In keeping with our promise to help you make informed and intelligent decisions concerning your health and the health of your family, our product pages outline the specifications and applications for products designed to handle Bermuda's most common water treatment issues.
ClearWater System's technicians can design custom solutions for most water treatment challenges.
On many of the pages, we have highlighted technical terms like this so that a brief explanation is at your fingertips to help you understand some of the risks and some of the processes and equipment involved in reducing or eliminating those risks. You will find a glossary of terms and abbreviations below. While this glossary is by no means an exhaustive explanation of all water-related terms, we hope you'll find it helpful.
Rest assured that ClearWater Systems staff can help you understand and solve just about any water problem.
Visit our showroom at 10 Harvey Road, Paget, call 236-3388 or e-mail chris@clearwater.bm.
ANSI: Abbreviation for American National Standards Institute.
Absorption: The process in which one substance penetrates into the body of another substance, termed the absorbent. An example is the absorption of water into soil.
Acid: A substance which releases hydrogen ions when dissolved in water. Most acids will dissolve the common metals and will react with a base to form a neutral salt and water. An acid is the opposite of an alkali, has a pH rating lower than 7.0, will turn litmus paper red, and has a sour taste.
Acidity: The quantitative capacity of a water or water solution to neutralize an alkali or base. It is usually measured by titration with a standard solution of sodium hydroxide, and expressed in ppm or mg/L of its calcium carbonate equivalent.
Activated Carbon: A water treatment medium, found in block, granulated, or powdered form, which is produced by heating carbonaceous materials, such as coal, wood, or coconut shells, in the absence of air, creating a highly porous adsorbent material. Activated carbon is commonly used for dechlorination, organic chemical reduction and radon reduction, and is recognized by the US EPA as the best available technology for reduction of organic chemicals from drinking water.
Aerobic: An action or process conducted in the presence of air, such as aerobic digestion of organic matter by bacteria.
Aggressive Water: A term usually applied to waters containing acid or oxygen which hasten corrosion (rusting).
Algae: Plant life (green scum) containing chlorophyll is usually found in stagnant surface water. Excessive growths may create taste and odor problems, and consume dissolved oxygen during decay. Sometimes it may be controlled in a pond by the addition of Potassium Permanganate. In a water supply system, chlorination followed by dechlorination is often used.
Alkali: A substance which creates a bitter taste and a slippery feel when dissolved in water and will turn red litmus paper blue. An alkali has a pH greater than seven and is the opposite of an acid. Highly alkaline waters tend to cause drying of the skin. Alkalis may include the soluble hydroxide, carbonate, and bicarbonate salts of calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium. A hydroxide alkali may also be called a base.
Alkalinity: The quantitative capacity of water to neutralize an acid; that is, the measure of how much acid can be added to a liquid without causing a significant change in pH. Alkalinity is not the same as pH because water does not have to be strongly basic (high pH) to have high alkalinity. In the water industry, alkalinity is expressed in mg/l of equivalent calcium carbonate. There are three kinds of alkalinity: carbonate, bicarbonate, and hydroxide alkalinity. Total alkalinity is the sum of all three kinds of alkalinity. Different tests are used to determine the quantity of the different kinds of alkalinities present in water.
Ammonia: A compound of nitrogen and hydrogen (NH3) that is a common by-product of animal waste. Ammonia readily converts to nitrate in soils and streams.
Amoeba: A single celled protozoan that is widely found in fresh and salt water. Some types of amoebas cause diseases such as amoebic dysentery.
Anaerobic organism: An organism that can thrive in the absence of oxygen (air), such as bacteria in a septic tank.
Anthropogenic: Occurring because of, or influenced by, human activity.
Aquamaker: ClearWater Systems' "Water from Air" producer that dehumidifies your room, produces clean, clear water and costs just over 10¢ a gallon (start saving today - see cost comparisons on our Kick the Bottle page). Read more about the Aquamaker....
Aquifer: A water-bearing layer of soil, sand, gravel, or rock that will yield usable quantities of water to a well.
↑ A-Z indexBacteria: Single celled microorganisms which typically reproduce by cell division. Although usually classed as plants, bacteria contain no chlorophyll. Many different types of bacterial organisms are often found in drinking water. Most municipally treated water is essentially bacteria free due to the addition of chlorine. Some forms of cyst type viruses have a degree of immunity to chlorine due to a shell around the virus. These types of organisms such as Giardia Cyst, Giardia Lamblia, and Cryptosporidium have a physical size of three to seven microns and can be effectively removed by sub-micron filtration.
Barium: a naturally occurring metal - highly toxic when its soluble salts are ingested.
Biodegradable: Subject to degradation into similar substances by biological action. Examples include detergents, sewage, and other organic matter by bacteria.
BioFloater: a floatation device that holds the timed-release BioPlug® L in municipal lift stations for extended distribution of microbes.
Biomass: The amount of living matter, in the form of organisms, present in a particular habitat, usually expressed as weight per unit area.
BioPlug: is a timed-release, non-genetically engineered, multi-strain, microbial formula specifically designed for efficient digestion of fat, oil, and grease (FOG) and organic buildup in lift stations. The BioPlug® L requires no maintenance other than monthly plug replacements for optimum digestion.
Brackish Water: Water containing bacteria between 1.000 and 15,000 ppm of dissolved solids.
Brine: A strong solution of salt(s), such as the sodium chloride or potassium brine used in the regeneration of ion exchange water softeners, but also applied to the mixed sodium, calcium and magnesium chloride waste solution from regeneration.
↑ A-Z indexCadmium: makes its way into the water supplies as a result of deterioration of galvanized plumbing, industrial waste or fertilizer contamination.
Calcium (Ca): One of the primary elements of the earth's crust commonly found in water as a dissolved solid. The presence of calcium in water is a factor contributing to the formation of scale and insoluble soap curds which are means of clearly identifying hard water. It is sometimes referred to as lime.
Carbon Dioxide: Water with a low pH value usually contains free carbon dioxide. Its presence is caused generally by absorption of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air as water falls as rain, or by decay of organic matter in the earth. Well water containing substantial quantities of CO2 has a resultant low pH and corrosive qualities. Carbon dioxide in water forms a weak carbonic acid.
Carbonate rocks: Rocks (such as limestone or dolostone) that are composed primarily of minerals (such as calcite and dolomite) containing the carbonate ion (CO32-).
Carcinogen: A substance that can cause cancer.
Chloramines: Chemical complexes formed from the reaction between ammonia and chlorine being used to disinfect many municipal water supplies. Does not combine with organics to form triclomethanes.
Chlorine: Widely used in the disinfection of water and as an oxidizing agent for organic matter, iron, hydrogen sulfide, etc. It is available as a gas, as a liquid in sodium, hypochlorite, or as a solid in calcium hypochlorite. In water chlorine reacts with organics to form trihalomethanes (THM) which can cause cancer.
Chlorofluorocarbons: A class of volatile compounds consisting of carbon, chlorine, and fluorine. Commonly called freons, which have been used in refrigeration mechanisms, as blowing agents in the fabrication of flexible and rigid foams, and, until several years ago, as propellants in spray cans.
Chromium: is found in drinking water as a result of industrial waste contamination. The occurrence of excess chromium is relatively infrequent. The US EPA classifies chromium as a human carcinogen.
Claire Water: Claire Water is ClearWater System's germ-killing, bottle-kicking mascot. She was born on July 1, 2005 which means she has the astrological sign Cancer and that she's loyal, devoted, and sentimental — a person of strong opinions who expresses her views energetically and often dramatically. She is an entertaining speaker with an aptitude for story-telling and performing. Even if her only arena is the classroom or a kitchen counter, she puts on a good show. She has an abundance of creative ideas and could be a good politician, spokesperson, group leader, director, or coach. Thankfully, she works for us!
ClearRO4: ClearWater System's 4-stage, quick-change, under-counter treatment system. Click here for more ClearRO4 information.
Coliform Bacteria: A group of organisms found in human and animal waste. Widely used as indicators of the presence of such wastes in water and the possible presence of pathogenic (disease producing) bacteria. E.Coli bacteria electron migrograph scan photo courtesy Rocky Mountain Laboratories.
