28711 Wed Apr 07 14:40:35 -0700 2004 15 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 120395 caramba. the chloramine is supposed to be more neutral in flavor. but let me explain a couple things about flavor variation. first of all, 85% of sf water comes from hetch hetchy reservoir, which is filled entirely by snowmelt from the northern half of yosemite national park. count this as a great blessing (most americans get their water from cruddy rivers (mississipi, sacramento/san joaquin delta) or groundwater wells). the remaining 15% comes from local watersheds around sunol (south of pleasanton) and crystal springs (between 280 and skyline on the peninsula). at various times, your water may have a different mixture of those sources, accounting for a possible flavor variation (the sunol reservoirs are more subject to algae blooms). also, in the wake of the quake and fire of 1906, city reservoirs were oversized to provide generous fire flows. that and flow variations within the various city reservoirs can mean your water is fresher at some times than others. but another benefit of chloramine is that it is stable and long-lasting. so for the most part, the water is better now than ever before, and is indistinguishable from bottled waters in both biochemical and aesthetic criteria. in fact, bottled waters sit in shelves, pantries, and car trunks for much longer than ours ever sits in pipes. so go ahead, we'll take the pepsi challenge. also note, most peninsula and some south bay municipalities get some or all of their water from us. Wed Apr 07 14:40:35 -0700 2004 0 ed 1 120400 Thanks for the ammo, I mean, info. Michael & I have been discussing this issue with distinct animation. He - The water tastes funny, we need a water filter. She - Hetch Hetchy water is the best around and the house water pipes are newish copper so there's no need for a water filter. Next time we're in Texas, drink the tap water, then tell me how bad our SF water is. Plus, water filters attached to faucets are ugly and annoying and under-the-sink filters are expensive. Prove that the water is "bad" and we'll discuss. He - The water tastes funny, I want a water filter. Wed Apr 07 14:59:54 -0700 2004 120395 0 Pssst 2 120446 yah. well it could be stinky ice cubes too ;) and yes, we flush the mains periodically to keep em clear and fresh, and sometimes that can stir up a bit of sediment. that or algae odors could justify a brita, but of course, britas can house some lush microbiology too. incidentally, over the next few years, we will be looking at ways to neutralize cryptosporidia (which is rare in our water anyway), and minimize odors from the east bay reservoirs. it should all just keep getting better. one caveat...older plumbing fixtures may have rubber gaskets that can't handle chloramine, esp. in hot water. the gaskets can break down into fine bits. best to replace them beforehand. Wed Apr 07 19:35:43 -0700 2004 120400 0 ed 3 120459 Ed, On the faucets..how old is old??? Mine were installed 10 years ago. Thanks Wed Apr 07 21:32:15 -0700 2004 120446 0 ChowFun (derek) 1 120402 Good info. I used to work as an engineer at a bay area water district, one that used in part Hetch Hetchy water. About a year ago I made a post on the general board that echos most of what you said, though I was speaking generally rather than specifically about SF water. I've noticed though that ever since that March heat wave, my SF tap water has had that distinctive algae aroma. I figured we'd had a bloom in a reservoir. I know it's totally harmless, but it's unpleasant so I've had to pull out the Brita. -Nick Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/293202#1603499 Wed Apr 07 15:16:52 -0700 2004 120395 0 nja 1 120412 So, that is nice to know, but still, aside from the annoyance that they are made from plastic, what is wrong with using a brita? Brita's don't make the water taste any different. i guess i just use mine as sort of back up in case there is something in my pipes (especially since there are signs all over my neighborhood stating that they are flushing out the pipelines) but i used a brita in boston too, and it didn't alter the taste straight out of the tap. in boston everything still tasted faintly like iron. and here everything still tastes like what it tastes like. if you put a glass of brita water or tap water in front of me and asked me which was which, i wouldn't be able to tell you. anyway, that's all, except for the fact that i met a man on the train once that used to work for some sort of water agency and he went on a half an hour long rant (until my stop) all about the new pipelines and how hetch hetchy was the greatest ever and how good the water is and bleah bleah bleah and i was so wowed by his sincerity and love for his job that i told Rob we would never get a stand up water cooler for our house. (that and that the amount of plastic these days horrifies me) ok, i'm done. take care and have a nice day Wed Apr 07 16:47:43 -0700 2004 120395 0 Jupiter 2 120414 ick. I hate Brita. My parents have always kept a Brita pitcher in the house, and I just HATE that nasty flavor you get when you first change the filter. I will take my hetch-hetchy happily. :-) Wed Apr 07 16:58:50 -0700 2004 120412 0 Fatemeh 3 120458 Do you soak the filter 15-20 minutes prior to putting it in the pitcher and then run and discard two full pitchers before using it? Wed Apr 07 21:11:13 -0700 2004 120414 0 PolarBear 4 120500 I don't think so... is that what the directions advise? I wouldn't be surprised if my parents never read them, and just plopped the filter in! Thu Apr 08 13:41:04 -0700 2004 120458 0 Fatemeh 5 120552 Yup, the 15-minute soak and fill-and-dump twice are required - that's how you get rid of that new charcoal (the filtering agent taste). I'm very happy with local water from the tap when I'm there; at home, my tap water doesn't taste good (the pipes) and a run theough the Brita fixes all that. Thu Apr 08 20:01:02 -0700 2004 120500 0 Caitlin McGrath 1 120469 This little interchange is so great. Where does the East Bay water (Berkeley, in my case) come from? I do have a Brita, although that's largely because the previous tenant left his pitcher behind. Thanks! Wed Apr 07 22:55:01 -0700 2004 120395 0 Elisa B. 2 120495 It comes mostly from the Mokelumne watershed. It's a good source. More info at the link below Link: http://www.ebmud.com/water_&_environment/water_supply/ Thu Apr 08 11:56:38 -0700 2004 120469 0 nja 3 120507 Yeah, I've been drinking EBMUD almost all my life**, and it's great, although it does get a little less fresh tasting in the fall. They switched to chloramine a couple of years back, and I noticed a slight difference in taste -- it's a little "flatter" -- but certainly it's as good as anything out there. I think it's better than the tap water in the City, in fact. **I went to UC Santa Barbara for four years -- the tap water there -- which comes from Lake Cachuma -- is undrinkable tastewise and leaves incredible mineral deposits (I used to rinse my hair in bottled water). On a recent trip to San Luis Obispo I was reminded of this -- the water there is bad, too. We're really very lucky that we can take for granted the quality of the tap water in the Bay Area. Thu Apr 08 14:33:03 -0700 2004 120495 0 Ruth Lafler 1 120478 I think our water tastes just great right out of the tap. I drink many glasses with ice all day long while I'm working. That said, if you let it sit for a period of time, it doesn't taste so great. That's where the Brita comes in. That water that sits on your bedstand all night tastes much better in wee hours of the morning if it is Brita water. Thu Apr 08 03:58:11 -0700 2004 120395 0 srr 1 120491 I was disturbed to read recently that our new commssioner of the PUC, adam werbach, said he uses a reverse osmosis filter because he is scared of what's in the water! Not agreat vote of confidence and no I don't know if he is trained at all in any hard science, much less water science. Thu Apr 08 11:31:17 -0700 2004 120395 0 sfeatz 2 120498 Werbach is 27 years old, a former president of the Sierra Club and majored in Political Science and "Modern Culture and Media." If I wanted to worry about the water supply I wouldn't do so based on his comments. Thu Apr 08 13:37:50 -0700 2004 120491 0 Paul H