Water in The Atlanta Area

[Suescuno]

So I moved two the area a year ago. I have always used a reverse osmosis filter with DI resin.
Before moving here the first stage TDS meter was between 0.05 and 0.01 and the second stage between 0.01 and 0. Since I moved here booth read 0. The sediment filter is brown / yellow and the same goes for the DI resin.
My understanding is that if my TDS readings are 0 the only things that may be passing the filter are salts and silicates. I will change the filters and resin sooner than later to be in the safe side, but I was curious about the quality of the water around here and what is the silicate content. Also do I need to watch for cloramines? Any input will be appreciated!

 

[zoajohn]

I live in Brookhaven, and my TDS in to the filter is 35-40, which is pretty remarkable. With regards to what the water is treated with, it will vary by watershed. Dekalb county doesn’t appear to treat with chloramines, but unsure about COA.


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[york1]

30-40 TDS here in lawrenceville. No chloramine. I believe you can find water reports online for your area. Check out the water companies website

 

[zoajohn]

30-40 TDS here in lawrenceville. No chloramine. I believe you can find water reports online for your area. Check out the water companies website

You have about the same TDS I get. How often do you change filters? I have gone almost 2 years without tds changing from 0, but I replaced them anyways


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[york1]

You have about the same TDS I get. How often do you change filters? I have gone almost 2 years without tds changing from 0, but I replaced them anyways


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I replace the sediment filter when ever pressure starts to drop or if it starts to look nasty. Carbon filters every 6-8 months.

 

[jcook54]

As far as I'm aware, Dekalb County doe treat with chloramines. I kept getting a chlorine smell in my waste water a few years ago and did some research. I also replaced the standard carbon block in my system and still tested "chlorine" in the waster water. Eventually I added one additional stage to my setup and that was a chloramine carbon block and the waster water tested fine. I'm happy to be wrong about this so if anyone knows anything, please do let me know. Here's why I came to the conclusion I did:

Dekalb County water report can be found here: https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/watershed-management/drinking-water-quality-report

If you look at the most recent reports (2nd page) you'll see a list of chemicals that are in the water, in particular, you'll see 2 different chlorine's. Chlorine, total (162 ppm) & chlorine free (155 ppm). When I reached out to Dekalb County watershed and asked about chlloramines, it was explained to me that the difference in the 2 numbers, 7 ppm, was chloramines. So, in Dekalb county, if total chlorine is tests at 162 and free chlorine tests at 155, then the total chloramines are 7 ppm. If my understanding is incorrect, please do let me know, I'd love to have chloramine free water.

 

[Suescuno]

It’s been a while since I did my last filter change, probably more than 3 years ago. I keep postponing it because of the low TDS readings.

 

[zoajohn]

As far as I'm aware, Dekalb County doe treat with chloramines. I kept getting a chlorine smell in my waste water a few years ago and did some research. I also replaced the standard carbon block in my system and still tested "chlorine" in the waster water. Eventually I added one additional stage to my setup and that was a chloramine carbon block and the waster water tested fine. I'm happy to be wrong about this so if anyone knows anything, please do let me know. Here's why I came to the conclusion I did:

Dekalb County water report can be found here: https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/watershed-management/drinking-water-quality-report

If you look at the most recent reports (2nd page) you'll see a list of chemicals that are in the water, in particular, you'll see 2 different chlorine's. Chlorine, total (162 ppm) & chlorine free (155 ppm). When I reached out to Dekalb County watershed and asked about chlloramines, it was explained to me that the difference in the 2 numbers, 7 ppm, was chloramines. So, in Dekalb county, if total chlorine is tests at 162 and free chlorine tests at 155, then the total chloramines are 7 ppm. If my understanding is incorrect, please do let me know, I'd love to have chloramine free water.

Thanks for this info! The Carbon block is the filter responsible for removing chloramines correct? With that concentration, how often would you think the blocks are exhausted?

 

[Adam]

In Gwinnett the total and free chlorine are also different. I found that when the weather was colder there would be a pronounced chlorine smell from the tap. For the carbon filters I use two, 5 micron for the 1st stage and 1 micron for the 2nd stage.

It’s been a while since I did my last filter change, probably more than 3 years ago. I keep postponing it because of the low TDS readings.

I don't know how much water you're making. So I can't tell you how often to change the filters out. I can say that three years is probably a little too long no matter the volume. For someone making less than 3000 gallons a year I'd recommend changing the sediment out at six months, or earlier if there's a noted pressure drop, with the carbons & DI at a year. Other than chloramines silicates are the biggest problem we have in the area. Silicates can get through the DI without much of a color change due to it's near neutral charge. BRS has some really good videos on this.

 

[sharis100]

So I moved two the area a year ago. I have always used a reverse osmosis filter with DI resin.
Before moving here the first stage TDS meter was between 0.05 and 0.01 and the second stage between 0.01 and 0. Since I moved here booth read 0. The sediment filter is brown / yellow and the same goes for the DI resin.
My understanding is that if my TDS readings are 0 the only things that may be passing the filter are salts and silicates. I will change the filters and resin sooner than later to be in the safe side, but I was curious about the quality of the water around here and what is the silicate content. Also do I need to watch for cloramines? Any input will be appreciated!

City of Atlanta posts their water report on their website. I have had our drinking water tested a few times and it was clean. They do use chlorine. And the source water does have occasional issues. Suggest testing always .