"The Benefits of Liquid Chlorination in the Disinfection of Well Water"
Presented at the Midwest Poultry Federation Convention March 14, 2007 by
Chemilizer Products, Inc. president Frank Daniels

Around the world over 3 million people die every year because they drink unsafe water. Most of these are children. An article published by the Water Quality and Health Council cites a May, 2000 incident in the Canadian town of Walkerton, Ontario in which seven people died and more than 2300 became sick after E-coli and other bacteria infected their town's water supply. In April of 1993 more than 100 people died and 400,000 were affected when Cryptosporidium entered into the water supply of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Every year people in this country come in contact with water that is contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or viral cysts. Most go unreported because they attribute their sickness to the flu or some other form of stomach virus.

We say it can't happen to us, but is that true? Many of us live with the false confidence that our well water is safe because it is filtered by the earth. And to some extent that is true. The earth's crust can filter larger particles, but what happens if the water table is under a pasture or a field that has been fertilized with manure just prior to raining? E-coli, which is found in manure, may not be removed by seepage and can find its way into the water table. In many cases, depending on the composition of the earth, this water table is not dormant. It may in fact be flowing. So the contaminated water you are drinking may be coming from a source miles from your well.

There are two types of water sources, ground water and surface water. Ground water is that water that is pulled from aquifers many feet under the earth's surface, where surface water is water that is open to the atmosphere such as lakes, ponds, rivers or reservoirs. Surface water has a greater likelihood of containing water born pathogens because of run off conditions and decomposing organic matter. That was the case of the Cholera epidemic in Latin America that began in January, 1991 and by 1997 had spread to all but one Latin American country killing 12,000 and causing illness in 1.3 million others.

Prior to 1908 cities and towns in the United States did not treat their water supplies and as a result thousands of citizens died every year from cholera, typhoid fever, hepatitis A, and dysentery. In 1908 we started disinfecting our drinking water with chlorine and today we have all but eliminated deaths caused by those diseases.

Today about 12 million households depend upon private wells to provide their drinking water, that's roughly 15% of the American population. Public utilities today are required to meet EPA minimum standards for safe drinking water. Private citizens are not. With the exception of protozoan parasites such as Cryptosporidium parvum an oocysts and Giardia lamblia cysts, disinfection of drinking water will render it safe for human consumption. So the big question before us to day is why do so many private wells owners and farms choose not to chlorinate their water wells? And, why do so many resist chlorinating the drinking water of their livestock?

Several reasons come to mind. First, the negative or untrue information regarding the use of chlorine as a disinfectant. Second, the presumed initial high cost of equipment that needs to be purchased. Third, the "I don't like the taste of chlorine" excuse.

As for the first objection, while it is true that adding chlorine into the water can produce by-products such as Iron Oxide, Magnesium Oxide, or Calcium Oxide it can also produce (THMs) trihalomethanes including the most often reported THM member, chloroform. According to the EPA, the health risks from these (THM) by-products at the levels at which they occur in drinking water are extremely small, especially when compared to the risks associated with inadequate disinfection. However, should a concern remain regarding these contaminants, inexpensive equipment is available which will further lower the levels of these contaminates

The second objection, cost is negligible compared to the expenses incurred from equipment maintenance and losses due to water born pathogens in the form of medical expense, lost productive time, and loss due to death. Chlorine is available in one of three forms, gas, solid, and liquid.

The first, gas has advantages where large volumes of water are produced, but that advantage is lost when your water demands drop below several hundred thousand gallons per day. Federal and state requirements call for specialized safety equipment to be either on site or close at hand. Gas cylinders should be housed in a separate room with direct emergency access to outside air, fitted with an exhaust fan ventilation system. Personnel require specialized training in the event of a leak. Remember, Chlorine in its gaseous form is lethal at concentrations as low as 0.1 percent of air by volume.

The second type of chlorine is in a solid, also known as Calcium Hypochlorite. This is a white solid that contains 65% available chlorine and dissolves easily in water. While there are advantages such as long term stability there are disadvantages. Calcium Hypochlorite is a corrosive, and as anyone who has a swimming pool can tell you it has a strong odor and requires proper handling. What you may not know, however, is that it must be kept away from organic materials such as wood, cloth and petroleum products because reactions between calcium hypochlorite and organic materials can generate enough heat to cause a fire or an explosion. Calcium Hypochlorite is extremely effervescent absorbing moisture and in the process forming chlorine gas. Therefore shipping containers must be emptied completely or carefully resealed. Also, once dissolved in water the user must purchase a chemical injector to place the concentrate in the water supply.

The last type of chlorine is in liquid form known as Sodium Hypochlorite. This form is available from 5.25%, household bleach, to 15% available chlorine. The major disadvantage is the cost of the liquid form compared to the gaseous form. However, when the flow requirements are less than several hundred thousand gallon per day, that cost is off set. The advantages however are numerous. First, as a liquid it is easier to handle and more readily available than either of the other two sources. The equipment to inject liquid chlorine is by comparison inexpensive to purchase. The Chemilizer CP-33 retails for under $400.00 and can treat water flows from 12 Gallons per Minute up to 350 Gallons per Minute. Installations can be made at the well water source using commercially available PVC fittings and of course the Chemilizer Chlorine injector does not require an electrical connection. With the exception of controlling spillage, there are no special safety requirements or equipment to contend with. All of this makes the Chemilizer CP-33 ideal for chlorine disinfection.

At this point I want to mention the amount of Chlorine that I would expect a well owner to be injecting. Without water testing to determine just what is in the water there is no real way to accurately project how much chlorine needs to be added to the water to make it safe. You must keep in mind that chlorine is an oxidizer and unlike the other methods of disinfection it is depleted as it is used. Depletion depends upon the type of contaminate and the total amount. What is important to remember is that what you want at the end of the day is what we refer to as chlorine residual.

Generally speaking, water that has a residual of .2 to .4 PPM of free chlorine has adequate residual to kill any bacteria or viruses that may reenter the water supply given 20 to 30 minutes of contact time. One the other hand, 1 PPM or greater free chlorine will kill those same pathogens on contact. While I am not advocating not having your water routinely tested at a certified lab or agency, with the CP-33 you can start disinfecting your water by simply starting the unit and testing your water at its farthest most point with an inexpensive chlorine test kit. Once your water has reached a point where there is 1ppm of free chlorine, you have effectively oxidized most minerals and killed most pathogens. Your water is now relatively safe for consumption.

The last of the objections that I routinely hear is that of the taste. In all honesty I can not blame anyone for not liking the taste of chlorinated drinking water. At 1 PPM the taste is going to be a little strong. I personally drink bottled water or water that has been charcoal filtered. But, it is not practical to try and provide bottled water for our livestock. There are inexpensive steps that can be taken to remove not only the by-products of chlorine but also the suspended mater that occurs naturally within the water supply.

Two such steps are filtration systems that are placed at the Point of Entry to the home or the housing facility. Activated charcoal filtration will remove chlorine but it will not remove THM's, PCBs, radon, arsenic, or Cryptosporidium cysts. For that you need to use a green sand filter. Used in conjunction with activated charcoal filtration, you can be very confident that you have removed all foreign matter from your drinking water.

This type of filtration can be used as either a point of use (POU) or a point of entry (POE) filtration. POU filtration is the cartridge type that is placed close to or at the point of need, and requires scheduled changing to maintain the best filtration possible. POE types are typically a canister type which are placed outside the home or at the well source and have life expectancies of up to five years before media replacement is necessary. There are advantages and disadvantages to both that can only be determined by the specific use that you have. What is important is that this equipment is available and the cost for either is not high. Generally cost range from $30.00 to $40.00 for a good cartridge type filter and under $200.00 for a canister type.

I would be remiss if I did not at least mention that there are other types of liquid disinfection available. These include hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), iodine, bromine, chloramines, ozone, and chlorine dioxide (Cl2O2). Ultra violet has found a following and is effective providing there is no suspended matter in the water being treated. Any suspended matter will cause the UV light to diffuse and diminish its' effectiveness. However, chlorine is the only one that leaves a residual with secondary disinfection capabilities.

When the water is properly treated prior to use you can cut the cost of pharmaceuticals that need to be used and make the pharmaceuticals that we must use more effective. By stopping the pathogens before they enter the body you reduce the need to treat the sickness, thus saving thousands of dollars. By reducing or removing the organics that are suspended in the water you enable the pharmaceuticals that must be used to be more effective when treating your livestock. You will also reduce the amount of time required to fix or replace equipment that leaks due to oxides that have built up on your drinkers. Clean, safe drinking water should always be thought about as being the first step in a biosecurity program. Chemilizer's CP-33 is the best way to perform that job safely, efficiently and cost effectively.

Click here to learn more about the CP33.