It is typical in southwestern Ohio for well water to be hard, thanks to large amounts of sediment and limestone deposits in the area following the melting of glaciers during the Ice Age. Oxford is a well water system, and the water continues to be hard with calcium and magnesium consistently appearing with each drop of water from the town’s faucets. The two minerals cause Oxford water to have a metallic taste.
The “miniature snowflakes,” as the mineral deposits are called, are the result of an effect called “temporary hardness,” as described by David Weihrauch, a water plant manager at the Oxford Water Processing Plant.
“Temporary hardness occurs when the water has a rapid change in temperature, like you see in dishwashers and faucets,” Weihrauch, 57, said. “The extreme heat brings the calcium out of solution, making the dishes look like they sat through a snow storm.”
Oxford’s water processing plant, located at 4935 Trenton-Oxford Road, opened 20 years ago and the debts for the plant’s opening will finally be paid off by the end of 2014, Oxford City Councilman Doug Elliott said. Until the debts are paid off, however, the city simply cannot afford to focus on making Oxford’s water more enjoyable and less destructive to home appliances, officials say.
Routine operation at the plant removes iron and manganese, adds fluoride to help prevent tooth decay, and chlorinates to kill bacteria, according to the 2011 water quality report. Keeping the iron out the water to prevent iron stains on clothing from doing laundry is the main focus of the plant, as it is in most plants around the world, Weihrauch said.
“The calcium issue is the number one inquiry we get here in Oxford,” Weihrauch said. “We’re only 20 years old and Oxford’s first facility owned and operated by the city, and we are simply focused on making the water safe and drinkable.”
Rest assured, the water is safe and meets all levels of contaminants regulated by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the small amount of contaminants do not present a health risk, according to the City of Oxford Water Quality Report.
“It’s not really too difficult to clean this water because well water is so low on organic issues,” Weihrauch said. “We use the best available technology to separate regulated materials.”
The Greater Cincinnati Water Works Plant also deals with the same water hardness-issue as Oxford, although on a much larger scale. The ground water plants in Cincinnati use multiple processes to cut the hardness by 50 percent, Treatment Supervisor Katie Jamriska said.
“GCWW utilizes a chemical precipitation process at our treatment plant called lime softening,” Jamriska said. “We treat our water with quicklime, which is a less expensive on a large scale compared to home water softeners.”
The lime softening process has been in the water business since 1976, Jamriska said. The chemical reaction caused by applying lime to hard water is the most used softening process in the country and something the Oxford Water Plant cannot afford to use.
Jamriska said the residents of Greater Cincinnati believed the softening of the water was very important given the damage hard water can cause for household appliances, which allowed the GCWW to implement technologies to soften the water.
“The mineral salts cause scale build-up in pipes and appliances,” Jamriska said. “The scale leads to the pipes and appliances becoming clogged and thus rendering them useless.”
Even though this remains an issue in Oxford, Weihrauch believes the small-town still works despite a lack of funding and also believes that it has some advantages to the larger-city system the GCWW uses. While he says the GCWW is one of the best and most forward-thinking water plants in the world, he prefers the small-town feel the Oxford Water Plant has and will have for the coming future.
“We have an outstanding reputation for customer support and smaller systems allow you to do that,” Weihrauch said. “We don’t have to drive to another town to help a customer with their pipes; we can just drive a couple blocks.”
There are options for those in Oxford who would like their water to be softer in their own homes. A water softener employs a different method of softening called ion exchange. The water softener holds a resin that has a negative charge while calcium and magnesium have a positive charge.
Many people in Oxford have water softeners installed, according to Weihrauch. Dillon de Medeiros, a longtime resident of Oxford, has a water softener at his home and sees mixed results with the water taste and texture from places where he used to live.
“In my experience the water in Oxford has been worse than water in Hamilton and other areas,” de Medeiros said. “My family’s water softener does prevent damage to our household appliances, however, so there’s that.”
Environmental Specialist David Treleaven said there are cheaper alternatives to a water softener if an Oxford resident needs to soften the water.
“The buildup or accumulation of the precipitant can be reduced or removed by other products,” Terleaven said. “Periodical application of either straight vinegar, a vinegar solution will help lower the ph scale of the products affected by the calcium.”
The discussion of possibly improving Oxford’s water with respect to the hardness after the debts are paid off at the end of 2014 is only in “pre-emptive stages,” Elliott said.
Treleaven has his own doubts about whether Oxford should implement water softening strategies for the area.
“I personally do not believe that it would be appropriate for the City of Oxford to incur the expenses associated with the purchase, installation, operation or maintenance associated with a water softener system for its water treatment operation,” Treleaven said. “I don’t think everyone agrees on the subject, but we will have to see what the city says.”
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