water quality for restaurants

8/7/2019 Water Quality for Restaurants

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Recent studies show that one of the victims of the current economic recession has been restaurants.While many people have been dining out less this past year, the restaurant industry itself remainsrelatively healthy in many areas of the U.S.

According to the National Restaurant Associations 2009 Restaurant Industry Forecast, overall restaurantindustry sales will increase in current U.S. dollars by 2.5% over 2008 figures, translating to an inflation-

adjusted decline of 1%. Despite the economic downturn, the industry will remain a cornerstone of theeconomy, representing 4% of the U.S. gross domestic product, employing 9% of the U.S. workforce, andrestaurants will continue to adapt to the latest menu trends and consumer preferences.

Providing added value, reducing operational costs and promoting environmental awareness are threemajor objectives for the restaurant industry today. One key area where restaurants can successfullyachieve all three of these objectives is with their water. The costs associated with water-using appliancessuch as water heaters, coffee and tea brewers, beverage stations, steamers and ice machines representa significant annual operational cost to any restaurant. Couple that with the importance of water quality infood preparation and beverage taste, along with the environmental ramifications from conventional watertreatment, and it is easy to see why so many restaurant owners today are looking for alternative solutions.

Water Woes

The water treatment industry defines problem waters as those supplies with high concentrations ofhardness (calcium or magnesium carbonate), high salt concentration defined as total dissolved solids(TDS), chlorine, iron, manganese, or hydrogen sulfide contamination. High hardness levels, above 100parts per million (ppm), and high TDS (above 250 ppm), can be found in 80% of the water suppliesaround the world. Iron, manganese and hydrogen sulfide are more commonly found in well watersupplies.

Most restaurants today utilize water softeners (salt-exchange systems) to address issues related to waterhardness and low levels of iron and manganese on hot water only. They then add individual waterfiltration systems to ice machines, beverage stations, steamers and coffee and tea brewers. Thesefiltration systems typically consist of a sediment filter to remove large suspended particles from the water,a carbon filter to remove chlorine and sometimes a sequestering filter that adds polyphosphate or another

type of sequestering agent to reduce the effects of scaling. These filters generally need to be replacedevery three to four months.

The initial investment for this equipment is relatively expensive, costing on average more than $5,000 fora full-service restaurant, while the annual maintenance costs often exceed $3,600.

There is also strong push-back from local governments and environmental agencies against thesetechnologies for several reasons. Water softeners, for instance, add significant amounts of salt to watersupplies. In the city of Las Vegas alone, water softeners add on average 250 million lb of salt to LakeMead and the Colorado River each year.

Many restaurants also have up to three individual filtration systems in front of their coffee machines, icemachines and beverage stations. With an average of three filters per system being replaced every fourmonths, the net result is 27 filters per year being added to landfills.

In addition, environmental issues facing restaurants today include:

Bottled water. Local governments are looking for ways to reduce the strain on landfills and many havetargeted bottled water. Although bottled water sales represent an important source of income for manyrestaurants, the waste from the plastic bottles is creating stress on our landfills and generating more than2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide each year.


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Cleaning chemicals. Cleaning chemicals for dishwashers, coffee brewers, ice machines and other water-using appliances represent not only a significant operational cost to a restaurant but also end up indrinking water supplies.

Finding a Solution

Finding a solution that addresses all of these issues would be the silver bullet that would help restaurantsin both the short and long term.

A solution is available that addresses issues relating to water quality while adding profit to a restaurantsbottom line and dramatically improving the overall value and quality to its customers. The system is apoint-of-entry (POE) water purification system designed to treat both hot water and water for appliances.It utilizes sediment filtration, carbon filtration, reverse osmosis (RO) and ozone. The system is designed toremove between 90% and 95% of all contaminants from water, eliminating the need for all other waterfiltration equipment as well as eliminating or greatly reducing soda syrup, cleaning chemicals, rinse aid fordishwashers, salt, filter replacements, ice machine and water heater maintenance, all while improving thequality of food and beverages.

Treating Restaurant Water

A full-service restaurant in Las Vegas was using conventional water treatment to address their waterissues. Their incoming water quality was:

TDS: 750 mg/L;Total hardness: 359 mg/L;pH: 7.2; andTotal water usage: average of 1,200 gal per day.

The restaurant had a commercial water softener to treat hard water as well as three filtration systems totreat the cold water for the ice machine, beverage stations and coffee brewers. Table 1 demonstrates theaverage monthly water-related costs for the restaurant.

To meet the quality requirements of the restaurant, the TDS level of the water was reduced from theincoming levels of 750 mg/L down to 60 mg/L. This unit not only improved the water quality to the level ofbottled-water quality, it also eliminated the need for a water softener and all other filters.

The PureOFlow system represented the only technology available to meet all of the water requirementsof the restaurant. After installing the system, the resulting water analysis was:

TDS: 60 mg/L;Hardness:


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conscious as a result of eliminating salt and 75% of its filter replacements and provided a better qualityproduct for its customers.

Tom Cartwright is CEO of PureOFlow. Cartwright can be reached at 763.497.8500 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Source: Water Quality Products July 2009 Volume: 14 Number: 7

Copyright 2011 Scranton Gillette Communications

1.3 Water qualityCoffee is 98.5 to 99 percent water, so water quality will critically affect the resultant brew's taste.

When making coffee, you should only use water that tastes good enough to drink straight. As aresult, the best cups of coffee are made with filtered tap water or bottled water. Carafes or sink-

based filters will likely perform better and have a lower per-gallon cost than the modest charcoalfilters that some manufacturers include with their auto-drip machines. Do not mistake distilled

water for filtered: the former is missing minerals that contribute to the water's taste and aid inextraction. When certifying a coffee brewer, the SCAA uses fresh cold water containing a

formulation of between 50 to 100 parts per million dissolved minerals. The water should befresh; it it has been sitting too long (or has been heated then cooled), it will be missing the

dissolved air that is an important component of the water's taste.The water should also start cold:hot water has lost some of its dissolved air, and may have picked up minerals or solubles from

your pipes.

Water Treatment for Espresso and Coffee

When excellent coffee is your goal , it is imperative that youcontrol the variable that makes up 98% of coffee beverages water. Its all about quality and consistency.

Water chemistry is complex. Chemical characteristics of water such as hardness, pH,alkalinity and total dissolved solids (TDS) have a significant impact on coffee qualityand consistency, and are often the cause of equipment problems and costly repairs.

Lets look at four types of contaminants that can be problematic and the OptiPurewater treatment technologies used to deal with them:

1. Dirt & Sediment Fine silt, dirt, rust and other debris causes wear on parts and can damage solenoids,valves and other fittings. Particulates settle as sediment and provide a catalyst forscale build-up.

OptiPure Filtration systems utilize gradient density-depth filtration.The larger dirt particles are trapped in the outer layers of the filter while smallerparticles are trapped in the deeper layers as the gradient becomes denser. These


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gives OptiPure filters high dirt-load capacity and longer filter life withoutcompromising water pressure and flow to equipment.

2. Chlorine Taste & OdorChlorine presents two problems. First, it imparts an unpleasant taste and odor which

can ruin coffee beverages. And second, chlorine can be corrosive to boilers, heatingelements and other wetted surfaces which increases maintenance costs and reducesequipment life.

OptiPure filtration systems include high quality activated carbon to reducechlorine.The rating (gallons/liters) for OptiPure NSF Certified Systems indicates theircapacity for chlorine reduction. OptiPure AMS systems take out chlorine and themajority of dissolved minerals that can cause corrosion.

3. Hardness (Scale)

The formation and accumulation of scale from hardness minerals (calcium andmagnesium) is the #1 cause of water-related problems with coffee equipment. Overtime scale build-up impedes efficient heat transfer, diminishes beverage quality,increases maintenance frequency and can reduce equipment life by years.

4. Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)

TDS is made up of an array of contaminants (primarily minerals) that are dissolved inwater. Hardness minerals are a common part of TDS along with others such as sodiumand iron. The type and amount of dissolved solids affects espresso and coffee quality

and water-related equipment problems.

There are two fundamental ways to deal with Water Hardness and TDS.

First, OptiPure can effectively eliminate problematic minerals by removing them.AMS (Advanced Membrane Separation) technologies are specially designed reverseosmosis systems that remove problematic minerals. OptiPure BWS models allowprecise blending pure water with specially filtered water to achieve a desired TDS andmineral balance for coffee.

OptiSoft (Ion Exchange Softening) technologies protect espresso machines against

scale through a process that trades hardness minerals for sodium. Not recommendedfor coffee brewers.

Second, OptiPure can reduce the scaling tendency by inhibiting problematicminerals.ScaleX2 a non-chemical scale inhibitor technology that protects against scalewithout removing calcium minerals is recommended with high volume coffee brewersand espresso equipment.


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IsoNet a patented scale inhibiting technology that helps protect against scale andcorrosion at low to moderate hardness levels with coffee brewers. Not recommended

for espresso machines.

The system that you select must meet your equipment and usage requirements.

To enjoy the benefits of water treatment with your coffee brewer and/or espressomachine it is essential that the capacity (in gallons/liters) and flow rate(gallons/liters per minute) of the filtration system meets your real-world water usagerequirements. OptiPure offers a range of water treatment systems with differentperformance characteristics to meet the demands of any coffee or espressoequipment.

A systems rated capacity is typically based on its ability to reduce chlorine, tasteand odor. OptiPure systems for coffee and espresso applications are designed with theright balance of treatment technologies. This means that, along with chlorine

reduction, the integrated scale treatment technology is engineered to perform for therated capacity of the system as well; assuring complete protection for the periodbetween filter changes.

Our goal is to help you make the best decision about water treatment for yourapplications.

water quality for restaurants

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