The Portable Well is a response-able business.
We are able to respond to the challenges facing our drinking water supply here in the UK and beyond these shores.
Water is a serious business and a necessity to life itself, so we much respond to the challenges in dynamic and innovative ways
The hidden danger in UK tap and temporary event water systems
Essential to the operation of UK’s water utility companies is chlorination having the purpose of sanitising the distribution system demonstrated by the presence of residual chlorine at the customer's tap.
This serves its primary purpose well but there can, unfortunately, be undesirable consequences one of which is the formation of THM’s (trihalomethanes)
These are a group of chemicals formed in water sometimes with other disinfection by-products. They include chloroform, dibromochloromethane, bromodichloromethane and boromoform all formed when chlorine reacts naturally with inorganic and organic material present in the water supply.
Fig #1 illustrates the Breakpoint Chlorination method of treating a water supply, where chlorine is dosed until a residual value is present.
The actual amount of chlorine dosed is governed by the amount consumed in disinfecting the supply plus the desired residual value.
Fig #1Theoretical Breakpoint curve water with 1.0 mg/l nitrogenous compounds
THM
In the UK and Europe, most municipal water treatment plants use chlorine to disinfect the water, and THM chemicals are by-products of the chlorine disinfection process.
Chlorination has been used since the early 1900s as a disinfectant to reduce illnesses caused by water-borne pathogens (Do, 2005).
However, a growing body of research shows that exposure to chlorine by-products THM, is associated with a higher risk of bladder cancer in Europe and North America. According to Evelampidou (2020).
We've always associated pollutants like THMs with degenerative health problems, and this recent study seems to confirm our claims.
Tap water THMs cause a high percentage of bladder cancers in the UK.
The UK was one of 9 European countries, and the maximum THM concentration recorded was higher than the permitted limits of 100 micrograms per litre of water, according to researchers analyzing monitoring data from 26 European countries.
With a rate of 20,7%, the UK has the second-highest percentage of cases of bladder cancer attributable to THMs.
In the research community, although there are not enough studies to prove a causal relationship between THMs and bladder cancer, they warn that current exposure to THMs in the European Union may cause a significant number of bladder cancer cases that could be prevented (Evlampidou, 2020).
Contact us
PFAS
(Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances)
Known collectively as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), or “forever chemicals” because they are designed never to break down in the environment, the substances are used for their water- and grease-repellent properties in everything from cookware and clothing to furniture, carpets, packaging, coatings and firefighting foams.
They can also easily build up in the human body as they move from the water we drink into our bloodstream. Experts agree that every person has at least some PFAS in their system. Excessive exposure to the chemicals can be linked to health problems, including low birth rates, liver damage, high cholesterol, chronic kidney disease, asthma, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), immunization resistance in children, early menopause, and colon ulcers.
Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances (PFAS) are a group of anthropogenic chemicals that are highly stable and resistant to degradation.
These chemicals are manufactured and used in many consumer and industrial products (e.g. food packaging materials, fire-fighting foams and textiles) due to their heat-resistant and oil- and water-repellent properties. PFAS compounds are persistent, toxic and potentially harmful to humans and the leaching and presence of PFAS in our environment have raised serious concerns on the global scale.
To this end, the Portable Well Company use a standardised 4 filter system, designed in such a way we eliminate or offer the ultimate best protection against these man-made additions to our drinking water supply.
Exposure to PFAS through drinking water and various environmental sources has been studied and in December 2020, the European Parliament has adopted the revised Drinking Water Directive (DWD) which is in force since 12th January 2021.
The new DWD is including the parameter "PFAS total" which means the totality of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances with a maximum concentration of 0.5 μg/L.
Per 100mlg reduction efficiency
Chlorine to 0.01 mg/l
THM VOC TME ECB OCB to 0.01 mg/l
Pesticides to 0.01 mg/l
Herbicides to 0.01 mg/l
Solvents & Hydrocarbon to 0.01 mg/l
Oil residues to 0.02 mg/l
Bacteria and Pathogen to 99.999%
PFAS reduction to recognised known protection data levels
"All traces of THM and chlorine are removed, with 99.999% bacteria and pathogen removal, with near-total removal of PFAS chemicals, based on our experience and wisdom of filtration systems. In all of our product and design ranges. We call it water as nature intended, from any source to any scale"
Mark Anthony Tarling
CEO and Founder
The Complete list of what we can analyse from a water source
Total coliforms,
E coli Colony Counts
Enterococci
Pseudomonas spp.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Clostridium perfringens
Total coliforms (Large Volume)
E coli (Large Volume)
Clostridium perfringens (Large Volume)
Legionella
Cryptosporidium Giardia
Algae
Chlorophyll a
Oil & Grease
Biological Oxygen Demand
Chemical Oxygen Demand
Total Suspended Solids
Dry Residues
Total Dissolved Solids
Detergents
Alkalinity
Hardness
Ammonium (Ammonia and Ammonium Ions)
Chloride
Nitrate
Nitrite
TON
Sulphate
Silica
Phosphorus-SRP
Chromium VI
Hydrogen Ion (pH)
Conductivity
Colour
Turbidity
Bromate
Fluoride
Bromide
Chlorate
Chlorite
Total Organic Carbon
Dissolved Organic Carbon
UV Absorbance % Transmission
Dissolved Metals
Fe, Mn, Al, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd
Total Cyanide
Metals- Fe, Al, Mn, Pb, Cu, Ni, Zn
Toxics- Cd, Cr, Ba,
P, Ag, Sr, U
Hydrides- As, Se, Sb
Alk-Metals- Ca, Mg, Na, B,K
Li, Be, V, Co, Mo, Sn, Tl
Hg
Cu, Pb, Fe, Ni, Zn, Cr
Gross Alpha
Gross Beta
Odour – Qualitative
Taste – Qualitative
Odour – Quantitative
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
THMs, HHC, Benzene, 1,2-Dichloroethane, BTEX, MTBE
Pesticides (Azuron, Acid Herbicides, Metaldehyde, PEST-GC-01, PHERBS)
Hydrocarbons
Radon
Tritium