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Show Standards governing the sale, installation, and removal of self- regenerating water softeners, including the identification of public water supply system service areas where such devices are prohibited, and the establishment of standards for the control of regeneration in all newly installed devices. Public Law 102- 575, Subsection 207( f)( 2)( I) Background With few exceptions, most of the culinary water provided to consumers in the state of Utah is considered to be " hard". Hardness is primarily caused by positive charged dissolved Calcium ( Ca) and Magnesium ( Mg), and, to a lesser degree, Strontium ( Sr), Iron ( Fe) and Manganese ( Mn). These substances react with soap to form precipitates, usually referred to as soap scum. They also react with certain negative charged components dissolved in the water to form scale. Hard waters are waters that require considerable amounts of soap to produce a foam or lather and also produce scale in hot- water pipes, heaters and boilers. Hardness levels may be grouped by concentration into the following four categories: Category Hardness ( mg/ 1 as CaC03 Soft 0- 60 Moderately Hard 60 - 120 Hard 120 - 250 Very Hard > 250 No hardness classification standard has been adopted by the Utah Division of Drinking Water. From data provided by the Division of Drinking Water, the average hardness of waters supplying Utah communities was calculated to be 209 mg/ 1. Only 16 communities or water purveyors have naturally soft water supplies. They comprise about 1 percent of the state's total supply and are listed by county in Table 1. Status Currently there are no standards in Utah regarding the use of self- regenerating water softeners. Few governmental agencies have adopted rules which restrict the use of water softeners. States that have enacted rules include California and Wisconsin. A number of cities and counties in California have adopted supplemental ordinances. In summary, the rules prohibit the installation of new water softeners unless they are regenerated at a central facility, meet specific salt efficiency requirements or are demand controlled. Softener installation must be |