Experts speak about water - from Refresh Waters Queensland

Water charts and tables

or, Everything Else You Wanted To Know About Drinking Water, But Didn't Know Who To Ask

Visit the best websites covering the 'what and how' to bring water back to acceptable levels. Numerous tables, mostly from the USA, are available on the internet.

1. Following are two separate charts, both from the same American source - Cyber-Nook.com.
* After studying them thoroughly, we believe you will be convinced that waters improved by Steam Distillation and Reverse Osmosis are by far the only drinking waters that consistently perform the best, and that is how we produce our Refresh Pure Water® (vapour compression 'steam' distilled) and Drink up® (reverse osmosis).
* The owner of Cyper-Nook.com confirmed to me that his distillers were small, 'home type' operating at atmospheric pressure, not the Vapour compression method to produce 'steam' distillation used to make Refresh Pure Water®.

These are the most thorough sources on the web that we have found covering methods of cleaning up drinking water. The charts offer a wealth of information, and allow you to view the entire, informative website too: www.cyber-nook.com/
water/treatment-table.html and www.cyber-nook.com/
water/WaterTreatment.htm.

2. A slightly abbreviated water management site, from the South Dakota State University (USA) Cooperative Extension Service - Drinking Water Standards (pdf file): is fine for a quick reference.

When evaluating the above, and you consider the combination we use of:

Activated charcoal 'pre and post' filtration,

Vapour compression distillation and/or reverse osmosis, and

Ozone treatment,

it shows what a terrific combination we have to produce Refresh Pure Water® and Drink up®.

Any more questions?
If you would like clarification of anything on this page, we are very happy for you to email us or complete our Enquiry form.

Refresh Waters Queensland Pty Ltd - Toowoomba (Qld.) Branch - is pleased to introduce three Australia based experts in their respective fields:

Dr. Stephen Osborne, Chiropractor, BSc, BAppSc, BchiroSc (Toowoomba, Qld) discusses the body's crying needs for water, and how it is utilized by the body. Sufficient water is critical for the body to avoid dehydration and maintain a healthy and extended lifestyle.

Mr. David K. Murdoch, BE, MBA (Tuggerah, NSW) Managing Director and owner of H2AU Pty Limited, designs and manufactures a complete line of vacuum distillation water purification equipment suitable for drinking and laboratory use.

Mr. Robert W. Ward, B.V.Sc (Toowoomba, Qld.) Former owner of Wendouree Water Treatment Pty Ltd. designs and manufactures a complete line of Reverse Osmosis water purification equipment suitable for drinking, industrial, and agricultural use, plus the methods available to bring them to acceptable standards.

Water is the single most important 'nutrient' to sustain life. The human body is 75-80% water and it must manage the water levels carefully to have the benefit of good health. In our 'instant, highly processed and preserved' culture the importance of water to our health is often overlooked - even ignored. In my experience as a health professional the symptoms of dehydration are the most over-medicated condition in our society. Many ailments can be very successfully treated through adequate water intake. (See "Your Body's Many Cries For Water", Dr F Batmanghelidj M.D., http://www.watercure.com).

Water is acquired through food and drink and lost mainly through the urinary system and by evaporation from the skin and breath. Water is essential for the integrity of the cells and tissues and therefore the shape and strength of the body. It provides a medium for the transportation of nutrients into and waste out of the cells. It buffers the biochemical reactions in the body and sustains the metabolic processes important to sustain life. The movement of water into a cell also generates energy within the cell.

Due to constant water loss through urination and evaporation the body must work to maintain sufficient water. The lower the water intake, the harder the kidneys and other body systems must work to maintain the body hydration. The amount of water needed is dependent on the quality of water or fluid consumed. Fluids that contain high levels of salts or sugars (eg soft drinks, coffee) provide little net water gain for the body. Municipal water supplies with the typical, required levels of chlorine and other additives and contaminants contribute less to the hydration of the body than a good quality, pure drinking water.

To help the kidneys function with minimal physiological stress the following water intake is recommended in a temperate climate (20-30°C in summer, 10-20°C in winter):

Many beverages and medications have a diuretic affect on the body requiring a higher water intake eg. alcohol, coffee, tea, antihypertensive and anti-inflammatory drugs. Where oedema or swelling is present, water intake should be increased gradually ensuring that the body is excreting similar volumes to what is being consumed and not accumulating in the body tissues e.g. lungs.

Higher levels of water also require some salt (sodium) intake. Salt becomes a problem where there is inadequate water intake but is not only safe but necessary with good water intake (for further understanding see Batmanghelidj).

Distillation is widely acknowledged to provide the broadest treatment capability of any single water treatment method. In combination with up-front sediment (particulates) removal, de-aeration (removal of dissolved gases), and activated carbon polishing (removal of volatile organics), distillation provides an ionically and bacterially, 'pyrogen-free' water, suitable for most high-purity water needs - including drinking. With additional ion-exchange polishing, distilled water can meet even the most demanding laboratory applications requiring consistently ultra-pure water. H2AU's specialty is 'steam distillation'. It mimics Nature's timeless method of endlessly purifying and recycling the finite amount of water available on Planet Earth.

In H2AU's small, commercial steam-distillers, water is distilled in a vacuum chamber, at around body-temperature, not 100 deg C as in an open distilling process.

The consequence of mimicking Nature in this way, is that H2AU's steam vacuum-distillers use just 14% of the energy consumed by typical, conventional distillers, such as those found in laboratories, or used for other small commercial applications.

Most people are able to recognise when a water quality problem exists. Far fewer, however, have the knowledge or experience to recognise just what is causing the quality problem, and fewer still have any idea how to rectify a water quality problem.

In the water treatment industry it is very common to receive enquiries for "a filter to fix my water", or some other equally vague request. Such requests reflect the fact that many people expect that there will be a bandaid type fix, which will rectify any and every water quality problem.

To understand the complexity of water treatment issues, various parameters, which can affect water quality, are listed below.

SUSPENDED AND COLLOIDAL MATTER – covers colour and/or cloudiness. It normally consists of soil particles, algae, and growth from bacteria, to name a few. Filtration will usually improve the water quality, but the addition of coagulation and flocculation chemicals to help the filtration process may also be required.

DISSOLVED SUBSTANCES – even though crystal clear, waters can often become contaminated with various salts and other contaminants during its 'water cycle'. Usually the water will have been underground, and is often associated with 'hardness' due to the multitude of microscopic minerals and metals now connected to the original out of the clouds - H₂O - water molecule. Additionally, nasty man-made pesticides and toxic chemicals can also be present to affect the taste and safety to consume or use for irrigating crops. Methods for removal of these items often requires more complex treatment processes and could include technologies such as membranes and ion exchange.

MICROBIOLOGICAL SUBSTANCES – can contaminate water with bacteria, viruses, cysts, and even parasitic eggs and larvae. Treatment can vary but could include the addition of chlorine and ozone, sterilisation by ultra violet light, or very fine filtration.

IN SUMMARY, the complex solution to water treatment is not "a one treatment fits all". At Wendouree, we specialise in the membrane processes such as Reverse Osmosis. We also supply consultancy on water quality matters, and can recommend a cost effective technology for any water quality problem.