Farris Enterprises Inc. Blog

On April 10, Judge Janis L. Sammartino granted the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to stop it from adding hydrofluosilicic acid to public drinking water for the purpose of fluoridation.

The attorneys at Blumenthal, Nordrehaug & Bhowmik filed a brief opposing the water district’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that it should be stopped from distributing hydrofluosilicic acid through the public water systems because it has not been approved by the FDA to fluoridate public drinking water to fight tooth decay. According to the opposition filed by the attorneys, “This action is brought to seek redress for the unlawful and unconstitutional medication of Plaintiffs by Defendant Metropolitan Water District of Southern California using an unapproved drug.”

Specifically, the lawsuit sought to stop the water district’s alleged practice of “injecting hydrofluosilicic acid into the water supply for the purpose of treating disease and dental cavities” given that “hydrofluosilicic acid has never been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of disease or dental cavities.”

The judge disagreed, ruling that the FDCA does not give rise to a private right of action and on this basis dismissed the lawsuit against the water district.

When asked about the court’s ruling, Norm Blumenthal, managing partner of Blumenthal, Nordrehaug & Bhowmik, said, “We plan on appealing the court’s decision to dismiss this case against the water district.” He added, “The action of the Metropolitan Water District of adding a drug to our drinking water for medical purposes without first obtaining FDA approval of this drug for such purposes is illegal and needs to be stopped.”

On April 6, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced that it would be abandoning the drinking water unit certification program after Dec. 31 of this year.

The decision came after lengthy discussions with the Water Quality Assn. (WQA) and after the association introduced legislation to turn over certification responsibilities to American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-accredited third-party certifiers such as NSF Intl. and WQA.

WQA has been working with CDPH officials as well as legal and legislative council since November 2011 to streamline the product registration process after application reviews were halted by the agency due to budgetary problems. WQA submitted proposed legislation to spur streamlining the process and the agency submitted its own legislative language. WQA was told that the governor has already signed off on the budget trailer bill language and that the chairman of the legislative committee is also on board.

Accordin to WQA, the agency’s April notification letter left many questions unanswered. For this reason, WQA representatives met with CDPH officials on April 16 to discuss the pending hearing for the legislative bill and to clarify details for the program elimination. CDPH provided the budgetary language, which clearly indicated that the program will be eliminated in its entirety, including fees, applications and any other requirements of the program.

For companies selling products in California that make health claims, the products will require the approval of an ANSI-accredited certification body after passage of the 2012–2013 Budget Act. Enforcement will be conducted by any local health officer in the state of California.

If your company relies on the CDPH certification of products being sold in California rather than a third-party certification body, currently valid certificates issued by the Department of Public Health on or before Dec. 31, 2012, will remain in effect until five years following the date of initial issuance, not including any annual renewals. After that time, product approval by an ANSI-accredited certification body will be required.

Question:  Why isn’t my softener drawing brine?

Answer:  Assuming your softener is regenerating and going through all the cycles but still not pulling the brine solution up from the brink tank, here are the most common causes:

1. Drain line flow control (DLFC) is plugged.  Check the drain line and the retainer fitting on the back of the control valve.
2. Injector or injector screen may be plugged.  Check and clean if necessary.
3. Line pressure too low.  Feed pressure must be at least 20 PSI.
4. Internal control leak.  Check condition of seals/spacers, piston and replace if necessary

Question:  Help, my brine tank is overflowing!

Answer:  Again assuming your softener if able to regenerate and move through all the cycles on it’s own but still overflow the brine tank, below are a few things to check:

1. Plugged DLFC.  Check that drain line and drain fitting/retainer on back of control valve for debris
2. Plugged injector system.  Clean the injector and screen.
3. Damaged or blocked brine valve.  Inspect the brine valve and replace if necessary.
4. Foreign material in brine line flow control (BLFC).  Take apart the BLFC and look for debris and clean.

Question:  Why isn’t my water soft?

Answer:  If you’re not getting soft water out of your water softener here are the first things to check for:

1. Make sure the bypass valve is set to service and not bypassing the softener.
2. Make sure there is salt in the brine tank and the control valve is getting constant electricity
3. Inspect and clean BLFC to ensure sufficient water flow to brine tank
4. Inspect distributor tube and baskets and replace if necessary
5. Check seals and spacers and piston assembly for damage or wear.  Replace as necessary.
6. Check viewing window on timer motor to ensure the motor hasn’t burnt out

More softener troubleshooting questions and answers here!