One specific problem that we see often in farming regions is high nitrates. Nitrates are caused by fertilizer and ani­mal waste. Because nitrates can cause blue baby syndrome, the water should not be consumed by children under the age of two. Nitrates are considered an EPA Primary Contaminant and must be removed from water that is consumed.

There are two ways to remove nitrates. One is by the process of Ion Exchange, much like soften­ing, where the whole house is treated and the other is by Reverse Osmosis. We recommend install­ing a Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water System for various reasons. First of all, a whole house system is expensive and unnecessary. It’s ok to shower and brush your teeth with nitrate water, it just shouldn’t be consumed. A whole house nitrate system only removes nitrates and nothing else. Another drawback is the fact that the resin in the tank makes the pH of the water drop significantly facilitating the need for an Acid Neutralizer to be installed after the system which adds hardness to the water. The resin beads in the system must also be protected from becoming iron fouled facilitating the need for a softening system before the nitrate system. Now, you are introduc­ing chlorides to the water because you are backwashing both ion exchange system with salt (most of these systems have two salt keepers) and it can be expensive to maintain. If a household has some iron in the well and low pH to begin with then this is not the way to treat the water.

The ideal system consists of an Acid Neutralizer first to raise the pH, followed by a Softener to remove iron (and hardness caused by the neutralizer). These two systems are for treating the whole house and making the water good for showering, cleaning and doing laundry. We then add a Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water System at the kitchen sink only, with a line to the ice maker on the refrig­erator. The water is filtered and passed through a thin film com­posite membrane and the high quality water is stored in a water keeper for your families drinking and cooking needs. Not only do these systems remove nitrates, but many other contaminants as well, such as lead, arsenic, barium, chro­mium, chemicals, radium and dis­solved solids. Larger storage tanks and designer faucets are available.

A Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water System is a smart choice because it supplies the highest quality drinking water for your family at an affordable price.