New England is a beautiful place to live. It offers a mix of classic and modern living that is appealing to many people. However, one downfall for people, business owners and municipalities is the aging water infrastructure in this part of the country. After all, New England was built up very early, and the basis for water treatment and delivery was centuries ago. Even though certain aspects have been improved and upgraded through the years, the roots are old—and this can lead to some serious problems. How does this impact drinking water, and what can be done to improve the process of delivery?
How Does Aging Infrastructure Impact Drinking Water?
First and foremost, older infrastructure is more prone to breakage and major shutdowns, this can leave many municipal consumers without drinking water for days at a time. When this happens, the immediate loss of water is felt and then for some time after, water must be boiled or purified before it can be drank.
Another way this aging infrastructure impacts the water supply is in taste and smell. Those who come to New England from other parts of the country or the world are often a little surprised by the taste of the water. It is different. Not unpleasant, but different and it can be a problem. Along the same lines, water that runs through this older infrastructure needs more filtration than water run in cleaner, newer pipelines.
Finally, another impact on the drinking water has to do with how runoff is handled. Today, we know how to prevent the negative effects of runoff. Decades or centuries ago, we did not. Therefore, these older lines were more likely to feel the effects of runoff, including fertilizers, chemicals and other hazards.
Solutions for Cleaning Water Systems
Fortunately, dealing with drinking water, even with the older water infrastructure in New England is not that difficult anymore. There are a number of excellent tools available today, but some of the best products available are produced by Blue Earth Labs.
Blue Earth Labs specializes in making water safer for every person, animal and plant on earth. Three of the products offered by Blue Earth Labs include:
Clearitas - Clearitas is a powerful product consisting of oxidized chlorine that has been specifically engineered to remove both organic and inorganic elements in water distribution systems.
Floran – The Floran line works in any component of the water treatment and storage process to remove both organic and inorganic elements including algae, chemicals, scale iron and other issues. This can be one of the best tools for use in an aging infrastructure, since it can work on any part of the water treatment process.
neXt – This is a product designed to clean the media in water filters. This eco-friendly product adds life to these filters, allowing for a longer time between all filter changes. This product saves money and keeps water cleaner.
Though a complete overhaul of the New England water infrastructure may never occur, the little upgrades will continue as needed here and there. In the meantime, municipalities can take advantage of the tools available from companies like Blue Earth Labs to get by and continue to provide clean, safe drinking water to residents in New England. By putting in a little effort, and taking advantage of modern tools and products, it is possible to achieve more today than may have been possible even 10 years ago.
Photo credit: Werner Kunz / Foter / CC BY-SA
