In the past several months, El Paso Water customers have seen surveys and test tubes left at their doors offering to test their water. Some of those customers accepted the offer. Some ended up spending thousands of dollars on home filtration systems. Some had buyer’s remorse.
Companies selling home filtration systems may allege that El Paso tap water is unsafe to drink. But El Pasoans have every reason to be confident in their tap water quality. After all, El Paso Water employees are customers too.
“I wouldn’t let my family drink tap water if it wasn’t safe to drink,” says Richard Wilcox, Manager of EPWater’s International Water Quality Laboratory. “We actively monitor water quality and collect 45,000 samples annually. We test water for metals, microbiological components, water quality compounds and organic substances. Our instrumentation can detect substances at the parts-per-trillion level.”
Dr. Kristina Mena, Dean for the University of Texas – Houston School of Public Health, El Paso Campus, specializes in microbial risk assessment. She says EPWater treatment plants are already providing the most optimal public health safeguards.
“If the home owner can’t logistically or financially properly maintain the filtration system, they could create an environment for certain types of bacteria to grow, which is a health hazard.”
There are home filtration systems in the market that use reverse osmosis (RO) and deionized water (DI). But some systems are nothing more than water softeners. Ultimately, consumers need to be informed about what they are buying and for how much.
“Soft water is purely aesthetic, soft water ‘feels’ better, causes soap to lather better,” Wilcox said. “Auto detailers and car washes use RO water to rinse cars because it does not spot. Hospitals and dialysis centers use RO and DI water.
Ultimately, Wilcox encourages every consumer to be vigilant and informed when it comes to their drinking water.
“Remember, some systems may result in drinking water that is stripped of minerals and with elevated pH and added sodium,” he said.