Cost-effective solutions offered for arsenic removal from drinking water

The Culligan Good Water Machine® reverse osmosis Point-of-Use drinking water system reduces Arsenic V in chlorinated water supplies to levels far below the new standard.

The new arsenic standard, announced in late 2001 by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, could cost local communities (US) $200 million annually and will reduce the maximum amount of arsenic allowed in drinking water from 50 parts per billion to 10 parts per billion by 2006.

Arsenic is a naturally occurring element that enters water supplies through either natural deposition or agricultural and industrial pollution. According to the EPA, health effects related to arsenic include cardiovascular problems, diabetes, and increased risk of various cancers. The new standard is estimated by the EPA to impact one in 20 or about 4,000 community water systems nationwide. Nearly 97% of those are small systems serving communities of fewer than 10,000 people.

Water quality associations, government agencies and water companies have been working to educate communities about proven and cost-effective arsenic removal methods.

Already stressed community drinking water systems and budgets will be impacted over the next several years. So, it is even more critical to provide the affected communities with a variety of technologies and services -- from wellhead arsenic removal systems, to microfiltration or reverse osmosis, to point-of-use or point-of-entry systems for household and commercial use.

USFilter and Culligan have entered into an exclusive marketing agreement with GEH Wasserchemie GmbH of Germany, to market Granular Ferric Hydroxide (GFH) media to remove arsenic (III), arsenic (V), chromium, lead and uranium. The GFH media has been used in Europe for many years to help municipalities meet the World Health Organization standards.

The media will be used in community water treatment plants and within the Culligan brand point-of-use and point-of-entry systems. Through point-of-use systems, consumers in affected areas also can take control of their drinking water quality. These under-the-sink systems use membrane technology to reduce arsenic levels, plus other contaminants such as nitrate/nitrite, lead and Cryptosporidium and Giardia cysts.

USFilter will also provide wellhead arsenic removal systems by installing the GFH media in pressure vessels. To ensure system integrity, the company will use its nationwide service network to provide cost-effective maintenance contracts that include water analysis, media removal, disposal and replacement.

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