Monday 8 March 2022

 Monday 8 March 2022: Water Quality

1. Words / thoughts / emotions

• What words/ thoughts/ emotions come to mind when you think of good quality water? 
• Why?​
• How does bad quality water compare?
• Why?​

An evaluation of water 'quality' depends, in part, on intended use, in part on expectations, and in part on the distance between expectations and actual experience.

If I am parched, I do best drinking effervescent water with heavy mineralisation, such as San Pellegrino, which I experience as satisfyingly thirst-quenching. During long hikes on hot days, I have willingly drunk from mountain streams, no doubt infected with soil bacteria. Yet on similar such occasions I would experience tap water as worse than insipid, with a greasy mouthfeel, and lacking any capacity to quench my thirst. I also feel mildly nauseated by the sometimes chlorinous odour of tap water. Consequently, I very rarely drink tap water. I have some (mild) ethical objections to bottled water, but especially to bottled water that has been transported hundreds of miles from Lombardy (Italy), and as a result, only rarely drink water, preferring lemonade, a tisane or (in the evening) an alcoholic drink.

I prepare meals for my family from scratch three times every day, for which I use plenty of water . I require the water to be clean (both hygienic and free from particulate matter) and colourless, and if it smells chlorinous, then I am reassured that it is clean. I need to know that any cloudiness is due to air bubbles rather than particulate solids. The accidental poisoning of the mains water supply in Camelford, Cornwall, in 2012, and the subsequent serial cover-ups, remain fresh in my mind. Poorer quality water is also likely to smell bad, to not be colourless, and to have black bits in it.

I really do not like running a bath using mains water stained brown with peat from run-off over the Pennines during the late summer, although it is (I was assured by Northumbrian Water) perfectly safe. I expect water for bathing and washing to be clean (both hygienic and free from particulate matter), colourless and clear (not cloudy). I have rarely swum in British coastal seas because I believe them widely to be infected with sewage. I guess that these are examples of what I consider to be poor quality water.

I live in an area of very hard water. The build up of limescale is rapid, and our various water-using electrical appliances (kettle, vegetable steamer, coffee-maker, dishwasher and washing machine), as well as shower heads, require frequent descaling. Limescale destroys the shower mechanisms, requiring their replacement. I consider the extreme hardness of the mains water to be poor quality.

I use water for many other purposes for which pharmaceutical-grade water is not only not required but wasteful: flushing the toilet, washing the floors, and watering the fruit tress and vegetable plants. Plants prefer rainwater, yet rainwater contains dust that makes it unsuitable for drinking. I collect and store as much rainwater as possible. Using highly-processed, expensively-processed ("good quality") water in such circumstances may be unavoidable, but demonstrates a lack of sophistication of British society (both the general public and the water industry).

2. Overall, what ‘criteria’ would you use to describe good quality water?​ (consider attributes such as hardness, colour, clarity, taste, etc.)​

​For drinking: water that is clean, odourless, colourless, clear, heavily mineralised (hard) and effervescent (carbonated).

For cooking, washing and bathing: water that is clean, odourless, colourless, clear and unmineralised.

For the toilet: water that is sterile, odourless, without strong colour. 

For gardening: water that is free from artificial chemicals.

3 a) What are your thought about, and how do you feel about your current water quality based on your criteria?

I am unhappy about the hardness of our tap water, and its occasional chlorinous smell. On the other hand, the water here in eastern Kent has always been clear, colourless and free from particulate matter. On balance, therefore, not bad: I have experienced plenty worse.

3 b) When comparing your water quality at home to other places you have visited and lived in, are there any things that stand out?​

​In London, the water tastes disgusting, as though drawn from the Thames. In County Durham, water in the late summer has a brown colour and there are black bits in it (peat?)  

4 a) Thinking of the past 5 years have you had any issues with Affinity’s water quality?

​I am unhappy about the hardness of our tap water, and its occasional chlorinous smell. Nothing else.

4 b) If yes, please tell us about the issue, whether you contacted Affinity and what happened as a result.

I have not contacted Affinity Water about my unhappiness regarding water quality because I do not believe that anything would change in response. Were I to do so, I expect that I would receive a letter in response explaining why nothing could be done by Affinity Water to improve the situation.

1. How does hard water affect your day to day life (good or bad)?​

​2. Do you take any steps to manage the hardness of your water?​

• Please share any steps you may take e.g. Water softeners/ using products like Calgon/Kilrock in your washing machine/ routinely descaling your kettle etc…​

3. South East England is a very hard water area. Affinity does not currently soften the naturally hard water in it. Do you think they should? ​

• Why/ why not?​
• What do you see as the benefit(s) of softening it?​
• What do you see as the challenge(s) of softening it, if any?​
• Do you see any benefits of having hard water?

I live in an area of very hard water. The build up of limescale is rapid, and our various water-using electrical appliances (kettle, vegetable steamer, coffee-maker, dishwasher and washing machine), as well as shower heads, require frequent (not simply "routine") descaling. Limescale destroys the shower mechanisms, requiring their replacement. I am unhappy about the hardness of our tap water. Having lived for much of my life in County Durham with tap water that is low in mineralisation ('soft'), the transition to an area with heavy mineralisation of the tap water ('extremely hard water') has been difficult. I do not like having to use powerful chemicals to descale our electrical appliances with some frequency, nor do I care for the progressive reduction in their efficiency as the limescale builds up. My wife objects to the unsightliness of films of limescale on transparent and reflective surfaces.

I am aware that heavily mineralised water is healthier to drink than water with low mineralisation. Mineralised water is reported to lower the incidence of heart disease. On the other hand, I do not enjoy the experience of drinking tap water, and consequently rarely do so. Besides, if I desire the mineralisation for its health benefits, I could drink San Pellegrino bottled water which I really enjoy.

On balance, I should considerably prefer that Affinity Water took action to reduce the level of mineralisation of my tap water. I do not know what challenges doing so would pose. However, from personal experience of the difference between living in a 'soft water' area and an extremely 'hard water' area, taking such action would lengthen the life of a variety of water-using domestic appliances.

Within Affinity Water’s area are significant rare wildlife habitats and environments – our natural chalk streams. When water is softened and then released back into the environment, it would contain chemicals from the softening process that are likely to damage the environment and endanger these chalk streams. Also, higher mineral content waters, like hard water are linked with reducing heart disease and  higher mineral content means fewer chemicals introduced artificially to the supply.

​1. After reading this, how does it change your views about Water quality in general? Please explain your answer​

Ever since relocating to eastern Kent, and experiencing the very high level of mineralisation of the tap water, I have considered having water-softening equipment installed. I have not done so because the installation would be costly, and its use would require routinely paying for chemicals that reduce the level of water mineralisation. ​If I could afford to do so, I would have the equipment installed. If I am willing to have the equipment installed in my house, then I am not going to object to the equipment being installed at a fresh water treatment plant.

As mentioned above, I am well aware of the 2012 incident at the Camelford fresh water treatment plant. A significant part of the resulting problem was the 16 days when the water company failed to warn local residents of the accident so that they could take appropriate action, and also the subsequent attempts to 'cover it up'. This is about water company diligence and candour, not about the use of chemicals. 

Water softening equipment does not release chemicals and/or their degradation products into the general environment, they release the chemicals into the *waste water system*. All manner of chemicals are introduced into the waste water system, and have to be dealt with by waste water treatment. Water-softening chemicals should be no different.

The statement strikes me as a form of 'greenwashing' - failing to invest in technology that would improve the efficiency and life-span of water-using domestic appliances on the basis of wishing to avoid releasing chemicals into chalk streams. It seems to me to be an attempt to distract attention. I have a deep affection for the River Chess in Buckinghamshire, and am distressed that sewage releases have made the river unsafe for growing its wonderful watercress. I hope that action to remedy this issue issue is being prioritised. 

2. How does this statement change how you feel about Water softening, if at all? Please explain your answer.​

​Perversely (from the perspective implied from this section of questionnaire), the questions have strengthened my desire for softened water. I have wilfully ignored the extent of the obvious problems caused by the very heavy mineralisation of our tap water. Your questions have made me face them again. As a result of your questions, I have arrived at the opinion that it is Affinity Water's responsibility to supply mains water that is fit for purpose, and the extreme 'hardness' of my tap water makes it less fit for purpose.

3. Lastly, in light of this information, how does it impact your views toward the water quality provided by Affinity?​ Please explain your answer.

Three things:

1. I have been reminded about how unhappy I am about the 'hardness' of the mains water supplied by Affinity Water (in comparison with the 'soft' water supplied by Northumbrian Water). I am now clearer in my mind that it should be Affinity Water's responsibility to soften the water so that my tap water is fit for purpose, and also to ensure that water softening chemicals (and their degradation products) get treated appropriately in the waste water treatment process.

2. I am unhappy that Affinity Water appears to be considering using 'greenwashing' to evade doing anything practical about the 'hardness' of my tap water.

3. I have been reminded about how deeply unpleasant it was in County Durham to be supplied with water that sometimes looked unclean, and sometimes had black bits in it. In contrast, the apparent cleanliness of the water supplied by Affinity Water is welcome, and should not be taken for granted.