Safety Archives - Garvin's Sewer Service, Inc

What’s in your water? Do you know?

Usually we like to inject a little humor into our blog topics. But this time, we won’t dwell on funny cultural references about things lurking deep beneath Colorado’s reservoirs and rivers, like the Loch Ness monster or the Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Your drinking water is serious business.

Unless your home taps into well water, your drinking water likely comes from a city water source. While municipal water purification plants work hard to clean our drinking water, more and more pollutants are ending up in city sources.

According to UNESCO, an international environmental watchdog, a whopping 90% of sewage in developing countries is released untreated directly into our bodies of water. Whoa. Yuck.

Furthermore, pollutants from agriculture and urban areas, including industrial factories, often ups the amount of pollution in our water UNESCO said.

Water filtration could safeguard and protect your family for three reasons:

Your drinking water could contain lead, chlorine and other contaminants that a good filtration system could remove.According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), “research showed that 186 million people in the country—a staggering 56 percent of our population—drank water from systems with lead levels exceeding that recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics to protect children.”
Pathogens and other contaminants in the water could be making you sick.
Sand and silt could be part of your water supply.

Our local water supply

You may have seen articles on the web or in the paper about local fires possibly affecting our Colorado water supply. Basically, burned vegetation means more sediment can end up in our water. More sediment in our water means more chemicals may be used to make our water less cloudy, according to the Denver Channel.

In addition, many people in Colorado may be worried about lead in their water supply.

Up until the 1950s, lead was used in some Denver water pipes. Though the city pipes have since been replaced, there’s no way to know which home building contractors were using them when they constructed new neighborhoods. If your house was built during the 1950s and before, there is a chance that you still have lead freshwater pipes. We’d recommend having your water tested if you live in an older house.

The good news? You can get your water tested. Commercial tests are available. You may also qualify for a free lead test from your Denver water supplier here.

How we can help

While most people simply view us as a plumbing repair service, Garvin’s plumbing contractors of Englewood can install whole house or sink filtration systems to safeguard your family’s drinking water supply.

Denver’s water is pretty clean, but is it 100% contaminant free? No.

If you’re the type of person who buys pesticide-free, non-GMO food, then that one extra step of filtering your water might put your mind at ease.

A filtration system can remove pathogens, contaminants and sediment. If you sometimes experience discoloration in your water, a good filter can help your water run clear and pure. Plus, filtering your water, whether it is from a well or a city source, can make your water taste better.

Contact Garvin’s Sewer Service of Denver and Englewood today. We would love to talk with you about how a whole house or sink filtration system can deliver the safest, best tasting water for your entire family.

(We are proud to partner with local Denver based ClearView Water for water filtration services.)

Sources:

https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-protect-yourself-lead-contaminated-water

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/colorado-wildfires-could-contaminate-drinking-water

Garvin’s Real-Life Examples of Safety

For our technicians:

Our technicians, depending on their tasks, either attend a general safety training or attend an OSHA 10 course. They also compete a 3-hour defensive driving course to help them stay safe on the road (they do a lot of driving during any given day.)

Every week, each of our technicians receive a Safety Information sheet that deep dives into a specific safety topic relevant to their job. Some of these topics have included:

Avoiding chemical burns from liquid drain cleaners

Treating pest and insect bites/stings

Foot, eye, ear protection

Slip and fall safety practices

And more

Quarterly we conduct a safety audit of every technician’s vehicle to make sure they have first aid supplies, accident kits, and that their Personal Protective equipment, supplies, and machinery are in good working condition.

Employees know that they never have to do work in an unsafe environment, and because they are at customer’s homes, we can’t always control the work conditions. They mitigate conditions to the best of their ability and they always maintain the right to refuse service due to unsafe conditions.

The health and safety of our technicians is important so they can get home each and every day to their families.

For our customers:

Without our customers, we wouldn’t have jobs, and keeping them safe is our priority. Plumbing in its general purpose was designed for sanitation and health. The steps we take to ensure customer safety include:

Using tarps, mats and shields to protect personal property

Wearing appropriate gloves, masks, hard hats or other PPE when on property to protect both you and the worker from injury

Proper training on high-risk tasks, such as using flame retardants when soldering

Cleaning up after ourselves

Refraining from using drugs or alcohol before and during working hours

Using safe driving practices

Where Would We Be Without Plumbing?

Plumbing brings clean water in our homes and allows waste to be flushed away. Without it, we could be facing a sanitary issue. Countries without clean water and sanitation systems experience more disease and even death from preventable bacterial conditions.

In the US, we also have the opportunity to not only have clean water delivered right into our homes, but we also are able to use plumbing in an aesthetically pleasing way. From water fall shower heads to trough or bib sinks – we can have the latest in interior design when it comes to water supply and waste systems.

When plumbing is functioning at its optimum, it controls pests (thank you p-traps), mold (thank you no leaks), sanitation (thank you toilets), and supports homes designed the way we want and need, (thank you water heaters, sump pumps, hose bibs, garbage disposals… ok, you get the point).

Truly, indoor plumbing is remarkable and we take it for granted until it isn’t working properly. This is what makes plumbers and drain technicians so important in our world, and why keeping them safe is critical. Maybe you never thought of plumbing in such a way – but it’s true, plumbing is a modern wonder and maybe, just maybe, that makes plumbers superheroes!

Do you have questions about safety for you or our technicians as they perform work in your home? Drop us a comment, call, or e-mail. We are happy to answer any of your questions relating to drain cleaning or plumbing.

Three Reasons Your Home Needs Water Filtration