For the most part if you are reading this there is a high chance of you having some sort of treated water within your home. Whether that be well water with a point of entry filtration system (softener, UV light) or pretreated water supplied from your district/municipality. Living in Greater Vernon comes with many perks, beautiful four seasons, gorgeous landscapes, friendly “Vernonites” and a healthy supply of potable water from our regional district.
The RDNO (Regional District North Okanagan) supplies water to us the consumer from one of two main sources being: Kalamalka Lake, and Duteau Creek. Depending on where you live, water source and time of the year, both main supplies are known to fluctuate slightly with hardness and chlorine levels, which are common ways to measure water quality.
Hardness in water is almost always present, unless removed by using a softener, and is due to both magnesium and calcium being naturally present. To keep it simple Duteau Creeks water source would be more on the “softer side” being only 3-5 grains per gallon hard (50-75mg/l), whereas Kalamalka is quite a bit “harder” at 10-14 gpg (170-200mg/l) (RDNO, 2017). Generally, the softer the water the better we perceive it to be, at 0 grains hard soap lathers better and less water is needed to perform tasks such as doing dishes or washing your car.
Many households could benefit from further filtration as hardness can also be harmful to appliances and anything that uses water. Hardness can be visually seen as the white scaling we see under the kitchen tap, shower walls or windows, but what we don’t see is the scaling build up in hot water tanks, dishwashers, washing machines and fridges.
Unless preventative maintenance is performed many times part of these main appliance’s failure is due to exposure of hardness over time. Many simple filtration methods such as softeners and other filtration methods can go a long way in extending the life expectancy of these appliances.
Chlorine is also present in our water supplies but quite a bit different than hardness.
Chlorine is not naturally occurring and is added to the water from the RDNO to prevent waterborne diseases and bacteria growth. The RDNO does a great job of monitoring the chlorine levels and aims to be anywhere 0.5-1.0mg/l keeping the bacteria and further harmful coliforms at bay. Although being potable, we are left with a small odor and taste due to the chlorine and is not always the most pleasant to drink.
We do encourage everyone to look into further filtration of water prior to drinking as removing/reducing higher levels of chlorine not only makes your water taste better but is healthier for you as well. Getting more out of your water with cost effective filtration systems is a lot easier than most people think, if you have any questions please feel free to reach out.
Bibliography
Flix Water. (2023, April 7). Water Hardness, Hard Water, Soft Water. Retrieved from Flix Water: https://flixwater.com/water-hardness/
RDNO. (2017). Greater Vernon Water Quality. Retrieved from RDNO: https://www.rdno.ca/sites/default/files/2021-04/FAQs_-_Greater_Vernon_Water_Quality_April_2017.pdf#:~:text=Answer%3A%20The%20water%20sources%20for%20GVW%20are%20Duteau,treated%20at%20the%20Mission%20Hill%20Water%20Treatment%20Plant.
