A Look at Your Drinking Water

More Turning to Purified Water

Valley Residents live in a part of the state where the water supply is contaminated with various substances from various sources, notably: agricultural and industrial wastes, polluted surface water and chemical spills. Even treated water from the Rio Grande contains “acceptable levels” of pollutants.

For those reasons, more and more Valley folks are turning to purified water for their drinking water and personal use.

AVANT Premium Water is one of the major providers locally. LA FERIA NEWS visited with Leanne Ortiz, local manager of the company, to learn more about the problem.

Leanne has been with the Valley water company for 16 years. She is a Harlingen High School graduate, and said, “This job with AVANT was my first job after graduation; it’s a great company, and I love it.”

When asked about what advanced filtration can offer, she said, “We have an eight-step filtration system that purifies the local city water supply wherever we have kiosks. The final product is going to be healthful, purified water containing no chlorine, minerals, or other organic materials that some people find offensive and distasteful.” Organic matter like what, this reporter ventured–“like human and animal fecal matter and dissolved toilet paper.” I was sorry I asked.

She added, “besides being distasteful, there are health consequences for people with suppressed immune systems. Our filtration eliminates all those sources of contamination.”

How does it work? “First, the water twice goes through 5 micron sediment filters that remove the larger particles,” she answered. “Then it goes through a carbon bed filter that removes pesticides and organic compounds. The water is next softened and goes through a reverse osmosis process, carbon filters and an ultraviolet sterilizer, all of which kill bacteria and purify the water and make it safe for human consumption—that is why so many are turning to filtered, purified water these days.”

Leanne lives in La Feria with her husband and two children: “Our son, Kevin Ortiz is a Senior, and will be graduating from La Feria High School next year with his class of 2016” she said, adding, “My daughter, Nikki, is six-years-old and attends Stuart Place Elementary School. Her husband is Eric Ortiz, who works as a BioMed technician at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen.

Any reader wishing more information about the drinking water in your area can call Leanne Ortiz at (956) 364 2211.