RV Fresh Water Improvements

 

Regulator and Filter

Travelling in our Roadtrek we encounter a variety of campground fresh water conditions.  These include high pressure, well water which is hard or contains sediment, and city water which meets much higher standards.

Sediment can be dealt with using a portable filter.  Hard water is not as easily improved.  For drinking one can always use bottled water, but seriously hard water does damage to aluminum, copper and brass faucets and can even leave deposits on check-valves, etc. which hinders their operation. 

There are accessories which can be carried to improve the water condition.  However, unsafe water is not something for the typical RVer to deal with.  If we have any concerns about fresh water safety and purity, we purchase and drink bottled water.  Some campgrounds have public reverse osmosis machines on site, where a gallon of water can be filled a modest cost such as 35 cents each gallon.

We've carry a water pressure regulator and a filter with us in the Roadtrek.  This keeps water pressure in safe limits, protecting the fresh water piping system.  We also carry a portable RV/Marine filter.  We replace the filter each year.  

However, some locations have hard water.  Our lily-pad in the Southwest US is an example.  The water comes from local wells and is mildly alkaline with a pH of about 8.0.  Another measure is Total Dissolved Solids or TDS. Total dissolved solids (TDS) describes the inorganic salts and small amounts of organic matter present in solution in water. "The principal constituents are usually calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium cations and carbonate, hydrogencarbonate, chloride, sulfate, and nitrate anions.  "

One of the issues for treatment of freshwater in the Roadtrek is simply the space limitations for the hardware.  We have used a portable water softener when we stayed in an area known for hard water.  This device is replenished with table salt.  It is currently used in the 5th wheel.

Portable Water softener in our 5th wheel

At our Arizona lily pad, which is connected to resort well-water, we have a more extensive water treatment system.  The water is hard, and there may be occasional sediment. We spend several months at the resort each year and so we decided upon a more extensive water treatment approach. There is osmosis water available at 35 cents per gallon, but this year I added a reverse osmosis system which I installed in the kitchen island. Our system includes:

• Pressure Regulator
• 10 inch diameter Filter
• Reverse Osmosis system
• Water softener

Big Blue 10 inch diameter filter

Reverse Osmosis Spigot with TDS Indicator
I installed in our 5th wheel

(c) 2022 N. Retzke

Central Arizona Project

 

Central Arizona Project

At the RV resort in Tucson, the weekly Lecture Series has begun.  Today's lecture was the Central Arizona Project (CAP).  These lectures are seasonal, when the RV resort is very full. 

Both G and I attended the lecture. It was informative and relevant.

I'll put a few of the slides in this post. The last slide includes website URLs for those who want more information.

The Central Arizona Project is about water management.  A number of states share in the water from the Colorado River.  The project is about the involvement of states in that sharing.  It is also about how Arizona manages the water it receives.  

There are reasons to be optimistic. However, there are also serious problems, some political. For example, Arizona is doing a very good job of managing the water under the auspices of the CAP. 

California, always big on talk, isn't doing so well. This is creating water stress in rural areas of Arizona, where California companies, such as nut growers, are moving.  They sell the land in CA, vacate California and then buy land in Arizona to raise their crops.  This is not a solution.

The current multi-state agreement about water sharing will expire in 2026. It remains to be seen to what extent California will cooperate in the formation of a new agreement of water sharing between the states.

Ariona is currently looking at a variety of means to increase the potable water available in the central area of the state.  Methods include desalination because some groundwater in AZ is brackish. California has been slow to adapt such methods, despite the ample coastline and access to the Pacific Ocean. Here's a recent article about one CA project:

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/desalination-advances-california-despite-opponents-pushing-alternatives-2021-07-28/

I include the above article to illustrate the problem in CA.  It is easier to leave the state and grow pistachios in Arizona.  Of course, that puts additional stress on AZ groundwater sources.  Growing such crops is very inefficient in water use. 

(c) Norman Retzke 2022