bacteria free potable water is the UV solution as Miko commented on. My company recently changed over to UV coolers and the water taste greatly improved due to the 100% purity of the water. But, I don't think Miko mentioned that filters need to be changed periodically as well as the lamps. All of our UV water dispensers have those items changed every 6 months.

Another factor to consider, besides the cost of expensive UV lamps, is the electricity needed to power the lamps. Might be problem depending most anywhere you live in the DR, except Punta Cana, where the power supply is more dependable.

I agree with HB that it is a probable risk to drink Dominican bottled water. So , that leaves expensive imports like Perrier or Evian. And I doubt that unless you are independently wealthy that you can afford the top shelf stuff.

Boiling water is still a good alternative, but you are back to same problem - you need either gas or electricity to boil the water, not to mention that it is timeconsuming.

 

[Miko]

right.. and wrong

kingofdice. Actually, the lamp only need to be replace every 12 months of use. This model has an electronic controller that not only monitors the lamp but also has an elapsed time counter and a power surge protector. Replacement cost for the lamp is $100us at this time and take all of 2 minutes to do. When I am out of the country, I simply turn off my breakers and prolong lamp life. The filters (2) not only remove sediment out of the water line but also extends the life of faucets and keeps the UV light efficiency high for lack of deposit on the carbon/quartz sleeve around the lamp. The first one (5 microns) I replace every 3 months and the second online one, a 10 microns, every 6 months. they cost $5-$7us and take all of 30 seconds to replace. So your total replacement cost on a full 12 months of operation is $132.00us. As for power, they obviously require it (and we have a generator back-up) but these units have low pressure/high output lamps which means a smaller lamp for higher volume. In this case they provide bacteria killing flow of 14 gallons per minute (you can practically have 2-3 houses on one unit).

 

[andy a]

Great info, Miko !!

Thanks, but can you tell us even more. A few questions:

What prevents the flow of water from overwhelming the uv lamp/filter capacity?

How deeply penetrating are the uv rays in the water?

How much power does it use - in order words, how long would an inverter last?

Could there be a 2 tier process such that bacteria missed in the first filter would have to pass through a 2nd one?

Would a holding tank be feasible and/or necessary?

Is there a simple way to chemically test the water to determine whether it is working?

 

[Miko]

in response to your questions

andy, I'll take them in your order:

What prevents the flow of water from overwhelming the uv lamp/filter capacity?
the model is determined by your flow rate. The ones I have in stock right now go up to 14GPM. That exceeds by far normal house pressure. The manufacturer has models going up to 49GPM. Just take a one gallon bucket and see how long it takes to fill it up with your kitchen faucet fully opened. That will give you an indication. If your house water is fed by pump, indication should appear in the manudfacturers tag.

How deeply penetrating are the uv rays in the water?
All the way thrue the flow tube.

How much power does it use - in order words, how long would an inverter last?
Depends on inverter size and batteries. The lamp itself consumes 49 watts.

Could there be a 2 tier process such that bacteria missed in the first filter would have to pass through a 2nd one?
Not necessary for reasons mentioned above.

Would a holding tank be feasible and/or necessary?
Feasible yes, necessary, no. It is the same as the water that is in the hot water tank. It has gone thrue the UV system.

Is there a simple way to chemically test the water to determine whether it is working?
There are portable water test kits available. I have carried ice cooled samples back to a canadian lab within 24 hours to get a thorough analysis. Came completely clear. These are the same test as performed at municipal water plants.

 

[Keith R]

FYI

I did some checking with PAHO sources.

Potable water service connection in the DR as a whole is only available to 48.29% of the population, 61.25% average among DR's urban populations.

Potable water from the tap in SD is available to only 62.23% of the population; in Santiago the figure is 89.23% (all figures from a yr 2000 technical assessment).

PAHO rates tap water in both cities as 100% potable, although I personally have some doubts about that figure.
Stats on SD potable water: http://www.cepis.ops-oms.org/eswww/eva2000/repdom/granciud/Ciudad1/Agua.html
Santiago stats: http://www.cepis.ops-oms.org/eswww/eva2000/repdom/granciud/Ciudad2/Agua.html

 

[Miko]

I have

my doubts abou the accuracy of the local labs. That's why I had my sample tested in Canada. A bit more trouble since they travel in a cool pack and have to be in the lab within 24 hours of sampling.

 

[lhtown]

Keith,

What is the definition for "potable" water? I understand it as drinkable with no fear of death or other undesirable side effects. It seems that some would define it much more loosely.

 

[Keith R]

Keith,

What is the definition for "potable" water? I understand it as drinkable with no fear of death or other undesirable side effects. It seems that some would define it much more loosely.

PAHO defines it as:

Agua sana, agradable e inocua al ser humano y que cumple con st?ndares de calidad establecidos por los pa?ses.

Roughly translated, that's:

Clean water, agreeable & innocuous to human beings and which complies with quality standards established by the countries.

In other words, sanitary and shouldn't make you sick, although some countries (I bet not the DR!) impose further criteria (such as clarity, removal of certain trace elements, etc.).

Like I said, I've known enough people get sick from DR tap water to make me wonder about some of the data. That said, though, usually PAHO's standards for these studies are far tougher than national government's....