Patricia Gill, Denmark Bulletin
Denmark residents are dissatisfied with the taste and staining caused by higher levels than usual of calcium in the town water.
Since mid July 2500 homes and businesses in the town started receiving their water via the Albany to Denmark pipeline.
The Water Corporation expects to mix water from Quickup Dam soon with that from a $25 million pipeline built in 2021 in response to declining and unreliable rainfall. Despite the rains, dam levels throughout the region are much the same as last year. The Corporation expects to return to solely dam water by the end of the year. The pipe was built because Denmark could no longer solely rely on surface (dam) water from its primary source, Quickup Dam.
The 43km pipeline connects Denmark to the Lower Great Southern Towns Water Supply Scheme which has a higher concentration of calcium and magnesium than dam water.
The Water Corporation says the ’hard’ water is safe to drink and meets all standards under the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. Groundwater is harder than dam water due to a higher concentration of naturally occurring minerals.
The water leaves spots on glass, garden plants and can result in calcium staining on household appliances.
Water staining and bad taste will become less noticeable when the Corporations resumes the use of dam water again. In the mean time some households have had filters installed which costs up to $3500 or more to install and require the replacement of filters, addition of salts and replacement of resin cores for optimal performance.
An option is a residential hard water conditioner, or water softener, to reduce the scale build up.
These are installed next to the mains and do not have any moveable parts like filter cartridges.
Water softeners work by either drawing heavy minerals out of the water using a process called ion exchange or by neutralising these minerals so that they are unable to bind together and remain soluble in the water.
Ecosoftwater Denmark agent Jane Matthews said the lower cost of a water softener was attractive to her because she could then spend money on a rainwater tank for her property.
“It is not a filter but like those used on drilling rigs by Rio Tinto and BHP,” she said.
“Because minerals don’t stick to metal it keeps appliances and pipes in good health.”
This article appeared in the Denmark Bulletin, 26 September 2024.
