The Need for Carbon Activated Filters

My niece, who is a chemical engineer, attended the information meeting with me that was held by the MUD back in the Spring. She told me that the MUD could buy some scrubbers that would solve the problem and even gave me information on a vendor, which I passed on to the MUD Board. She also told me that the water company spokesman (the white guy with the big belly - in case any of you went to that meeting) was full of bull when he said that the water wasn't dangerous unless you were drinking gallons each day for many years.

Indeed, she said that taking hot showers in water with the volatile organic compound (VOC) problem was 100 times worse than ingesting the water directly from the tap! I immediately bought filters for my showerheads (got them on eBay for about $60 each) and got the kitchen sink a Pur 3-stage filter at Home Depot for about $35. I've been able to get replacement filters for it on eBay for less than $10 per filter. The showers will need new filters every 6 months if you take showers daily - once a year if you use it only 3-4 times a week. I wouldn't suggest taking baths very often, unless you bought a filter system that works for the entire house by hooking to the main water lines. Those were way out of my price range (cheapest was $800).

I also made an open records request for all the minutes of the MUD meetings from 2005 to the present, which has yet to be filled. I complained to the Attorney General's compliance unit and the MUD Board Chair told me that I would need to request it directly from the attorney. I wanted to see if anything had been done to correct the problems with the water quality. No scrubbers were purchased. I did note that someone has filed a lawsuit against the MUD but don't know the outcome.

Unfortunately the next election for a seat on the MUD Board isn't until 2010. I was considering running then, but I wanted my neighbors to know about the need for the water filters right away. I have told everyone that lives on my block. Please tell your neighbors as well.

VOC contamination can cause cancer and many other problems. Click here to see a fact sheet with links to studies you might find of interest.