My husband called me at work a few days ago in a bit of a panic. Our tap water, he told me, was coming out all brown and disgusting, and it smelled awful.
Sure enough, when I got home the water in the toilet bowl was pretty gross, and the stuff coming out of the taps was no better. And, it did smell awful.
As this certainly wasn’t normal (at least I hoped not!), I popped over to see Tim, my neighbour, to find out if their water was the same. When I knocked on the door and explained the situation, the answer I received was not very comforting.
This happens regularly during heavy rain, I was told. I just need to change the filter, and maybe not drink the water for a few days until it clears up. Perhaps, like them, I shouldn’t be drinking the water at all…
Holy crap!
After processing this unexpected piece of information, I asked where the “filter” was located. Taking pity on me (most likely it was the desperation in my voice), Tim offered to show me my filter. Imagine his (and my) surprise when he told me I didn’t have a filter system on my water line. By contrast, Tim changed his filter weekly.
After recommending I call the local Water Depot where he purchased his filters (by the case), Tim went home, leaving me to figure out how to do practical things like wash my face and brush my teeth.
Glenn from the Water Depot came over the next evening to check our water. He found a small amount of iron and a huge amount of dirt. Normally he would recommend a UV system to zap bacteria, but he feared all the crap in the water would block the UV light from killing 100% of the bacteria. We eventually agreed on a double filter UV system using one carbon filter and a one-micron regular filter, which we would monitor regularly until we were sure it was 100% effective.
The next morning I sent in a water sample to the local Public Health Unit. The following afternoon I received a call from one of their technicians, desperate to know if I was drinking the water. Apparently, it was heavily contaminated with bacteria.
Can hardly wait for the UV system to be installed. It’s getting quite tedious to wash my face, put on my makeup and brush my teeth in the office washroom before anyone else shows up…
