Hard water, most commonly encountered in bore well waters is known to be one of the biggest "nuisances" experienced by house owners because of its potential for causing serious damages to the piping system, water heaters, skin and hair problems, laundering difficulties and energy inefficiency. Water softeners are universally used to bring down the content of salts of calcium and magnesium to low levels though their use may cause some pollution through waste water. Imagine a situation where use of softeners are banned because of pollution! This has happened in California, USA where there is a ban against installing water softeners in that state. How ever the industry, in an effort to convince the government sponsored a study in one of the most reputed and independent R & D agencies in the world, the Battelle Memorial Institute (BMI) to study and bring out the relative merits of water softening that out weigh its pollution potential.
"WQA believes the research will show that use of soft water has a "green" effect in the home, that is, it helps maintain water-using household appliances' energy efficiency, reduces soap consumption and waste, and reduces water consumption. Many WQA members who produce and sell water softeners believe that any possible drawbacks of softeners, such as chloride discharges, are far outweighed by their environmental benefits. Preliminary Battelle study findings, announced at the WQA Mid-Year Leadership Meeting in September, indicated, for example, that untreated hard water can rapidly lead to clogged showerheads. Showerheads using softened water performed nearly as well as on the day they were installed, according to the study. It also found that hard-water conditions will reduce the energy efficiency of an instantaneous, or "tankless" hot water heater by about 8 percent compared with its use in soft water".
While BMI brought out what has been known for ages about water softening, the organization that funded the studies happened to be the lobby that represented the manufacturers of water softening equipment, clearly bringing out possible conflict of interest inherent in such a sponsorship. Whether the state government will be convinced so as to rescind the ban, remains to be seen.
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