Water Standards

[Ar Anil Laul]

Absurdities of Water Standards

 

Few would believe that the standards for potable water are in fact standards set up for making good lather for the soap and detergents that we use. Absurd as it may seem, soap has been given a priority over the needs of the Human Body. All of us have come to accept that we need SOFT WATER and so the standards. The daily advertisements also propagate the need of Water Filters such as Reverse Osmosis (RO) and lead us to accept the need for these systems, for our good health as well as that of our children.

 

One has witnessed the Water War in the media in recent past with the ever so concerned NGO’s voicing their concern for meeting the WHO Standards and the Euro II norms. The truth of the matter is that it is these very norms that are ensuring that people become more susceptible to disease. Makes for good business for the Pharmaceutical Industry. Soft water as also the norms of less than 100 parts per million dissolved salts in reality increase the risk of Cardio Vascular problems as well as a host of other illnesses. For those of you who are fond of searching the net, punch in the query “Is soft water good for Human Consumption” and you would get startling results. A few are as below:-

“At least some of the geographical variation in heart disease mortality in Ontario may be related to a marginally inadequate dietary intake of Mg. In the hard-water area of the province, water-borne Mg increases total daily intake by at least 20% so that residents of this area are less likely to be Mg deficient. This hypothesis is supported by the finding that the concentration of Mg in the myocardium tends to be higher in residents of the hard-water area, and it is consistent with the observation that fatal cardiac arrhythmias are less common than in the soft-water area.”

THE WATER STORY & HEART DISEASE
Source: HEALTHY WATER Martin Fox, Ph.D.

”Over the years many studies have been published on the relationship between drinking water and cardiovascular mortality. Two beneficial factors continually stand out - hardness and total dissolved solids. Both have been associated with lower mortality from heart disease. Hardness refers to the amount of calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg), or calcium carbonate in the water. The more Ca, Mg, or calcium carbonate, the harder the water, the less - the softer the water.

The first major study on drinking water and heart disease was in 1960 by Schroeder. In his paper, "Relation Between Mortality from Cardiovascular Disease and Treated Water Supplies," the water in 163 largest cities in the United States was analyzed for 21 constituents and correlated to heart disease. He concluded "some factor either present in hard water, or missing or entering in soft water is associated with higher death rates from degenerative cardiovascular disease."
In 1979 after reviewing fifty studies, Comstock concluded, "there can be little doubt that the associations of water hardness with cardiovascular mortality are not spurious.”

“Today after thirty years of research we are left with Schroeder's initial conclusion-drinking hard water results in less cardiovascular disease than drinking soft water.”

Arsenic in water is proving to be a colossal problem in countries like Bangladesh. All one requires is merely 3 liters per capita per day of good potable water with the essential minerals provided by nature. Could a fundamental right prove so elusive? Einstein said “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them”. As usual, it is to Mother Nature and traditional wisdom that one must turn to when all else seems to fail. After all she is the original all caring provider of sustainable environmentally balanced solutions.

 

Be it the holy waters of the Ganga and Jamuna or those of Lourdes in France, it is where water passes through limestone belts that you get the best waters and are used for religious rituals. If they contain other minerals such as traces of silver etc., these waters are literally worshiped. These waters are stored in copper vessels for decades on end. They remain pure. Water is best purified by storing in a Silver or Gold vessel and therefore has the status of noble metals. Excessive intake of these metals in no way harms the body but only gives the skin a very pale blue colour and therefore the term “Blue Blooded” in royalty. Coconut shell charcoal is one of the finest filters to remove e coli and suspended impurities.

 

We used copper five copper vessels each with a small hole at the bottom to slow down the rate of water passage. The first has water the next contains coconut shell charcoal. The third contains white marble chips. The fourth contains white sand and the fifth vessel is for water collection and contains a silver coin or chain and has a small tap to drain out water.

 

Test reports for water with excessive e coli and spiked with five times the acceptable levels arsenic showed clearly that this system works. We have not patented this Common Man’s Water filter for propagation to the common man. Url: www.anangpur.org. Do also read Rogue selling the Reverse Osmosis.

 

Do access this on our website and make one for yourself. It’s easy. Then as a social obligation make one for the nearest slum dweller, preferably an eldelry lady. Teach her how to use it and suggest that she market safe water at 50 paise (one cent per liter) as opposed to Indian Rupees 12 (25cents) per liter of bottled water as in India. She would make Rs 30 (75 Cents) per hour amounting to US$ 6 per day as opposed to a daily wage earner at US$ 2 per day. It’s a win win situation.

 

Your obligation to us. Keep us informed of your effort in this direction. Not too much to ask. Once again do access Common Man’s water filter at www.anangpur.com. For your GOOD HEALTH and that of your family as well as one needy person.

 

Have a good year

 

Anil Laul

00 91 98100 59691

India

 

 

PS . For those of you who distill your own wine. This filter would do a great job of filtering your wine. Pass your Hard liquor through this filter and make it smoother.

I am an architect with an interest in Sustainable Human Settlement Design. Our approach is holistic and you may find our project at Jamaica of interest as it has been devised around water it’s disposal as the pivotal factor