Clean 'N Green - #1 Drinking water

Several posts back I pledged to start a-blogging on some green topics.

Let's start with the basics - the water we drink.

Our family has used reverse-osmosis water for years from a water cooler. We visit our local water depot-type place, sanitize the jugs and fill them up at a cost of less than $3 for an 19 litre bottle. It saves on using individual water bottles which of course are now the scourge of the eco-friendly masses.

Why not drink city-tested and approved water?

I don't doubt the safety of our water and I'm very grateful that we have clean water for bathing and washing and don't fear getting ill from drinking the water. But years ago we went for a tour of the local water treatment plant because my daughter chose to do a school project on the subject. We had a friend who worked there, and he gave us the grand tour. I saw and heard where the water comes from and of all the interesting things that get filtered and removed from the water. I saw the processes that remove all the contaminants, and subsequently the chemicals additives that are poured back in to make it drinkable. As we were leaving, I asked our gentleman friend whether he drinks the city water and he was quick to say, 'Oh no. I get my water from a natural spring near here.'  Mmmmhmm.

That was years ago and now even the springs have been shut down as unsafe. That visit to the plant left a bad taste in my mouth and since the water depot-type places advertise that reverse osmosis removes any pesticides, herbicides, and chlorine that the city didn't (when used with a carbon filter), I concluded that it must be better to drink. However, according to HistoryofWaterCoolers.com, the downside of reverse osmosis is that it also removes the healthy, natural, beneficial minerals that should be in the water we drink. That website suggests that both reverse osmosis and distillation are extremely wasteful methods of water filtration, discarding 75-80% of the water with the contaminants and both remove the healthy minerals we should be drinking with our water. It suggests that carbon water filters are cheaper and the least wasteful.

Again, I am not implying that you are killing yourself slowly by drinking municipal water or doing yourself any harm. But if it is something that you're interested in and would prefer an alternative, do your research.

Here's an alternative that our family has recently purchased that caught my interest. It's called the Santevia Water System. Everyone who walks by this unit in our kitchen for the first time, does a double-take. Because the 'tank' contains a layer of gravel-like stones,  it looks like it should have fish swimming around in it! To summarize in a sentence, this system uses your ordinary tap water (no need to buy and lug bottles), filters it further through 8 stages, and then re-mineralizes the water to make it as close to natural spring water as you can get while adjusting the Ph level, according to their statements. They challenge you to get your Santevia water tested to prove their claims. You can read all about it here. They also have Youtube videos with 'wordless' demonstrations of assembly, maintenance, etc.

We purchased ours at a natural healthfood store, but they can be purchased easily on-line from their website. No, I am not getting a commission, nor am I endorsing it. I am informing you so you can make your own choice! Here's their introductory video....and you be the judge!