| Last year, a salesman peddling tap water filters | | | | not remove small organisms from the water. |
| would have seen little reason to visit a New York | | | | When a filtration system uses a combination of |
| City restaurant. Federal authorities had proclaimed | | | | carbon filters and ceramic filters, then the water |
| that the city water in New York had a purity that | | | | coming from the tap is free of both harmful |
| was almost unmatched throughout the world. | | | | chemicals and unwanted micro-organisms. For that |
| Restaurant owners in New York City thus lacked any | | | | reason, some restaurant owners have chosen to |
| motivation for investing in tap water filters. | | | | install filtration systems that contain that beneficial |
| Now that situation is about to change. Water testing | | | | combination (activated carbon and ceramic filters). |
| performed in 2004 revealed the presence of | | | | Distillers provide restaurant owners with an |
| copepods in New York City water. While the | | | | alternative to the combination filter. In a distiller, |
| Environmental Protection Agency has stated that the | | | | water is first converted to steam, and then |
| health of humans can not be harmed by the drinking | | | | condensed back into water. The distillation process |
| of water containing copepods, still, restaurant owners | | | | removes particles and dissolved solids; it also kills any |
| in New York City do not want such organisms in their | | | | micro-organisms in the water. |
| tap water. | | | | Restaurant owners, who expect to profit from the |
| For the first time in recent memory, restaurant | | | | use of distillers, can logically include distillers among |
| owners in New York City are studying the available | | | | the filtration systems that they want to study. For a |
| information about tap water filters. Those restaurant | | | | homeowner, however, tap water filters are a much |
| owners know that copepods are tiny crustaceans. | | | | more sensible choice. The homeowner does not |
| Those restaurant owners also know that customers | | | | expect to profit from achieving one of his or her |
| who seek to maintain a kosher diet refuse to eat | | | | primary goals. |
| crustaceans. | | | | What is that goal? For most homeowners it is the |
| In other words, New York restaurants with a high | | | | ability to provide every resident of a given home |
| percentage of Jewish customers stand in danger of | | | | with clean, pure, great-tasting water. As homeowners |
| losing those customers, should they decide not to | | | | survey the various features on the available tap |
| invest in tap water filters. On the other hand, a | | | | water filters they are turning more and more to one |
| restaurant that filters its tap water might expect to | | | | particular filter. |
| eliminate from that water any of the non-kosher | | | | Homeowners can not count solely on carbon |
| copepods. Such a restaurant could then hope to | | | | activation to remove any micro-organisms from the |
| retain its Jewish customers. | | | | water. They can however feel comfortable relying on |
| The restaurant owners in New York City are learning | | | | carbon filters with ion exchange and micron filtration. |
| that they have an opportunity to choose from | | | | Moreover, unlike a distiller, a filtration system such as |
| among several different filtering systems. Some | | | | that just described can be readily installed in a home. |
| restaurant owners might have looked first at the | | | | The homeowner who has elected to put-in such a |
| prospect of pumping their water into special carafes. | | | | system has made a wise choice. More importantly, |
| Those carafes contain a carbon-activated filter, one | | | | that same homeowner has made what water |
| that absorbs harmful chemicals. Yet such carafes can | | | | specialists now point to as the safest choice. |