Vernon Water Quality

[mike31154]

Just a heads up for Vernonites. I live in the Mission Hill area & just found out thru the local newspaper that our water source has been switched from Kal Lake to the Duteau Creek source due to turbidity issues from Kal Lake. It's a good time to fire up the RODI system! The last time I measured my tap water on the Kal Lake source the TDS was over 210. I just checked my tap water 5 minutes ago & the TDS was 54. Seems the megabucks spent on the Duteau water plant is paying off. If you wish to do your RO membrane a favour, run the system now, before they switch back to Kal Lake.

[letsgofishin]

thanks Mike, I tested mine about a month ago and it was 240, just tested again and is 73

[mike31154]

Yes, good news, our property tax $$s at work. I guess the higher than average snow pack, rainfall etc. are affecting water quality in the lake. Kind of makes me a slight tad less upset about the 17% increase in water rates this year. We're approaching the TDS numbers the folks on the west coast enjoy.

[gregzz4]

Not to rub it in but, mine is 8 again today. Good thing too as I'm finally filling the system

[Casey8]

What .... Mine is 12 in Richmond.

[mike31154]

B%%$$stards! You guys even need an RO system??

[Casey8]

hehehe ... if someone can prove it that I don't need it for my sps corals then I will shut down my R/O right away.

[mike31154]

hehehe ... if someone can prove it that I don't need it for my sps corals then I will shut down my R/O right away.

Well, I reckon it boils down to what the TDS in your water consists of. If it's all calcium or magnesium, you're good to go. There should be some reports available from your water supplier, city I suppose, that lists the parameters. Chances are there are traces of undesireables, so in the end an RO is a good investment. And at your low TDS numbers, the membrane should last for a looooong time.

[Casey8]

Yes, it does last for a long time, I can't even remember how often I need to change it. For LPS or softies corals, I had never used R/O before till I switched all to sps corals. I am afraid of having some kind of metal in the water that can cause a problem for my tank, so I decided to run an R/O to keep my mind at ease about it.

[warriorcookie]

B%%$$stards! You guys even need an RO system??

No kidding! My TDS is always over 250, and we have chloramine to deal with too!

[RuGlu6]

Well, I reckon it boils down to what the TDS in your water consists of. If it's all calcium or magnesium, you're good to go. There should be some reports available from your water supplier, city I suppose, that lists the parameters. Chances are there are traces of undesireables, so in the end an RO is a good investment. And at your low TDS numbers, the membrane should last for a looooong time.
My RO/DI is 4 years old and still reading zero ppm on the out flow.
In flow tapwater is 12PPM in Port Moody.

[gregzz4]

Mike, ple Date
Mike, this sample was taken about a mile from my house, but the report is over 1 year old
I think I'll stick with my filters :smile:

Aluminum 0.07
Arsenic <0.01
Barium 0.004
Boron <0.02
Cadmium <0.0005
Calcium 4.29
Chromium <0.001
Cobalt <0.001
Copper 0.02
Iron <0.01
Lead 0.003
Magnesium 0.15
Manganese 0.004
Molybdenum <0.002
Nickel <0.001
Selenium <0.01
Silver <0.001
Sodium 1.5
Zinc 0.005

[mike31154]

Yes, like I mentioned, an RO is a great investment either way. I make wine & beer at home, so the pure water is not only for my tank critters! Despite the comparatively high tap TDS, I'm still on the same RO membrane after close to 4 years & over 14,000 US gallons of water throughput. Yes, I've been a bit anal by meticulously keeping track of my RODI water production on an Excel spreadsheet!

I used treated tap water for the first year or so my tank was up & that was clearly not a smart way to go, especially with a BTA in there. It never looked all that great until I made the switch to pure water for changes & top ups. Below is a report (also somewhat dated) of what comes out of Kalamalka Lake. I had a quick look at a more recent report & the numbers are very close to the same. Actually some good numbers for calcium, but also traces of nasties that are cause for concern over the long term.

North Kalamalka Lake Intake Water Quality 2008
Water System: Greater Vernon Water
Source: Kalamalka Lake
Facility: Kal Lake Pumpstation
Sampling Point: Kal Lake Intake
Date: 7/14/2008
INORGANIC Results (mg/L unless noted)
Aluminum <0.050
Antimony <0.0030
Arsenic <0.0050
Barium 0.027
Boron 0.021
Cadmium <0.00010
Calcium 40.6
Chloride 5.38
Chromium <0.015
Copper <0.0030
Cyanide < 0.01
Fluoride 0.24
Iron <0.20
Lead <0.001
Magnesium 19.8
Manganese <0.0050
Mercury <0.00030
Molybdenum 0.005
Nitrate (as N) 0.069
Nitrite (as N) <0.010
Potassium 5.07
Selenium <0.0050
Sodium 18.4
Sulphate 51
Uranium 0.003
Zinc 0.011
PHYSICAL Results (mg/L unless noted)
Alkalinity (as CaCO3) 152
Colour <5 TCU
Conductivity 409 microS/cm
Hardness (as CaCO3) 183
pH 7.8
Total dissolved solids 238
Turbidity 1.0 NTU
UV Transmittance @254(%) 91%

Ha,ha & edit: my water report is bigger than yours!

[gregzz4]

Hehe, ya, I only get the short-bus report
I'm glad to see you have, at least for a short time, some better water

[mike31154]

Yeah, not sure how long, but out of curiosity I just had a look at the latest report from the Duteau Creek source. Note the difference in TDS! But there are still traces of nasty stuff & the calcium is much lower. Too bad there's not a way to filter everything but the calcium & magnesium out of the Kal Lake water...

Water System: Greater Vernon Water,
Source: Duteau Creek
Facility: Headgates
Sampling Point: Headgates Cl2 bldg (1-1-SR, 5E8D)
Date of Sample: 7/19/2011
INORGANIC, Results (mg/L unless noted)
Aluminum (total) 0.114
Antimony (total) <0.0010
Arsenic (total) <0.0050
Barium (total) <0.050
Boron (total) <0.040
Cadmium (total) <0.00010
Calcium (total) <5.0
Chloride 0.21
Chromium (total) <0.0050
Copper (total) 0.0245
Cyanide (total) <0.01
Fluoride 0.13
Iron (total) 0.31
Lead (total) <0.0010
Magnesium (total) 1.23
Manganese (total) 0.02
Mercury (total) <0.00020
Molybdenum (total) <0.0010
Nitrate (as N) 0.02
Nitrite (as N) <0.01
Potassium (total) 0.8
Selenium (total) <0.0050
Sodium (total) 1.36
Sulphate 3.1
Uranium (total) <0.00020
Zinc (total) <0.040
PHYSICAL, Results (mg/L unless noted)
Alkalinity (Total, as CaCO3) 14.3
Colour 75
Conductivity 38 microS/cm
Hardness (total, as CaCO3) <12.9
pH 7.14
Total dissolved solids/TDS 44
Turbidity 0.9

[gregzz4]

Yipes, that does still add up to a lot of I wouldn't even want to drink that

[mike31154]

Thought I might resurrect this thread for the benefit of those in Vernon who may be affected/interested.

I'm back on the Duteau Creek water source with TDS just measured at 34. Much lower than Kal Lake source which has been shut down due to possible turbidity from milfoil reduction activities in the Lake. Found the info in the Vernon Morning Star paper. This will continue until end March.

Good time to fire up the RODI system, stock up on water with less wear & tear on your membrane.

[mike31154]

Yipes, that does still add up to a lot of I wouldn't even want to drink that

It may be argued that certain components (dissolved minerals etc.) in drinking water are beneficial to our health. If not mistaken, 500 TDS is considered the legal limit for water provided for human consumption, potable water in Canada. It's up to the individual to research the water reports from their supplier & decide if they wish to drink it or buy bottled/drink RO. There are plenty of forums etc. full of heated discussions as to what's beneficial & what isn't. Obviously the heavy metals such as lead & mercury are proven bad guys. If you look at the numbers in the Duteau Creek report I posted earlier, most of the larger numbers of elements in the water are things like iron, magnesium, calcium & alkalinity. I don't think any of those are considered harmful.

[mike31154]

Heads up again for all the Vernonites normally on the Kalamalka Lake water source, we're back on the Duteau Creek source at the moment. Softer water! Good time to fire up the RODI system, have a bath/shower, do dishes, laundry etc. Just started up my own RODI after reading the news in the Friday morning paper. Tap water TDS is 64.

[mikellini]

I'm still getting 46 tds, been a good summer for making water

[mike31154]

I'm still getting 46 tds, been a good summer for making water

Depending on where you live in greater Vernon, your default water source is either Duteau Creek or Kalamalka Lake. Most of us in the City of Vernon are on the Kal Lake source unless there is a quality issue, which is not very often. If your TDS is 46 at the moment, you probably live somewhere in Coldstream or outside of the City of Vernon and are on the Duteau Creek source year 'round? I ran my RO/DI a few days ago & the tap water TDS was 174, so no doubt I'm on the Kal Lake source.

This link will allow you to enter your street address to determine which water source you're on under normal conditions.

http://www.rdno.ca/index.php/maps/water-source-map

Even though a pile of money has been spent in recent years to upgrade the Duteau Creek source, due to Interior Health tightening up the rules for potable water, it appears there will be a need to borrow many millions more now to further improve filtration & separate the agricultural/domestic water systems in our area.

[mikellini]

I'm near the top of East Hill, occasionally it goes up to 150-200 but it has been low for quite some time here now

[mike31154]

I'm near the top of East Hill, occasionally it goes up to 150-200 but it has been low for quite some time here now

Well I couldn't get the address entry on the link I provided to work for me, but the map at the bottom of the page allows one to zoom in. Using the colour coded Water Source legend in the data entry area of the page, it looks like much of East Hill is 'dark blue', which is Duteau Creek, much softer water. Consider yourself fortunate. Up until a few years ago when they built the multi-million $ filtration facility for Duteau source, you folks on East Hill had some pretty nasty looking water, depending on the time of year...

RDNO has the ability to switch sources between Duteau & Kal for most of the area served, so if there is an issue such as turbidity or bacteria, they will do so. Unless you check the web site often or happen to read it in the paper or hear it on the local radio, you won't know if & when your water source has been switched. The only other way to know will be the reading on your TDS meter. So if your TDS climbs to the 150+ area, you've been temporarily switched from Duteau to Kal, or they are flushing the water mains in your area. There is a flush scheduled in my area (Mission Hill) in the next few days.

[mikellini]

I've only had the RODI unit for about a year, made about 400 gallons and just had the changed the sediment and carbon filters. I have two DI's (Spectrapure MaxCap) and I anticipate having to change the first one in another year or so haha; the second DI should last through two more cycles of changing the first one. Lucky me