Importance of Water Quality Improvement Options in Texas
The Water Conditioning Industry offers consumers a wide array of products and services
which give them the option of deciding for themselves the quality of the water they will
have in their homes or businesses. Water is Life and water too is the lifeblood of our
plumbing systems. Bad water, like bad blood, can wreak havoc on the system it flows through,
causing plugging, pitting and a host of other expensive problems if not treated to remove
objectionable contaminants and impurities. Appliances too, many of them expensive to repair
or replace, are particularly sensitive to water quality problems.
Beyond these plumbing and appliance concerns, water quality can be even more important in
regards to human health. Science continues to identify contaminants and their potential health
effects at an alarming rate, and to view even innocuous disinfectants like chlorine and its
newer combination with ammonia, chloramines, as potential long term threats when they combine
with organics to form trihalomethanes (THMs) or cause old lead solder to be leached into the
water supply in alarming levels, as proved to be the case in Washington DC recently.
Consumers want to be assured that the water they use and consume is safe, both short term and
long term. Their concern has skyrocketed in recent years as our knowledge of the subject has deepened.
In some cases, customers desire improved water for bathing, home maintenance, and other
household uses. In other cases the consumer requires highly treated water to meet the needs of
science, medicine, and industry. In the last 20-30 years, public awareness of, and demand for,
higher qualities of water depending on end-use has sky-rocketed. The individuals and companies
charged with assuring that water purification systems are applied correctly and operate according
to plan, acquire and maintain a good deal of diverse skills, including mathematical, chemical,
hydrological, bacteriological, plumbing, and hydro-dynamic knowledge. The rapid pace of advancement
in the water treatment field makes it essential for water treatment professionals to continually
enhance their skill-set, and this is really only done effectively with ongoing training and
education, followed by certification to assure those skills are well understood. In addition to
residentially oriented water quality technologies, other distinct water treatment systems have
been developed in the commercial and industrial arena, including high-purity
or ultra-pure
technologies for use in laboratories, high-tech manufacturing and other fields.
Water quality in Texas effects almost every phase of our lives and is an important factor in the
quality of life available to Texans.
