Boil Water Alerts

Today I learned something interesting about boil water alerts. First let me explain what a boil water alert is.
A Boil water alert is issued, usually, by the state health department, or may be "self imposed" by the water system company itself. The alert is issued when the purity of the water in the main lines is in question. This could be for any number of reasons. A break in the line, flooding or heavy spring run off, or just the return of bad test results of a routine water test.
When a boil water alert is issued, the recommendation is for the water to be boiled for 1-5 minutes. It's interesting, there does not seem to be a consensus on how long to boil the water, some say 1 minute, others say as long as 5 minutes. For most people this can be a real pain!

What is obvious, is that boiling water does not eliminate the sediment that is usually involved in boil water alerts, it only kills bacteria that may be present. Sediment itself, without bacteria, is considered safe to consume, if you dare.

I recently had the privilege to witness the water that was on a "boil water alert" in Rye, Colorado. A Friend of mine owns a restaurant, so I took her one of our Doulton HCP water filters which is certified by NSF standards 42 and 53. She had been saving the water that she was boiling (and determined safe) in water jugs. She hooked up the filter to her faucet, and filled up another water jug. When compared, the boiled water was still yellow with sediment, and the filtered water was crystal clear.
I was amazed that the yellow water was considered safe. It seems that "sterile" dirt, and what ever else that sediment was, is not harmful. That, of course, is by today's standards, but what will tomorrow bring?
You still need to boil your water even if it has been filtered. With a boil water alert they don't know what contaminants may be in the water, it's better to be safe than sorry in a boil water alert. Some water contaminants are too small to be filtered by any means, and must be killed by heat or chlorination. Without a doubt you will certainly appreciate the crisp, clear water produced by filtering, and that extra peace of mind that Doulton water filters do remove the most common water contaminants.
If you are on a boil water alert, my recommendation is, please do not drink the yellow water. Tomorrow it may be determined to cause hundreds of types of cancer and thousands of birth defects. Do filter your water first with any Doulton water filter system, and then boil for the added security of killing anything that might be lurking.
Free to comment.
That's all today, Renee'