Winnebago County health department officials are investigating the discovery of vocs in two private wells in the northwest Rockford, IL area.  We hear people say, “I have well water, its great, we don’t need any water treatment!” But there are many things that can be in well water that you can’t smell, taste or see. Volatile organic compounds (vocs), bacteria, virus, pesticides, insecticides, nitrate, radium, trichloretheylne…the list is much larger. When you have a well, only you are responsible for the quality of your water.

At any given time, between 20 & 40% of wells are bacterially contaminated. A good water test one day does not ensure a good test on another. Water quality changes, contaminants are introduced to the environment or migrate from one aquifer to another.  The best way to protect your family’s health from long-term effects of unwanted chemicals, minerals or bacteria is with a careful, thoughtful water treatment plan.

Our Certified Water Specialist are experts at problem water. We can perform a water quality check, examine your present system, and make recommendations on solving the potential problems that you are concerned with. There is not one magical system that will take care of everything, water treatment is not a one-size-fits-all kind of endeavor. We will address your concerns and propose an economical, eco-friendly,  effective plan that may be one piece of equipment or a system that works in perfect harmony to remove the various contaminants that are present.

Call us today for your free water anaysis and get on the path to better water today. Call 815-282-9595 or see our website for more info.  Go to WREX 13′s website for more info on the contamination in Rockford, IL.

Flashback to senior year of high school. The class is chemistry. It is test day. I normally do well on tests and this allows me to skate on the homework thing…I get a C on my homework, but an A on my test…that should average out to a B and keep the parents happy. But this is chemistry class. Private-school-high-standard-I-stink-at-MATH chemistry class. I am doomed. A new horror has revealed itself to me- in order to pass this class, I must do the homework. That should average out the D I am about to earn.

I took the chemistry/physics class my senior year because I thought I loved science. Dissecting frogs, identifying minerals and learning about the world around me was fun. But little did I know that eventually science involved my arch-nemesis, the evil and unforgiving enemy, MATH.  Oh, I passed algebra thanks to David Young (by the way, thanks, buddy) but MATH knew my secret and hounded me every day. So I had to do the homework, actually study for my tests and still MATH defeated me. I probably ended up with a solid C- for the year but I will say this- I learned more in that class getting Cs and Ds than any other subject that I got As in.

Fast forward to the present day. I am now a Water Quality Association Certified Water Specialist- Level II. How did I get here? By taking a chemistry test! No, MATH and I do not get along much better than we did in high school, but I guess some of that stuff actually stuck with me all these years. The review session for the Level I test was a rerun of my year in chemistry class…I sat there thinking “I know this stuff!” I was amazed, overjoyed that it was all coming back to me- electron orbit shells, chemical equations, atomic numbers, oxidation…Mr. Palmer would be so proud of me! And also shocked that one of his worst students ended up in a career that used chemistry every day.

But the best part is that I got  a B on my test…take that, MATH!

www.wqa.org

www.americanpurewater.com

The product claims range from the miraculous to the ridiculous. Save the planet, cure diabetes, live longer, defy the laws of chemistry, rewrite the medical books…all with the latest water improvement device. How can the average person tell the difference between the truth and the B.S.?

A resource I use to discern water fact from water pseudoscience is the aquascience link on Steven Lower’s website, www.chem1.com . In an email exchange , Mr. Lower gave me his opinion on why so many fall prey to misleading advertising and why these water scams perpetuate-

“I suspect that much of the appeal of pseudoscience and quackery is that they provide simplistic answers that give scientifically-naïve people the illusion of control and understanding of what they perceive as an impossibly complex and overwhelming world.   The low standard of North American science education and the “powerful strain of intertwined ignorance, anti-rationalism and anti-intellectualism” that Susan Jacoby describes in her book “The Age of American Unreason” can only encourage the aggressive marketing of commercial and intellectual snake oils of all kinds.  Especially egregious are those who prey on individuals who are dealing with the emotional trauma of a life-threatening disease.

In contrast to the very weak evidence for the efficacy of most “alternative” remedies,  there is abundant documented evidence for the benefits of getting plenty of exercise, a healthy diet, freedom from stress, and engagement in fulfilling creative, social or spiritual activities.  Unfortunately, many commercial interests would like people to believe that it’s easier to simply take some magical nostrum!”  – Steven Lower, 2009

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  If you have any questions about whether a water product is for real, check out Mr. Lower’s website or go to  www.wqa.org. Or you can pick up the phone and call me. I can’t promise that my products will make you will live longer but I can promise you good-tasting, clean water.

www.chem1.com     www.wqa.org     www.americanpurewater.com