Increasing Awareness of Household Water Quality
Public interest in household water quality in North America has risen significantly in the past decade due to various high-profile contaminations in water supplies and increased media attention to aging water infrastructure. Notable incidents of increased lead levels in Flint, Michigan, as well as newly discovered water contaminant issues such as PFAS in New England groundwater supplies, have prompted many water consumers to invest in point-of-use water treatment systems as well as point-of-entry water treatment systems. This trend is increasing the need for water treatment chemicals such as activated carbon media, anti-scalants, as well as safe disinfectants suitable for consumer water treatment applications.
Municipal water utilities are also responding to increased consumer awareness by working in conjunction with local communities to increase transparency in water quality improvement initiatives. For example, in Ontario, Canada, there are now several water utilities that offer real-time water quality information dashboards that provide information on residual disinfectant levels as well as health standards. This trend is increasing consumer interest in water treatment chemicals that offer consistent results, such as chloramine and chlorine alternatives that offer effective disinfection without unpleasant taste and odor problems.
In addition, the growing household water concerns can be partly attributed to intermittent supplies and local well sources, especially in arid regions of the northern states of Mexico, such as Baja California and Sonora. In this regard, household chemicals like corrosion inhibitors and shock chlorination kits are used to treat common water concerns like microbes and metallic tastes. Market surveys have shown that the sales of water treatment products have grown by between 8 and 12 percent over the past year, especially in these regions, where people are becoming increasingly aware of the need for household water treatment products and are willing to pay for these products as their middle-class lifestyle improves.
Eco‑Friendly System Innovations
Environmental regulations and consumer interest in sustainable products are fueling the pace at which water treatment chemistries that are more eco-friendly are being adopted in water utilities across North America. In the United States' Pacific Northwest region, water utilities serving Seattle and Portland, among other cities, are exploring alternative disinfectants to traditional chemical disinfectants, such as ultraviolet light and hydrogen peroxide, to minimize the formation of regulated disinfection byproducts. Not only do these more sustainable water treatment chemistries comply with strict regulatory requirements for drinking water quality under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Safe Drinking Water Act, they also eliminate long-term chemical handling and disposal risks for water utilities.
Similarly, water-intensive industries such as food processors in California's Central Valley and breweries in Quebec are adopting sustainable water treatment innovations such as closed-loop rinse systems that utilize biodegradable chelating agents and enzymatic cleaners to minimize water and chemical waste. These water treatment innovations not only support corporate social responsibility for sustainable development but also help optimize operational efficiency, including a 15-20% reduction in chemical costs for some facilities that have adopted more eco-friendly water treatment chemistries.
In addition, there are emerging trends favoring bio-based corrosion inhibitors and plant-based coagulants that help reduce the use of synthetic polymers. In the metropolitan area of Mexico City, cactus-based coagulants derived from nopal cactus have shown preliminary results for treating surface water. This type of system innovation can be characterized by the overall regional trend favoring sustainable chemistry, which corresponds with North American interests in environmental protection, public health, and cost-effective operations.