Water companies adding Phosphates?

[BVS]

I've just been speaking to one of my lecturers about a thesis on improving software that maps pesticide spread in watersheds; software that the Uni originally designed for the water company Severn Trent. (:) doing work for once!)

Anyway, we got talking about Severn Trent and apparently they ADD PHOSPHATES to the water supply deliberately!
The reason is that large doses of phosphates help to "coat" lead pipes, but that the coating wears off within a month so constant treatment is required.

Not much help for fish keepers, but I suppose it helps keep people alive . Might explain part of the large increase in phosphates we've had in the UK in the past decade or so. He didn't know for sure, but strongly suspected that all UK water companies do this. They aren't my local water company but it'd be worth finding out from one's local supplier whether they do. Water companies might not do this elsewhere in the world; who knows?

Don't know if you all knew this and this terribly old news or not.

[BVS]

I've just looked up the figures and British water companies are allowed upto 2.2mg/l of phosphorus (doesn't seem to specify in what form) in the water at the customers' taps.

Start the campaign to remove all lead pipes

[medaka]

i have heard that seven trent water likes to add loads of additives ,,
but , i believe that here in the UK you have the right to ask for a break down of water chemistry in relation to your tap water , by law they have to send you one ,if you ask.,

[BVS]

I can't say I'm best pleased either, having found out that Three Valleys Water also uses phosphates to reduce lead poisoning. Then again, people, in my most humble opinion, should come before fish. After all, it's not as though it's impossible to remove phosphates, and they won't (so far as I know at the levels we're likely to get) kill our fish. It'd just be nice if facts like this were more widely known. I always thought the increase in phosphates was due to farmers and washing powder.

On a slightly different line I found out that Three Valleys can give your water parimeters online if you provide your postcode. They say my water has a hardness of 320mg/l which is nice as that's almost what my Hagen test shows too. Doesn't make up for the fact that my water's still as a hard as Wesley Snipes though . May be I should keep a "Malawi" tank instead