Sustainable Water Treatment

Sustainable Water Treatment

​​R2J Water Treatment dropped a detailed blog post calling sustainable water treatment something businesses need to do, not just a nice-to-have trend. The guide covers everything from natural filtering systems to high-tech membrane technology. R2J walks readers through what's wrong with old-school methods (they use tons of energy, rely heavily on chemicals, and hurt the environment) before getting into greener options like man-made wetlands, solar-powered reverse osmosis, and carbon filters. The company shows off their own products throughout the piece, especially their Silver Bullet system that prevents scaling and bacteria buildup without dumping in lots of chemicals, plus their Smart Release technology that uses slow-release tablets to deliver treatment chemicals. R2J looks at everything as one big connected system, covering drinking water, wastewater treatment, and water management as pieces that all work together.

Pentair Pitches Fibredyne

Pentair published a detailed breakdown of their proprietary wet-molded carbon block technology Fibredyne that tackles one of the biggest complaints about whole-house filtration: water pressure loss. Fibredyne combines activated carbon with binding fibers to create what Pentair claims delivers powerful filtration without slowing water flow, addressing the common trade-off between performance and pressure. The company highlights some solid testing results, noting that Fibredyne maintained its flow rate during accelerated turbidity testing while standard extruded blocks dropped by 50%. They're targeting both professionals and homeowners with different selling points; pros get fewer service calls thanks to 5x the dirt-holding capacity of standard carbon blocks, while homeowners get consistent water pressure even with higher sediment levels. Pentair positions the technology as scalable for both point-of-entry and point-of-use applications, with easy cartridge changeouts and longer-lasting filters.

Carbon Filter Basics

Texas-based Alamo Water Softeners published a guide explaining how activated carbon filters work and why homeowners need them, even if their water looks perfectly fine. Alamo walks through the science behind carbon filtration, explaining that the material comes from sources like coconut shells or wood that get "activated" through high-temperature processing to create tiny pores that trap contaminants. The company covers what carbon filters can and can't do: they're great for removing chlorine, VOCs, pesticides, and taste/odor issues, but won't handle minerals, bacteria, or viruses. Alamo emphasizes that many dangerous contaminants like disinfection byproducts and pesticide runoff are invisible and tasteless, making carbon filtration essential even when water appears clean. They discuss different installation options from under-sink units to whole-house systems, noting that maintenance is crucial since saturated filters can actually release trapped contaminants back into the water.

Shower Filter Review

Water Filter Guru is back with another review, this time of the Sprite Slim-Line 2 shower filter. The team used SimpleLab's Tap Score testing service to analyze before-and-after water samples, plus real-time chlorine test strips for accurate measurements. The $35 filter scored 8.37 overall and earned points for actually doing what it claims—effectively removing chlorine and associated odors with NSF 177 certification to back it up. The broader takeaways are also interesting, with the team noting that most shower filter manufacturers make exaggerated claims, very few have NSF certifications, and disinfection byproducts are particularly tough to remove (only one filter in their testing handled them effectively). The review revealed that many shower filters claim to soften water but don't contain the right media to actually do it.

What else is happening:

• WQA is urging water companies that import from China to submit comments on extending product exclusions from Section 301 tariffs

• AquiSense announced that its PearlAqua Kilo UV-C LED disinfection system achieved both NSF/ANSI/CAN 61-2024 certification and U.S. EPA UVDGM validation

• WQA Podcast drops a new episode titled Why Influence Matters

• And WQA CEO Pauli Undesser delivered a TEDx talk titled Smart Cities Can't Afford Dumb Water

• Dierolf Plumbing and Water Treatment continues to publish educational pieces with an article on healthy water routines and one on how to choose a water bottle