Common Regional Water Problems: Northeastern U.S.

The Northeastern United States is full of history, from the Statue of Liberty in New York City to the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. The Northeast is a unique American region. However, it also comes with some unique problem water.

365体育APP下载采访了两位东北地区的水权专家，了解他们在实地经常遇到的各种水问题. 区域销售经理Kevin Osborn在新英格兰和纽约州工作，而Water-Right副总裁Greg Gruett负责该地区的其他地区. 两者都有助于在以下各州培训365体育APP下载的专业水处理经销商网络:

• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• Vermont

奥斯本注意到，与美国其他地区相比，东北部的区别在于水中常见的硬矿物质(钙和镁)含量.

Hard Minerals in Water

“Hardness isn’t always a major issue in New England,” Osborn says. ““Even though when we see hard water, 平均硬度范围从每加仑15到20粒(gpg)，365体育APP下载确实有口袋，它变得更硬, the bigger issues is iron and low pH.  Although Western New York is one place where the hardness is a lot higher, but in those cases so is the pH.”

The magnesium and calcium in harder water raise its alkalinity. However, in areas where the water isn’t quite as hard, the acidity of low pH water can cause problems such as corroded plumbing, pinhole leaks in pipes, and blue-green stains.

Although the water in the Northeastern U.S. may not be extremely hard, it’s still hard enough to cause issues, and not just for homeowners with private wells. 格吕特说，365体育APP下载的经销商接到了很多有城市用水问题的人的电话，包括水的硬度. 人们常常没有意识到，虽然城市水经过处理，但它并没有软化.

Even lower levels of hardness can cause problems over time. 对于水垢对用水器具造成的损害尤其如此. Plus, hard water makes those appliances less effective, too. 东北部各州越来越多的房主注意到这一点，因为普通家用清洁剂的成分发生了变化.

“出于环境原因，他们把肥皂和洗涤剂中的磷酸盐都去掉了,” Gruett explains. “Those phosphates were softening the water, which protected the appliance and made soap products clean better. 现在，人们都在抱怨他们的洗碗机和洗衣机坏了.”

这意味着脏盘子、脏衣服和电器比正常情况下坏得更快. All of this could be solved with the installation of the right water softener, which Gruett says is becoming essential in the modern home.

Chlorination in City Water

东北地区对城市用水的另一个普遍不满源于市政水处理过程中的氯化.

“365体育APP下载从房主那里得到的一大抱怨是，水闻起来或尝起来像游泳池,” Gruett says. “这是因为根据联邦法规，市政当局正在增加氯的含量.”

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)要求市政当局在水中加入一定量的氯，以确保水得到有效处理. 格吕特说，虽然氯含量对健康没有明显的危害, the taste is quite noticeable.

美国东北部的许多城市住宅业主正求助于water - right的专家，为他们的情况配置水软化系统. It typically involves a split media tank, set up with carbon to reduce chlorine, and resin for the ion exchange process that softens water.

当然，东北部也有很多人从私人井里取水. 铁和锰污染往往是常见的问题，甚至比硬度更严重. 洗涤槽和马桶上的污渍或有金属味的饮用水都是危险信号. 奥斯本说，在美国东北部，有一种独特的介质可以有效过滤铁和锰.

“锰实际上往往会在我所在的地区引发更多问题，而绿沙Plus往往是365体育APP下载的首选媒体, because it’s also better for low pH waters,” Osborn says. “这是一种催化介质，可以氧化水，将铁从亚铁转化为铁，同时也可以去除硫等轻微气味.”

对于东海岸的家庭来说，一个特别独特的问题是盐水的入侵，它会增加水中的氯化物，导致总溶解固体(TDS)高。. 当海水进入地下水或其他淡水含水层时，沿海岸就会发生盐水入侵.

“In upstate New York, there are salt mines, so you have wells with high TDS from chlorides there as well,” Osborn adds.

Contaminants in Water

While most people complain about the look, smell, or taste of water, 人们越来越意识到，人们无法用感官检测到潜在的危险污染物. For example, 格吕特说，弗林特事件发生后，人们继续对铅污染表示担忧, Michigan.

格吕特说:“每个父母都想知道他们的水对孩子来说是否安全，是否不含铅。. “All of these East Coast towns were built before World War I. 所以，到处都是旧管道，他们不会拆除基础设施来替换它们.”

格吕特说，检测结果呈阳性的情况越来越多，因为铅检测现在采用的是“先抽”法. That means the water doesn’t run before a sample is drawn, and that makes it more likely that lead will have leached from old plumbing. Learn more about lead contamination here on our blog.

In most cases, 水权组织认为水对人类是安全的，365体育APP下载不想引起不必要的警报. However, for homeowners who want more peace of mind about their water, we recommend installing a reverse osmosis (R.O.) drinking water system.

An R.O. system 也会去除美国东北部可能存在的其他潜在有害污染物.S.

“In New England, we definitely deal with arsenic and uranium, and there can be issues with radon in the water as well,” Osborn says. 他接着说，让专家检测你的水是知道它是安全的最好方法.

“Honestly, most people only test their water when they have an aesthetic problem. If harmful bacteria like E. coli were purple, then you’d have everybody calling because they could see it. There’s a field test for nearly everything, 但是对一些更严重的污染物的检测应该由国家认证的实验室来完成.”

Water-Right’s network of dealers has access to the state-certified Clean Water Testing 实验室，当您对水质有疑问时，365体育APP下载的专家可以帮助您.

“We’re dealing with Mother Nature and she is unpredictable,” Osborn says. “如果我能控制自然，那么直到11月，外面都会一直保持70华氏度. 房主需要明白，他们的水质可能会因环境和当地建筑而改变. 你今天没有问题并不意味着明天就不会有问题.”