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With the Flint water crisis making lead in drinking water front page news, schools across the country are testing their water. They are also looking for measures that can lower drinking water lead contamination for their students.
Berkshire Hathaway’s Marmon Water, Inc. has debuted its Safe Fountain System to remove lead and other contaminants from drinking fountains in schools and public/industrial buildings.
The new product line from EcoWater Systems ensures clean, safe, and good tasting water, even in the case of boil water alerts.
Lead and other contaminants in drinking water is an issue nationwide. While much has been said about lead coming from municipal water systems due to old lead pipes in the streets, problems can also exist in homes and buildings built before the early 1990s that used high-content lead in copper piping and lead solder and, to an even greater extent, in pre-1960s homes and buildings where lead pipes were routinely used. Even if a municipality addresses lead problems related to old pipes in the streets, issues may still be present in the home.
Concerns are based on lead’s significant effect on the brain and central nervous system. High lead levels have the greatest impact on fetuses, infants, and children under six years old, potentially causing learning disabilities, hyperactivity, and other medical conditions. In addition, high levels of lead in adults may contribute to medical problems including high blood pressure and diabetes.
According to the company, EcoWater’s new Safe Fountain System uses National Science Foundation-certified lead, bacteria, virus, cyst, and chemical reduction cartridges to ensure the quality of water just before it is consumed from the fountain. Systems come equipped with a range of safety features including real-time Wi-Fi monitoring, automatic shutoff, tamper-proof stainless steel housings, and braided water line connectors, giving users peace of mind. EcoWater’s nationwide network of water treatment professionals monitor usage and perform routine maintenance and cartridge replacement as necessary.
At the 2016 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, EcoWater demonstrated its water fountain filtration system.
The company is ready to install the Safe Fountain System this summer in order to have them in place at schools before kids return in the fall.
EcoWater also makes filtration systems that can be installed in school cafeterias, and it has a filtration system that goes in five and ten gallon coolers used by sports teams. The cooler filters are made by EcoWater and sold under the Brita brand through a licensing agreement.
EcoWater also offers NSF-certified microbiological drinking water purification systems as well as a complete line of similarly certified reverse osmosis drinking water systems and a host of other filtration systems for home and/or business applications that also reduce lead and other contaminants from the water supply.
© 2016 David Mazor
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.