Whole House water filtration

[Mikesm]

Hi everyone - this isn't about softening but water filtration. We're building a house and getting close to the end of that process, and I had the plumber plumb in a loop to install a whole house water filtration system in the garage. I have had experience with sediment coming in and causing problems, mostly when the water district is working on things, so I was thinking about installing at least a sediment filter so as to block any big stuff from getting into water heaters, faucets, etc... Would one of those self cleaning filters that has a 50 micron filter be good for that?

Here in my part of the SF Bay area, we have good water, mostly from hetch hetchy reservoir, but about 10% coming from a local reservior. My city's water quality reports are generally pretty good. See here: https://www.calwater.com/docs/ccr/2018/bg-bg-2018.pdf Would you agree with that based on these numbers?

I was also thinking about installing carbon based filter to get rid of Chloramine, but understand that would likely need a pretty big filter to be effective because of the amount of contact time the water needs with the carbon. It's a big house with my family of 6, so we can consume a lot of water, so what do you think would be required in terms of cu ft?

Based on those numbers, should I be looking to address any other issues? The SFPUC (hetch hetchy) water isn't hard, but the water they blend in from a local reservoir is. But since it's only about 10% of the water coming to homes, it's not that bad and I wasn't planning on addressing it with a softener.

Now, my GC's plumber does great work, but he's not really a technology type. For example, he had never heard of the HTP water heater I wanted to install, etc... He's never installed a whole house water filter of any kind in our area, but suggested a pelican system, but not based on any sort of analysis. He is willing to install practically anything, but isn't helpful in this area, hence my question to the group.

thanks in advance for comments!
mike

 

[ditttohead]

Hetch hetchy water is excellent but as you have discovered, high in sediment. It is not usually easily removed with anything less than a 5 micron filter. A whole house carbon filter would be a good choice. The Pelican system is a non backwashing design, these are cheap but certainly not recommended. A 1.5 to 2 ft3 carbon system with a Fleck or Clack backwash valve should do you well for a decade. For the sediment, there are a few options. A big blue style filter is typically acceptable but in New York, and Hetch Hetchy water, these have a difficult time lasting more than a few months. I would recommend something larger. There are ways to combine the automatic backwashing and carbon tanks into a single tank or a stacked tank...