GE GE Water Softener System - GNSH45E
 Big corporate
research
reacts to 2 stimuli... profits and crisis. Until the end of last
century, much of our disease was borne by drinking water. In
1880, chlorine was used for the first time in England. It seemed
like the right thing to do at the time, and was heralded as a
great discovery. Science had responded to a crisis in the only
way possible at that time. Today it refuses to deviate from this
response because it works... or does it?
We now know the solution does not give Mother Nature much
credit, and is certainly not fashioned after anything she has
done or does; nevertheless, in most water treatment circles,
chlorination is the only economical way to control water borne
disease. How did we get along without it before, and why do we
need it now?
Historically our water supplies have been taken from rivers and
lakes. The Romans decreed that no town could be located closer
than 10 kilometers from another to prevent contamination of
water supplies downstream. Although they polluted as much or
more than we, there were fewer to dirty the waters. It's ironic
that we talk about feeding a growing world population. Quenching
its thirst may prove to be a much greater challenge because the
supply of good drinking
water
is gone.
Man assumes water is the universal dumping ground. Nature's
recovery process is complete, but it is slow, and frankly, most
of us are of the opinion that recovery is someone else's job.
This is, and will continue to create BIG problems.The Crypto
attack on the City of Milwaukee is a classic example of fooling
around with Mother Nature. Authorities would have us believe
that the bug just showed up on its own, but if we really get
down to the whys and wherefores, we'll find that we created the
environmental conditions for Crypto to breed.
We pull water
out of a polluted stream or river and drive it along to its
destination with centrifugal pumps. This was not one of our
better ideas because aside from being fragile, the crystalline
structure of water is very sensitive to mechanical abuse.
Wilkes' experiments with flow-forms clearly show that the
centrifugal pump depletes water's natural energies, allowing it
to become dead much faster.
The water is
then channeled to an area where it gets its medicine in the form
of chlorine and other chemicals. Raw water contains microbes,
minerals, particulate matter and organic matter. Water treatment
stations are designed to remove or alter all of these
substances. Plants vary greatly depending on the source. Well
water generally requires less treatment, while water drawn from
rivers and lakes requires more. A typical system will consist of
the following operations:
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Transport
from source |
The source
can be a river, stream, lake or well. Unless the source
is located at a higher elevation than the treatment
plant, a pump is required to move the water from the
source to the plant. The pump is almost always
centrifugal and the size will depend on the distance and
the amount of water being moved. In some cases
prechlorination is made at the source to remove
microbes, especially algae that can clog the system. |
|
Flocculation and Settling |
In most
cases the removal of particulate matter is required.
This is usually accomplished by adding Alum (aluminum
sulfate) or ferric chloride. (Both Aluminum and Iron are
suspect in heart disease.) The chemical is slurrried
into holding tanks. The movement of water through the
tank is controlled to allow time for the flocculent to
settle out. This is also called a clarification process. |
|
Filtration |
Filtration
is accomplished with a filter. The most common type is
the sand filter, which removes smaller particles not
removed in the clarification process. To remove organic
compounds, vegetable or mineral activated carbon is
often used together with the sand filtration or in a
separate process. |
|
Disinfection and pHs adjustment. |
Although
ozone and UV are used to disinfect the water before
sending it to the distribution system, chlorine is still
preferred because of its residual action. Fluoridation
also occurs at this point. Often a pHs (pH of
saturation) adjustment is made to prevent corrosion
and/or scaling of the distribution system. This
adjustment is made by adding acid or alkaline chemicals. |
|
Monitoring |
Chlorine
concentration, turbidity and pH have always been
monitored on finished water, but now there is a growing
need to monitor many other things. For example, Giardia
may past through the system, so monitoring microbes has
become necessary. Occasional monitoring of organic
compounds is also necessary, but this can create great
expense because even as early as the 1960s, more than
2500 different compounds were found in drinking water. |
|
Distribution |
From the
treatment plant, water is generally pumped to an
elevated reservoir for distribution to the consumer.
Many conduits and water mains contain scale, which acts
as sites for the growth of bacteria colonies. This is
why the disinfection method needs to have residual
action. |
 Your
body is made up of cells... about 61,000,000,000,000 of them.
Bacteria are also cells. If chlorine kills bacteria, what do you
suppose it does to cells? If you happen to be one of the four
hundred thousand people who die from myocardial infarctions each
year, there may be reason to believe that it is capable of
killing you too. Heart disease is America's number 1 killer.
Before the turn of the century arteriosclerosis was unknown.
Even Dr. Paul Dudley White, Eisenhower's physician, only saw his
first case after 1920... forty years after the first use of
chlorine as a water-treating agent. Does that arouse curiosity?
At least one dedicated scientist, Dr. Joseph Price took the cue
and investigated the matter in his book,
Coronary/Cholesterol/Chlorine, published in 1969.
Arteriosclerosis
is a hardening of the arteries characterized by the gradual
accumulation of fatty substances embedded in the inner wall of
the blood vessels, making the passage of blood more difficult
and thereby putting a greater work load on the heart. The
medical profession would have us think that the problem is
primarily dietary. People have been eating fatty foods for
centuries. The Eskimo has managed on whale blubber and suffered
very few cardiac problems. As dietary rationale goes, peoples of
the third world should be dropping like flies, but very few rank
heart disease as an alarming cause of death.
Dr. Price noted
a high rate of arteriosclerosis among servicemen in Vietnam.
Under combat conditions there is no room for gastrointestinal
disorders, so chlorine concentrations in the drinking water were
maintained high. He noticed unusually high rates of cholesterol
in 18 and 20 year old men, and eventually arrived at the
conclusion this was caused by chlorinated water. He went on to
prove his theory under controlled conditions with chickens: some
given chlorinated water and others a diet without chlorine. The
theory was borne out, but unless you have happened across this
little known publication, you have never heard of Dr. Price or
his discovery.
We all drink
water, and most of us drink water treated with chlorine. In that
case we will all be interested in results of tests conducted by
The United States Environmental Protection Agency. Below is an
excerpt from a letter signed by Dr. Bercz of the Cincinnati
laboratory.
"Studies in non-human primates have shown that the
chlorine treated water causes depression of high density
lipoprotein (HDL) bound cholesterol, shifting the binding to the
low density form (LDL). The protection of the former and the
role of the LDL in coronary heart disease is an established
medical fact."
That brings up another interesting point. Any chemical
product sold in the USA requires an MSDS (Material Safety Data
Sheet) stating any hazards to your health through inhalation or
ingestion. There is an MSDS for chlorine. There is no MSDS for
our drinking water. It is undeniably a chemical compound
containing a deadly and hazardous chemical, but just try asking
your local water authority for the MSDS!
While
researching his book, Dr. Price found the small town of
Fullerton, located just North of Allentown, PA. What made this
town different from most is that it had no water treatment… and
no heart disease even though most of the population was of
Italian ancestry, consuming what should have been a high
cholesterol diet.
If the water is
muddy it has to be cleared of particles and solid matter. Some
of this is done by allowing particles to settle out in holding
reservoirs, but the final touches are carried out chemically. A
precipitation agent like aluminum sulfate or ferric chloride is
used to flocculate solid matter so that the clean water can be
drawn off and filtered. After that, an acid or alkaline is added
to adjust the pH of the water to lessen damage to the water
mains. This is called adjusting to the pH of saturation (pHs).
The pHs is established, not to protect you, but to protect the
water mains from corrosion or scaling.
The water then
leaves the torture chamber under the full force of centrifugal
pumps and into the dark dingy conduits for delivery. If you have
never had the pleasure of observing the inside of a water main,
you have led a sheltered life. The mud and scale deposits on the
inside surface of the mains make perfect breeding grounds for
microorganisms. The chlorine residual we smell and
taste
in the water is there to keep breeding sites in check.
…void of any
healthful value it may have had?
Most people know
the water is terrible. That is precisely why there is a place in
the market for water purification devices and bottled water.
These devices clean, but they also destroy or remove substances
that should remain. Home purification devices are mostly
cosmetic. While they do remove chlorine and other volatiles,
they do nothing to make the water drinkable... usable for bodily
functions. Even so, they have become necessary appliances for
the office and home.
A good activated
carbon filter will do to remove contaminates. That is how the
bottled water industry began. They used city water, just like
yours, and ran it through carbon filtration units. Twenty-five
percent of all bottled water still comes from city water
supplies. A very good filter consists of activated carbon and
KDF, a
bimetallic mixture that quickly removes Chlorine and heavy
metals.
Some home units
are based on the use of RO (Reverse Osmosis) purification
equipment. These devices and distillation units take everything
out of the water, a step that would not be necessary if we knew
how to regenerate the desirable properties of water. Nature's
water comes with minerals. Why? As a practical matter, we are
often forced to make our water drinkable. For municipal water
supplies, it is absolutely imperative that Chlorine be removed
before drinking. In this case, you may opt for bottled water, or
a good activated carbon filter.
For
well water, the choice depends on a thorough water analysis, but
there are well established, reputable companies experienced in
removing major contaminants and softening water for better taste
and ease of use.
What about
bottled water? It is a viable alternative to avoiding
contamination, but most buy bottled water because of taste. It
may taste better, but the fact that it is bottled means it is
contained, and has no more usefulness to bodily functions than
dechlorinated tap water. Good water is also an excellent
solvent, so avoid buying bottled water in polyethelene
containers (milk carton type). Even the best bottled waters
produced throughout the world lose their essential energetic
properties about 20 hours after being packaged.
In
the town of Kaslo, located in the Kootney Mountains of British
Columbia there is no water treatment. Water for the town is
gathered from melting snow in a mountainous reservoir, which
feeds the town by gravity. It's that simple... no filtration, no
chemicals... just mountain water. The health services have found
"beaver fever" (Giardia) in the water, but it doesn't seem to
bother the residents. Nor does it bother the thousands of
tourists who visit the town every summer. Because of this the
citizens of Kaslo have repeatedly refused to put in a water
treatment plant. Are they wrong, or are they privilege to a
phenomena beyond our comprehension?
In our sterile society we would hardly think of drinking water
that is not totally crystal clear. Yet, we breath air that is
full of contamination. The lungs are more susceptible to damage
from filthy air than the digestive tract is to particulate
matter in the water. Could it be that the citizens of Kaslo have
just adjusted to their water? How do we explain the tourist not
contacting disease from the Giardia contamination. Research at
the Adolfo Lutz Institute in São Paulo, Brazil shows that Real
Water inhibits the proliferation of pathogens, but has no effect
on nonpathogenic microorganisms. Perhaps this mountain water
melted from snow has the special properties it takes to
transform or somehow deactivate the pathogenic properties of the
Giardia.
Let's take a look at Mother Nature's water treatment facility.
We mentioned that pumps are harmful to water. Perhaps, you are
having difficulty finding a pump in Nature. That is because you
are looking too hard. Look out the window and you will see three
examples of pumps... unless, of course, you live in a treeless,
skyless, soiless neighborhood.
The
tree is a very efficient pump. It would take a centrifugal pump
the size of a house to lift a column of water 200 feet in the
air, and even if it could be done, it would make an intolerable
racket. On the other hand, the Redwoods in California lift tons
of water per day in total silence.
Look
up at the sky. The clouds you see are water vapor evaporated
from the ground. Thanks to the special properties of Hydrogen
bond, water changes phase at exactly the right temperature,
evaporates, condenses and falls back to earth as rain. Nature
lifts and transports thousands of tons of water in total silence
as you carry out your daily chores. It does not always fall back
where it came from, but it all comes back treated by Nature. It
is not just a pump. It is also a first class purification
mechanism. The process of evaporation assures that only water
will rise, and while the vapor is aloft, it is exposed to the
purifying qualities of the Sun's radiation.
Now wrench your
neck back towards the ground and you will see a less obvious
pump... the soil. If you have ever put a dry flowerpot in a pan
of water, you know that the soil soaks up water. This also
happens in nature, and that is why a plot of soil can appear to
be parched and still support plant life. The water that is
available under the surface climbs by capillary action.
Capillary action is another specialty of the Hydrogen Bond.
In 1747 Jean
Antoine Nollet discovered that by electrifying a capillary tube,
the capillary action of water was arrested. Therefore,
electricity does have an influence on the pumping properties of
water. Now, correlate this observation with the fact that
electrical potential changes with distance above sea level.
There is a difference of 200 volts between the ground and the
top of your head. If you find that shocking, remember that the
delta potential between the ground and the top of the Empire
State Building is 40,000 volts. Don't think this observation has
gone unnoticed. Scientists think trees use electric potential to
pump water.
Aside
from evaporation and condensation, Mother Nature provides a
multitude of other purification mechanisms. Most people think
she has strategically placed waterfalls so we can look at them
and take photographs. While that might be one reason, you can be
sure that she had some other things in mind. Waterfalls
represent one of Nature's most unique water treatment methods.
During the fall, water reaches a gravity-free state and is
allowed to separate, tumble, breathe, expand and reform.
Nature also
provides a few other ways to stretch and expand, tumble and
twist. The rocks and other obstacles in creek and riverbeds
provide resistance that forces water to flow, thereby allowing
it to mix and reform. Waves fold water over so that a
homogeneous mixture results, allowing it to seek its most
natural form. Waves also serve to fold surface water under and
bring deep water to the surface for oxygenation.
If ice is the
solid form of water, and all other elements contract upon
assuming their solid form, why does water expand by about 7%?
The fact that it does expand allows it to float on top of the
water. Can you imagine how our World would change if ice sank to
the bottom. Where would the fish hang out during the winter? You
can thank the Hydrogen bond and its special properties.
Melted
water from snow is one of the most pure forms of water. A Soviet
study of the longevity of life among the peoples of Nepal has
boiled down to just one fact... the water. Their water comes
from melted ice and snow of the Himalayas. Freezing is another
of Mother Nature's regenerative mechanisms. Try it yourself.
Take some water and put it in the freezer. Allow it to develop a
skin. Remove the skin and let the rest of the water freeze.
After being completely frozen, remove it and let it melt. Drink
the water and you will notice a lighter taste. (Incidentally,
you may be wondering why the skin is removed. At 3.8 degrees C,
the isotopes of water migrate to the surface where they can be
removed.)
It's not nice to
fool Mother Nature! Motorboats on our lakes and rivers, trash in
our oceans, contaminants in the air, chemicals on the ground,
and perhaps worst of all, inadequate water treatment systems,
all take a toll on Nature and the quality of water. In the
future, we will not have the quantities we need, so we have to
take steps to find new ways to improve water quality before
Mother Nature chokes us off from the very essence of life.
There is an
upside. Water is good for you when it is naturally restored. The
subtle properties of water are being studied more than ever
before, and we are finding that it is not only good for you, but
can keep you out of the doctor's office. We define this very
special water as Real Water. To read about it, click on
Defining Real Water.
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