CHICAGO, IL – Residents living on small community water systems can rest assured that their drinking water is safe from dangerous levels of radium – a soil-based element that if ingested increases the risk for several diseases including lymphoma, bone cancer and leukemia. Culligan International Company, a global innovator of high-quality water treatment solutions for residential and business use, is helping homeowners in two Illinois communities – Long Grove and Peru – mitigate radium using its patented point-of-entry (POE) water softening technology.
Culligan® equipment and technology are the only permitted and operating POE systems approved for radium compliance by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). Not only do Culligan’s Aqua-Sensor® products mitigate radium levels to comply with EPA standards, but it does so in an environmentally friendly manner. The key is an advanced digital probe that sits inside the Aqua-Sensor water softener, which continuously monitors water chemistry, automatically adjusts to changes in water conditions and activates regeneration only when needed – to ensure optimal water and salt consumption. Over 10 years, Culligan estimates that homeowners can save more than 2.5 tons of salt and 20,000 gallons of water by using the Aqua-Sensor.*
The Constant “Watchdog”
Water softening technology is well suited to reduce radium to “almost non-detectable levels” – below the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of five or less picocuries per liter (pCi/L) – as established by EPA compliance guidelines. Culligan’s Aqua-Sensor POE system reduces the radium level to almost non-detectable levels or a maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) designated by the EPA. That’s because the Aqua-Senor probe is constantly monitoring and adjusting to the incoming water chemistry. Aqua-Sensor acts as a security system or a “watchdog” against breakthrough – unlike other softeners which are not as intuitively designed to detect and adjust to alterations in water chemistry and trigger automatic regeneration. The softening media attracts calcium and radium ions like a magnet, “pulling” them out of the water before it is available for drinking, washing or bathing. Homeowners therefore gain two benefits in one: true soft water and lower-than-mandated levels of radium.
A Tale of Two Communities
The use of Culligan’s Aqua-Sensor POE system started with a ground-breaking effort at the Royal Melbourne community in the Chicago suburb of Long Grove, Illinois – which ultimately became the model prototype for other residential areas like the Lynwood development near Peru, Illinois.
Royal Melbourne Gets the Royal Treatment
Royal Melbourne is an upscale, gated golf course community with 125 residential luxury homes and a clubhouse with banquet facilities. It operates on three community wells, and its radium levels in the water supply were out of compliance – up to 8.3pCi/L (average). Residents were also forced to bear the burden of hard water: dingy laundry, spotty dishes and dry hair and skin. After evaluating several water treatment options, the Royal Melbourne Homeowners Association (RMHA) contacted Culligan. Steve Reif, P.E., Culligan’s Director R&D Engineering, and his team were instrumental in designing an initial compliance plan; establishing parameters while working with the state IEPA; applying for a permit; and collaborating diligently with the EPA, the Water Quality Association and the RMHA to gain state and federal concurrence for Culligan’s proposed POE radium mitigation solution.
According to Andy Maggio, president of the RMHA, “We chose Culligan for this project based on their longevity in the industry and their leading-edge science. We wanted a reliable partner with ‘staying power’ who could provide superior technology, service and accountability – as well as economies of scale – for our homeowners.”
Culligan’s POE solution proved to be an efficient, economical solution for radium mitigation at Royal Melbourne. Each homeowner as well as the clubhouse is equipped with Aqua-Sensor softener under a 10-year lease, which is maintained and serviced exclusively by Culligan. The company performs quarterly tests on all units, conducts preventive maintenance checks and delivers salt directly to the residents. Not only are the radium levels well within compliance guidelines, but the POE solution minimizes the ecological impact of brine discharge over a central treatment approach. Because of the automatic regeneration capabilities of Aqua-Sensor, Reif estimates that up to 360,000 pounds of salt and 1.3 million gallons of water are saved each year with the POE system. The project was so successful that surrounding Long Grove developments – including Merit Estates (25 homes) and Briarcrest (69 homes) – have also adopted the Aqua-Sensor solution.
Lynwood Makes Good
The benefits of radium mitigation using Aqua-Sensor have also been realized by Lynwood, a historic blue collar city located near Starved Rock State Park. Settled in 1835, Peru is home to Lynwood – a 40-lot development built in the late 1970s whose residents are typically mature adults. The neighborhood had unknowingly been living with an elevated radium level water source until the Illinois EPA began enforcing stricter regulations in 2006. State mandates calling for lower picocurie levels meant that Lynwood would either have to hook up to a central water treatment system or consider a POE solution. Fortunately, Culligan had an established track record with its Long Grove POE project and an “in” with Lynwood, because it had already been servicing several homeowners with their water treatment needs.
Jeff McDermott, general manager for Culligan’s Ottawa, Illinois-based dealer, recalls, “We met with Lynwood’s consulting engineering firm (Chamlin & Associates) and their homeowner’s association board to evaluate options. Ultimately, it was decided that the Aqua-Sensor POE was the best solution, because the homeowners association could cost-competitively lease all 40 Smart-Sensor units under a 10-year contract and therefore centrally enforce total compliance. Plus, they could continue to tap Culligan’s service, maintenance and salt delivery benefits. It was a win-win situation for us and for the residents of Lynwood,” he added.
The other benefit, McDermott added, is that most central water treatment systems use a blend of soft and hard water to reduce radium. Using a central system would require Lynwood homeowners to still have a home-based water softener, purchase salt and contract maintenance services at a greater expense. With the Culligan Aqua-Sensor unit, they get 100 percent soft water and the option to bypass the outside water in their home.
