Water contaminated with lead

Hi Wondering if anyone knows of a water filtering system that is based in France or another European country. There are many coming from America at a big price because of the export fees.

We live in a town with an old water system. The water in our home has been tested and we have been told the lead content is above acceptable levels. The commune is very slow in changing the pipes so we have to remove the lead ourselves.

Aqua gear and other filter systems are one approach, still American but we were thinking of a process called reverse osmosis which can be installed under the sink.

Glad of any advice.
Thanks
Fiona

Does the water provided by the water company contain unacceptably high levels of lead before it enters your property?

Yes it does. It is a well known fact in this area that the pipes need changing. The Mairies advice to us was to flush the toilet or have a shower before using the water. A lot of work has been done but being a medieval town there is a lot to do! Apparently we are not entitled to financial help towards costs of filters or bottled water. And we are responsible for changing the plumbing in our house if it is lead. As I have kidney disease I am quite anxious to have access to good water soon as possible. I was buying bottled water but due to the plastic crisis and the contaminates from plastic I am looking at other systems. Thanks

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Hi Fiona…

It’s quite natural that you are responsible for removing any lead within your own property. That can be lead pipes, lead paint… whatever…

I’m glad the Mairie admits there is a problem with the public supply… there will be plans to get it sorted… it is just a matter of when. :zipper_mouth_face:

You can get “plastic” water bottles/containers which are much healthier than the old sort…and are meant to be reused without problem (and without waste) Ask at the Mairie where the nearest unpolluted drinking water supply is… and you should be able to fill up containers for free.

As an aside… the lead problem should have b een highlighted when you took the property (purchase/lease) … and I am left wondering why it was obviously NOT. :thinking::zipper_mouth_face::roll_eyes:

Most Brico sheds sell 2 or 3 stage filtration units which can include reverse osmosis and activated charcoal.

This list of R/O suppliers in France might help:

Chris Batch

Hi Fiona. I have one and just put one in for a friend. Here in Australia you can get systems that fit under the sink fed from the cold water pipe going into the sinks tap. You either have a seperate tap for the filtered water or you can replace the kitchen tap with a dual function one.

I have a simple two stage filter which cleans a lot of things. Very cheap to run if you buy filters in bulk. I recently installed a fancier reverse osmosis one for a friend. It’s not that hard for a handy person.

You can get an idea of the kind of thing at this site. Euro prices are about 2/3 A$ (so A$300 is about €200). I would be surprised if you couldn’t get something similar in France. You can find them on ebay, probably Amazon, but look out for quality - the better ones cost more and often have a proper web site (not just ebay sales). Sites like the one below warn of inferior components, but I’m not sure how legitimate that is - it might just be protecting their sales.

https://www.psifilters.com.au/

Like mine
https://www.psifilters.com.au/67-premium-twin-undersink

Reverse osmosis (my friend has the $615 one)
https://www.psifilters.com.au/70-undersink-reverse-osmosis-systems

Do watch out for snake oil sales people, as like anything related to health, there are a lot of con artists. I really can’t see a DIY RO (Reverse Osmosis) kit costing any more than €4-500 (going by Australian prices). To have one supplied & installed maybe 50% more than that. Any more than that they’re feeding you a line.

Running costs (filters) for a twin system (like mine) very little, maybe €20-30 per year, particularly if you buy say 5 years filters at once. RO systems the basic filters usually replaced annually and also have have some more expensive filters, but those only need replacing every few years. So that might work out at €80-100 per year (a guess).

If you go RO:

  1. get the little tank, as that holds enough water to supply the tap. If you don’t have it filling a litre bottle will take ages as the filtering process is very slow.
  2. Another thing to realise is RO wastes water - my friends model - every litre of filtered water, you waste a litre (down the drain). The best I’ve seen (lowest waste ratio) is 0.6 litres waste for every filtered litre.
  3. Read up about the alkalising (remineralising) business. I still don’t get it, but they reckon it’s necessary.

Surprisingly we have them in the northern hemisphere as well

Yes John, I did say that in my third paragraph. I was just giving Fiona a source of information, not suggesting she buy from here. Also I’m just a user, not a dealer, so not pushing any barrows.

Thankyou so much!

Hmmm, you’ve got me thinking that I should check this out re my old place…I was hoping that my use of the simple well known, jug filter (which I use because the tap water is very chalky),would filter out most things, but it obviously wont cope with dissolved lead !

I do have a large boiler (fitted about 10 yrs ago, before I bought the property) & I am also worried about calcium build up, in the central heating pipes…would it have been usual to fit a filter to the system to cope with this & will it need maintenance (sorry, little paperwork)…?

Hilary… … Are you sure there is lead in your drinking water?

Sounds familiar. The best thing to do is to get it tested. I will post the info when my friend has given me the contact details for a polish company which tests water.

Le ven. 21 déc. 2018 à 11:38, stella wood survivefrance@discoursemail.com a écrit :

A Polish company ??? whereabouts are you based ??

there are laboratories all across France which will test everything you can think of…

Laboratoire DĂ©partementale

No problem, likewise just explaining similar. No harm or intent meant

Thanks…No I’m not sure, but I hate the thought that it might…I live in what were farm buildings, converted for part residential use in 1912…Near Creysse & Bergerac.

Your Water Supplier should provide details of what the water contains … on an annual basis…

If you have not received the document (usually folded in with the Bill) you can ask them to supply it. Quite possibly, this can be done online (via your Personal Account) as so much is done these days.

Thanks, I’m paperless, so it should be in my online account…I’ll take a look.

You should be able to locate which company supplies the water… and their webpage should give you the info you need.

If not, ask the Mairie… they will have details of the drinking water… it’s their business to know… :zipper_mouth_face:

Thanks!