Water Softeners: A Scrooge in a Southern California Community

Hard water affects over 85% of North America, clogging pipes, stressing appliances and reducing their efficiency.Home owners and operators of industrial machinery have often chosen to install a water softener.This “solution” comes with its own tradeoffs though: a huge price tag for the environment, one’s health and one’s pocketbook.

In Santa Clarita Valley, California, the level of chloride pollution in the valley’s river and waste water system is so high that it is crippling the water treatment facility. City officials claim that residential water softeners account for nearly half of the chloride coming into the treatment plant.

As a result city officials banned the use of residential water softeners in 2003.This ban applies to both sodiu View the rest of this article