With more than 30 years’ experience in the residential and commercial water treatment space, Mark Nelson is a Class 1 Drinking-Water Operator and a CBWA (Canadian Bottled Water Association) Certified Plant Operator. As founder and president of Nelson Water in Ottawa, Mark focuses on dealing with challenging water treatment system designs for problem water. He also heads the largest water bottling plant in the city of Ottawa with a delivery network throughout the Valley.
Many people are looking for a way to secure a cleaner source of drinking water for their homes. This is understandable because breaks in aging water delivery infrastructure can allow contaminants to enter the water supply. We’ve also experienced contamination from other sources such as lead, and it makes sense to add a final barrier of protection. One of the most popular water filtration methods is reverse osmosis or RO, and in this article, we are taking an in-depth look at the RO process.
How Does Reverse Osmosis Work?
The RO filtration media is a semi-permeable membrane that has a large number of extremely small pores. These pores are small enough to allow water to pass through, but they stop contaminants, such as bacteria, dissolved salts, sediment, and more. The way it works is that the water is forced through the membrane under pressure, and the contaminants are left on the surface. Periodically the membrane surface is flushed with water, and the contaminants go into the drain.
Reverse osmosis operates continuously to separate the water from any impurities that it may contain. This is a similar process to that used naturally by plants in nature when they absorb essential nutrients from water and soil. We also see this principle at work in the human body, where the kidney uses a similar process to absorb water from the bloody supply.
RO technology isn’t new, it’s been around since the 1960s, and it was initially used to produce purified water for certain food industries, including beverage and food processing. Reverse osmosis was also used in many other applications, such as pharmaceutical production, making cosmetics, seawater desalination, and large drinking water purification systems. As the technology has improved, it has become a viable option for domestic water purification systems.
Does the RO Process Remove Healthy Minerals?
A reverse osmosis system removes over 90% of contaminants from the water supply. Sadly, this includes some of the essential nutrients because they are larger than the water molecules that can pass through. This fact has led to a lot of debate about the quality of RO filtered water. Many people believe that a lack of essential nutrients in drinking water is a huge problem, but this isn’t true. Even the World Health Organization has stated that most of the healthy nutrients and minerals that we need are sourced from our food or supplements. Any healthy minerals that are present in our drinking water should be regarded as a bonus and not something you would rely on for your daily intake.
It’s also worth considering that some of the minerals found in our drinking water can harm our health. Many sources of tap water contain inorganic minerals that cannot be absorbed by the human body. Inorganic mineral content has been linked to a number of degenerative diseases, and they can include: gallstones, obesity, emphysema, cataracts, glaucoma, arthritis, diabetes, and hardening of the arteries. So, although the RO filtration process does remove some healthy minerals, it does remove a lot of mineral content that is bad for our health.
What Minerals are Found in Drinking Water?
There are two broad categories of minerals found in drinking water. They are: organic and inorganic. As biological entities, humans, and animals have a well understood affinity for organic minerals. We rely on certain organic minerals for our body to function efficiently, and these come from plant foods that we include in our diet. Dietary plant foods will convert the inorganic minerals that are found in the soil into organic minerals that we can use in our bodies. When we eat dietary plant foods, the organic minerals it contains, enter our stomachs where they attach to a protein molecule. This allows us to absorb that organic mineral, and it’s available to be used in the human organ that requires it. As you can see, this process does not rely on the presence of organic minerals in actual our drinking water.
To put this into some perspective: if you were to attempt to get your healthy minerals solely from drinking water, you would need to drink a bathtub of water each day, and you would only get 10% of your daily requirement!
Can the RO Filtration Process Alter the pH Level?
It’s important to understand that the pH level of water will change automatically when any water is ingested. Water that comes into contact with our stomach acid (pH 2) will actually be far more acidic than RO filtered water (pH 6-8). The human body will naturally regulate the pH level of water ingested. Under typical drinking water conditions, a pH level of around 7.4, which is regarded as neutral, is maintained.
Is RO Filtered Water a Healthy Choice?
To return to the question posed at the beginning of this article, the answer is a resounding yes. Although it is true that the mineral content of the incoming water is stripped away, this does remove many harmful minerals. It’s also important to note that the RO filtration process is extremely effective at removing many other types of harmful contaminants, including herbicides, pesticides, chloramine, and many others. This will make the water healthier, but it is true that the taste can be a little bland for some palettes. This is why many people install an activated carbon filter after the RO system to give the water a final polish and add a little character. Some people add a little pink salt to their RO treated water to add in a few beneficial minerals, but this isn’t really necessary.
Hopefully, we’ve shown that our healthy minerals come from a good diet and supplementation as needed. The best approach is to eat healthily and drink plenty of water that is clean and free from contamination. There are point-of-use and whole house RO systems available to provide drinking water to the kitchen tap only or to every tap and plumbing fixture in your home.
If you would like to learn more about installing a reverse osmosis system in your home, contact your local water treatment specialist today.