Acidic water with zero alkalinity now being pumped to SF Sunset and Richmond | Hacker News Reader

Acidic water with zero alkalinity now being pumped to SF Sunset and Richmond

14 pointsricberw4 comments

Disappointed native San Franciscan here, hoping to find solace in other locals who are also experiencing the same challenge that I am now facing.

Last week, around Thursday, we noticed a significant flavor change in our water. More chlorine-y.

That day, I started having the acidic heartburn feeling for the first time in a while. The feeling has continued since then, and I’ve been taking a Tums at least once a day to combat it. No change in diet. Main change is the water (and I basically only drink straight tap water).

I got curious. I bought some 16-in-one freshwater quality test strips. I had a glass bottle of water from a couple of weeks ago, and I also had fresh tap water. I tested the “old” water and compared to the “new” water a couple of times each.

To my surprise, there were two distinct differences in the readings:

1. The pH of the old water was 6.5, while the pH of the new water was 6.0. More acidic.

2. The alkalinity of the old water was 40ppm, while the alkalinity of the new water was 0ppm. Less control of pH.

Both of these are outside the EPA’s recommended ranges for drinking water.

I’ve been drinking tap water here for my entire life, and losing rights to drink the water that the other half of my city is drinking (and paying the same amount for) makes me very, very disappointed.

Any suggestions for how to fix this / who to track down?

Are others willing to experiment and validate with some citizen science, then band together with me to push for change?

Hope so.

Thanks for reading.

Woo, low-alkalinity water, AKA aggressive water, is going to cause all kinds of problems. Some plumbing fittings imported in recent years are likely to have lots of lead, because lead improves the workability of brass. If you ever drink tap water, fill a glass and discard it, twice, before drinking any. Don't have baths.

Appliances like washing machines are going to have to be treated pretty much as disposables too.

If there are, er, were, any cast-iron water mains in the network, well, they're very leaky sponges now. Concrete pipes too, if any. The pH is supposed to be 8-ish for a reason.

With an old network and an old house/old neighborhood, the tapping (the pipe from the street main to your house) could be made of lead too. Should have been replaced, but who knows? Not great.

There's probably more (effects on clothes laundered maybe?, biofilms in the pipes?), but it was a while ago that I had anything to do with water reticulation.

How to fix this? I assume you've called your water supplier already, and been met with crickets. (They are supposed to be sampling the water at various points in the network regularly.)

Depends how much you can spend. There is automatic pH/alkalinity dosing equipment for small private water schemes, but I have no idea of names or prices.

Alternatively, get an accredited inorganic testing lab to take samples and prepare a report, and get them to recommend a lawyer who knows the relevant legislation. A better approach, if you care about anyone outside your household or about being community minded.

Yay yay yay, lucky you. Sorry.

“that the other half of my city is drinking”

How do you know that?

Bold Italic Hoodline sfist Mission Local etc Call your supervisor. You think they’re drinking the same thing?

https://sfpuc.org/programs/water-supply/groundwater

The map says so. They must’ve recently changed the mix.

where can i buy the testing kit?

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