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The water industry is posed to have several new changes that happen within the next decade due to rapid urbanization, climate change, consumer demands, and emerging digital technologies. Complex business challenges will arise, and companies can turn these changes into opportunities that could benefit both businesses and consumers and the environment. Below, are five trends that will have an impact on the water industry within the next decade:

1. Extreme Weather

It is anticipated that we will have more extreme weather in the next decade than ever recorded before. Most of the climate change is attributed to water, and these changes will influence agricultural production, rises in sea levels, and wildfires leading to droughts and floods. 

Hard engineering structures such as dikes, seawalls, and levees can be built to protect coastal communities against severe flooding. The use of intricate water modeling technologies can help determine current vulnerabilities and offer better solutions to address these coastal challenges.

2. Agricultural Changes

The UN has projected that the world’s population will reach more than nine billion by 2050 and making sure that there is enough food for everyone will be essential. It is estimated that global food production needs to be increased by at least 70% to maintain enough food. To keep up with these demands, there needs to be enough arable land for crop production and more efficient irrigation technology to handle the requests. Precision farming systems, coupled with emerging technologies to improve agricultural production, will help in using less water for more crops. 

3. Reusing Wastewater

Wastewater is made up of many valuable elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and other resources that can be used for energy and be reused instead of letting them be discarded back into the environment. The current water consumption model is liner in nature, meaning that water is extracted from a source, checked for quality, consumed, treated, and discharged in a receiving body of water. In the next decade, we will see the emergence of a more circular model, one of which focuses on reusing wastewater and utilizing its properties we are currently discarding. To do this, we will need to rethink and redesign the current infrastructure. 

4. Customer-Led Revolution

Digital technologies are used by consumers nearly every moment of the day, empowering them more than ever. People expect more personalized products and services to improve every aspect of their life, which will only increase as time goes on. Businesses must accept that the new paradigm of the empowered customer adapts their mindsets to service this expectation. Technologies for smart water softeners, filtration systems, and other consumer products will give homeowners more control over bills, utilization, and overall maintenance. The water industry will be challenged to examine how to work with businesses, consumers, and technologies to achieve the desired goals for all. 

5. Smart Network and Technologies

As we progress into a more tech-driven world, smart water network solutions will increase in use and improve the reliability of physical water operations by gathering and analyzing data more effectively. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a term coined to describe all devices connected to the internet and speak with each other, sending data, automatic process, and analytics. IoT will help better manage the water industry infrastructure and reduce non-revenue water losses; it will also support essential changes to how utility companies operate and function. This will allow the opportunity to improve productivity and ROI, all while enhancing customer experience and expectations. 

Reynolds Water Conditioning Co. was established in 1931 and is Michigan’s oldest water conditioning treatment company. Reynolds Water is delighted to provide the highest quality products at a cost-effective price. www.reynoldswater.com

Most homeowners choose a reverse osmosis system for their water filtration needs. Reverse osmosis works by forcing water across several layers of a semi-permeable membrane to catch contaminants. Particles that are caught are then flushed out of the system. This is a process in which dissolved inorganic solids (such as salts) are removed from a solution (such as water).

Key Benefits of a Reverse Osmosis System:

• Improves Taste. When water is filtered with reverse osmosis (RO), it removes contaminants that could alter the taste and odor. Another benefit is texture and softness. Your water should look, taste, and feel refreshing. 

• Saves Money. With a RO system, you can stop purchasing cases of bottled water and discontinue water delivery. This will save you a lot of money and cost you only pennies per gallon for better tasting water.

• Helps the Environment. Drinking water from your own kitchen facet cuts down on plastic bottles that can end up in landfills. For every six bottles of water purchased, Americans on average, only recycle one of them.   

• Easy Maintenance. The simplicity of RO systems cannot be underestimated. Surprisingly, these systems are straightforward to clean, fix, and service. There are very few moving parts; thus, identifying and replacing parts is relativity easy.

• Removes Impurities. Reverse osmosis removes a plethora of pollutants from water. The common contaminants that a RO can eliminate are nitrates, pesticides, sulfates, fluoride, bacteria, pharmaceuticals, arsenic, and much more. The carbon filter within the RO system will also remove chlorine and chloramines. 

Reverse osmosis is an effective and affordable way to improve the health, taste, odor, and overall quality of your water. Read more about reverse osmosis here. 

There are plenty of things that can go wrong with your water softener over time, and regular maintenance is a must if you want to ensure that your unit works consistently. Below are a few common issues with water softeners and some tips that will help you make your softener work more efficiently and last longer.

Avoid Salt Bridges and Salt Mushing: 

A salt bridge occurs when a hard crust forms in the brine tank and creates a space between the water and the salt. This prevents the salt from dissolving into the water to make the brine. You may notice an issue if your salt tank appears full, but your water seems hard. The best way to tell if you have a salt bridge is to take the end of a broom handle and press against the top of the salt wall. If the top of the salt collapses inwards, then you have a salt bridge.

Salt Mushing:

This is the more serious of the two issues and happens when dissolved salt recrystallizes to form sludge at the bottom of the tank. The thick layer of salt at the bottom keeps the water softener from properly cycling through the regeneration process and leaves the water hard and blocking the rest of the tank filtration. Salt mushing is probably the cause of hard water if you already tested for bridging. 

Be Selective with Your Salt Choice:

There are three basic types of water softener salts available for softeners: rock, solar, and evaporated. Rock salt, the least expensive of the three, contains higher levels of insoluble minerals or impurities and can muddy your tank over time, decreasing the softening elements. The second option is solar salt, which is more soluble than rock salt, is obtained by the evaporation of seawater, and is found in both pellet and crystal form. The last option is evaporated salt and is obtained through a combination of mining and evaporation and is the purest form of salt at 99.99% sodium chloride. 

By periodically checking your water softener, you can keep it running smoothly with little to no hard water occurring. Read more on other tips to ensure you have a fully functional water softener system here. 

Paul Undesser, WAQ Executive Director, announced Shelter-in-Place Directives for the COVID-19 pandemic on March 20, 2020. Undesser announced that certain water treatment businesses are deemed “essential” for sustaining life per the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 

The types of companies listed are; water treatment professionals, manufacturers, deliveries, and service providers point-of-use and point-of-entry (POU/POE) water treatment products and services. Due to the critical products and services these companies provide within the water drinking and purification industries, they provide crucial roles in life-sustaining activities.

The DHS issued advisory guidance to state, local, and tribal officials on March 19 regarding the assigning of essential workers who are critical to maintaining important operations and public works. The DHS labeled those within the plumbing, electrical, extermination, and other service providers “essential” who provide services that are necessary to maintaining safety, sanitation, and essential operations of residences. More on this announcement can be found here.

According to this article, a global survey was conducted showing an increase in the use of water softeners to create safe drinking water worldwide. Additionally, there has been a rise in awareness for utilizing water softeners for balancing the proper amounts of magnesium and calcium safe for drinking levels.

If a person drinks soft water with higher levels of magnesium or calcium, it can lead to increased health problems. Experts are also advising people to stay clear of water softener systems that use sodium instead of magnesium and calcium. 

Water softener systems that use magnesium and calcium can not only offer health advantages but also save you money when compared to other softener systems.

The U.S Environmental Protection Agency is in the process of reassuring residents that water from their tap is safe to consume. However, hundreds of people are crowding local grocery stores throughout the country to stock up on bottled water supplies due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Government officials have stated that conventional water treatment and disinfection removes any viruses, including the COVID-19, and no extra measures like boiling water will be necessary. In this article, the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities offers information on their website to advise customers and answer questions that the public may have regarding this matter. It is always a best practice to have a four-day supply of water for emergency precautions; however, the department has downplayed the need to stockpile water for the coronavirus outbreak.

Rust is commonly regarded as one element but is actually composed of several compounds that consist of iron and oxygen. Rust forms when free iron is exposed to oxygen and water. The water color in your home could be yellow, orange, or brown depending on the concentration of the rust. Typically, rusty water pipes on a well water system will have a higher concentration of iron leading to rusty water issues. Thankfully you can remove rust in your home with water softeners, oxidizing filters and sequestration.

Step 1: Connect an ion exchange water softener to your water supply. This device will contain sodium that will combine with the iron and remove the rust from your water.

Step 2: Install an oxidizing filter before the water softener line. This device will contain manganese oxides that will convert soluble compounds into insoluble compounds, which then will filter out of the water. Oxidizing filters are most appropriate for treat water with a moderate level of concentrated iron and where the pH is at least 6.8

Step 3: Use a solution feeder to add polyphosphates to your water supply. Polyphosphates contain phosphorus, which disperse in the water so the iron doesn’t form rust. However, a polyphosphate chemical feeder can be more expensive than other options. It is only recommended to use a polyphosphate feeder if the rust issues are severe enough warrant this option.

Step 4: Add about half gallon of bleach to your water supply. After adding the bleach, allow to water to sit for about 12 hours and run the water until no more bleach is present in the system. This system is most effective when the rust in your water is being produced by bacteria.

Read More on How to Effectively Remove Rust from Your Water Supply

A partial collapse of a seawall on the property that was holding aggregate dirt piles that potentially is contaminated with uranium has spilled into the Detroit River during the Thanksgiving weekend. The site has been marked as contaminated with uranium by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency. Detroit Bulk Storage currently leases the site which was formerly owned by Revere Copper and Brass factory in the 1940s and 50s for use of World War II-era research and development, in an effort to build an atomic bomb. Regulatory agencies were not informed of the spill until days afterward and, of course, they are concerned about the impact it may have on the environment and the public water quality. To read more on this recent spill, click here

A new development has been made with the creation of plastic membranes that could be the solution to more effective and affordable options for water purification. These membranes are created by polymers that produce a shape like a fusilli pasta that has microscopic hydrophilic pores that attract water. The pores can capture the water molecules and ions of a specific size. This new finding shows that this membrane can catch the water particles that are unsuitable for drinking and can also catch lithium from the water that can then be reused for batteries. Developing countries can most definitely find this new research very valuable since nearly half of the world is having issues with water scarcity so these membranes can be very promising for creating new freshwater options and for large scale renewable energy storage. More information on this new development in membranes can be read here

When dealing with hard water, many homeowners know that hard water will affect the taste of their water, leave orange stains on many hard surfaces, create a more difficult time cleaning, and can cause damage to our appliances with time as hard water leaves behind mineral deposits. When looking at the effects hard water has on the environment, it is less known. In this article, many of the environmental elements that can be effected by hard water are discussed further. Some of the impacts can be positive, such as hard water playing an important role in pH regulation in water bodies that will make a difference for fish and other aquatic animals. Another positive point of view is for industrial building to create the ability to make concrete. On the other hand, there are many disadvantages of hard water such as with the pharmaceutical and textile industries with more waste created causing even larger problems. One thing is for sure that hard water should be treated in order to prevent the disadvantages from occurring in o outside our homes. It is recommended to have your water tested by local water experts and solutions such as a water softener can be put into place.