Using Spring Water

[RJSquirrel]

Ozarka® Natural Spring Water — Mineral content analysis
Inorganic Minerals and Metals
Calcium 0.10 NR 1.1-4.0
Sodium 0.20 NR 2.7-11
Potassium 0.10 NR 1.0-8.8
Fluoride 0.100 2.0 (1.4-2.4) ND-.054
Magnesium 0.10 NR 0.75-1.3
Bicarbonate 1.0 NR ND-14
Nitrate 0.010 10.00 0.17-2.0
Chloride 0.10 250 4.0-19
Copper 0.050 1.0 ND
pH (units) NA NR 5.07-6.06
Sulfate 0.10 250 1.3-6.2
Arsenic 0.0014 0.010 ND
Lead 0.005 0.005 ND
Total Dissolved Solids 1.0 NR 25-120
All units in (mg/l) or Parts per Million (PPM)
Report Date: December 2007
Testing Period: 1st Quarter 2007 - 3rd

we have lots of bottled water around here during events that gets left behind after shows..Can you see anything wrong with any of the levels of minerals or metals using natural spring water for orchids? PH is really low. Seems to have some heavy metals in it too we been drinking.
I cant collect enough RW and the tap water ph is off the scale lately for some reason unexplained. I need a another source of good water. RO might be in the future but I have been told by a local that city pressure is so low takes 20 minutes to fill a gallon jug and thats not acceptable.

[BobInBonita]

Nothing in the results jumps out as outlandish to me.

I personally don't worry about pH in water. IF I remember my chemistry correctly - minerals at low concentration have very little buffering effect, and pH can swing widely. Although pure distilled water has a pH of 7.0, in reality it rarely exists that way. If you add a little plain old CO2 from the atmosphere it becomes carbonic acid, and the pH can drop into the 5's (acid rain). Tiny changes can have a major effect in dilute solutions - only when you have higher concentrations and buffering effects do you get stability.

I would try adding a bit of your fertilizer and then measuring, or even better run your weak fertilizer through your media and see what the pH of a rinse is - that's what the plant is going to be in contact with. (If you do this, post your results please - I haven't done it because I don't think it makes much difference, but I would be curious to know if the theory is correct)

By memory - most mineral nutrients are best absorbed between pH 5.5 and 6.8.

[RosieC]

I don't know what the figures should be so can't comment on specifics. However I know it's been said before that mineral water/spring water is too high in disolved solids. Part of the point of most spring water is that it's moved slowly through bedrock and picked up the minerals on the way.

As I say, I don't know anything about the figures so can't comment on how yours compares.

[RJSquirrel]

if I could have posted a little box would have made it easier to make sense of it

they do a better job here http://www.nestle-watersna.com/pdf/OZ_BWQR.pdf

[BobInBonita]

Took a look at the website for Ozarka. I think the results are pretty typical for tap water in a large part of the country. The only column that counts is the level found. The MRL is the detection limit of the test used and the MCL is the Maximum Contamination Level (none of the results are near that).

With regards to heavy metals, the arsenic level is "ND" or none detected - the numbers you saw are the regulatory limit and the detection limit. The actual results were below the detection limit hence ND.

For comparison, here's my local water that I use to water everything:
http://bsu.us/files/BSUWaterQualityReport08.pdf

Just like with tap water in parts of the country, an occasional good flush to remove minerals can help, but when I lived in Minnesota I would actually get a white mineral build-up on my bark after a while. Never seemed to hurt things noticeably.

If you have a choice, it looks like the Ozarka Drinking Water is a little lower across the board compared to the Spring Water. Pick that one.

Personally, I'm more particular about what I drink than what I give my orchids, and I'd drink this (no worm juice for me - thanks anyway). Just recycle the bottle please.