RESIDENTIAL and COMMERCIAL
KITCHENER — The Region of Waterloo and the City of Guelph dumps thousands of tonnes of salt into the Grand River every year.
Both municipalities get most of their water from groundwater, which picks up minerals in the ground such as calcium and magnesium.
As a result, the two have some of the hardest water in the country.
Hard water is healthy to drink, but many people don't like it because the minerals from hard water build up on pipes, fixtures and appliances; hard water also needs more soap to create lather for bathing and washing.
As a result, most households in the region use water softeners, which remove the minerals from tap water.
But the softeners take a toll on the environment. The ion exchange water softeners that are most popular use salt to remove the hard minerals from the water. But the softer water has a higher salt content, which is why it's not recommended that people use softened water for drinking or cooking.
All that salt eventually ends up in the Grand River. The region estimates about 20,000 tonnes of salt from water softeners finds its way into the river every year.
The softeners also use water to recharge the resin that removes the minerals from the water. Every year, water softeners in the region consume about 1.5 million cubic metres of water — about the same amount of water 6,500 households would use in a year.
The Region of Waterloo is in the process of offering plumbing rebate for changing your water softener to hot water only. They are starting to understand the need to reduce the amount of salt going in our fresh water supply. They even did a study on one type of alternative Salt-free water conditioners. (not as effective as the Flow-Tech Home that Hard Water Rescue offers)
Disadvantages of home water softening
-
Can corrode your pipes. The corroded metal from the pipes can end up in your water. This can contribute to elevated lead and copper levels in drinking water.
-
Potential health effects from additional sodium.
-
Regular testing of the water and maintenance of the softener is necessary to make sure the softener is working properly.
-
Negative impacts to the environment from salt use.
-
The water used to regenerate the softener beads ends up as waste.
What are the environmental impacts of home softening?
North America has a growing problem with chloride in water. Chloride in water threatens our fresh-water fish and other aquatic life.
The chloride used in home water softeners can also affect the water used for drinking. It takes only one teaspoon of sodium chloride salt to permanently pollute five gallons of water.
Once salt is in water, there is no easy way to remove it.
In some communities, home water softeners drain to municipal wastewater treatment plants, which are not designed to remove chloride.
The chloride passes through the treatment plant and ends up in our lakes and streams.
In homes with private wells and home softeners, chloride drains to the home’s septic system and then ends up in lakes and streams.
