Get off mineral-laden water

So far in the debate about Davis’ water future, I have not seen mention of our plumbing, not even from plumbers. So here’s my “mention,” as a homeowner.

Does your plumbing run under your floor?

By choice, my house does not use “salt-producing water softeners” (as a recent article described them). We simply could not justify putting more salt into the chemical soup. Instead, we have two different systems to remove, electronically, the calcium and maybe other stuff from our groundwater.

Despite our informed interest, however, we periodically carve off (with a paring knife) the build-up of lime (or calcium or cement) from the joints of kitchen-bathroom plumbing. This comes, of course, from the minerals in our tap water.

So I simply ask, “Do you know what our groundwater has already attached to the water pipes running under your floor or through your walls? Have you checked how soon, after 20 to 30 years, these mineral deposits may clog these pipes?”

For my money (!), the sooner I get off this mineral-laden water, the better.

Dale M. Heckman
Davis

P.S.: I grew up in a Pennsylvania county early noted for its limestone quarries and cement-making. And, by age 40, I suffered an attack of kidney stones, calcium.