Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

"Bringing Advanced Water Monitoring Right to your Tap!"

Water monitoring has a very broad meaning and means different things to different people. As a result, eWaterTek has collected some key Questions & Answers that hope to dispel any confusion about this important issue when discussing water quality monitoring.

If you have questions about Water Monitoring, please email them to Hirschel Moskoff at hirschel@ewatertek.ca.

Why Is Water Monitoring So Important?

Some of the reasons why water monitoring is so important are:

In May 2001, a Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, US) report cited that there were over 1000 ‘boil-water’ advisories in place across Canada and the U.S. to alleviate contamination.
After 7 deaths, a Health Canada study estimated that a further 5,800 to 7,100 residents of Ontario might have become ill as a result of the Walkerton e-Coli outbreak (due to a breakdown of the municipal testing process).
Eroding water delivery infrastructure in cities’ exposes corrosion of lead in pipes, causing kidney breakdown and damage to the nervous system.

eWaterTek is necessary because a number of Toronto Star reports on tap water in the U.S. and Canada found lax standards and careless monitoring of the drinking water. About 40,000 of the 170,000 water systems, in some way, violated purity levels recently. 9500 water systems serving almost 25 million people had significant violations, posing "serious threats to human health," as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency, and there are more report each day!

How is Water Analysis implemented?

Monitoring is best implemented through a real-time analytical approach, which at the same time, is flexible enough to react to changing environments. Each unit weighs approx. 20 kg and is fairly portable. This system is designed to detect the key non-organic contaminants in our cities’ water, namely - iron, lead and zinc.

What are the Key components of the Monitoring System?

What we can ensure as a company, is that all of our products incorporate the latest technological developments, using properly defined processes, roles and documentation. Our chlorine units and particle sensor use electrical signals which are converted and amplified in a control module, and then forwarded to a Central Monitoring Station.

Why is eWaterTek's monitoring system different that the many products already on the market?

in-line detection system with immediate results available, uses lasers and UV that is a unique application to water monitoring systems.

Is there a Chromium problem that needs to be monitored?

Chromium-related issues have arisen recently within Israel and should be considered another reason to install water monitoring equipment. For example, recent information obtained from the Departments of Dermatology and Human Genetics, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel:

"Fifty-two Israeli Jewish patients suffering from chrome sensitivity (C.S.) were investigated with regard to their ethnic origin, age of onset of the dermatitis, occupational history and socio-economic level, Forty-eight patients suffering from various skin conditions and drawn from the outpatient dermatological clinic were used as controls. The socio-economic status of C.S. patients was found to the very low, regardless of ethnic origin. Ninety-four percent of the patients were non-Ashkenazi Jews and it significantly increased proportion of those (24%) were of Kurdish descent. There were no major differences in their occupations. Patients of Kurdish origin manifested the disease at a significantly earlier age than other non-Ashkenazi patients, although the socio-economic conditions of the different ethnic groups of patients were similar."

What is the difference between "tested by NSF" filter and a filter "tested to NSF standard"?

None. One was tested by the National Science Foundation, while the other opted for an ANSI accredited laboratory. One has to keep in mind that all these tests cost thousands of dollars and it take may take days, or even weeks to receive the results.

Which Point-of-Use (POU) technology removes most contaminants out of water?

A well designed and maintained distiller, laboratory grade* filter system maintained and periodically tested by a qualified technician using high quality pre-treated water (*not to be confused with inexpensive domestic filter systems).

I am specifically concerned about removing parasitic cysts like cryptosporidium and giardia from my water. What is the best filtration or purification method for cysts?

Generallym cysts range in from size about 3-7 microns and can be reduced by fine filters; however, to completely remove 100%, a filter pore size have to be at least 1 micron absolute, with greater than 99.99% efficiency. Many filters on the market claim cysts reduction using surrogates (AC fine test dust in 0.5-3 micron size range) test standards vs. live cysts method, which is a tougher and more accurate test.

What are the certification standards and who sets those standards for POU filtration devices?

The certification standards vary from region to region and some parts of the world don't have any. The certification standards are set by governmental institutions, industries associations and or combination of both. For example, the International Standard Organization (ISO) in Geneva, Switzerland, sets world standards in manufacturing procedures (toughest to achieve and maintain), while in the U.S., American National Standard Institute (ANSI) set standards. For example, for food equipment and POU devices in the U.S., the National Science Foundation (NSF) in collaboration with ANSI, develop standards that will meet EPA and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines. NSF standards for POU filtration devices are 42, aesthetic contaminants (chlorine reduction) and 53, health related contaminants (cysts and turbidity reduction).

Would You Like To Learn about the Effect of Heavy Metals such as Lead and Mercury?

Please read eWaterTek Primer on Heavy Metals (PDF).

What is eWaterTek planning for Future Technical R&D?

Please read eWaterTek Future R&D Plans (PDF).