Drinking Water Purification in Gwinnett County, GA

Yes — reverse osmosis is the most effective point-of-use technology for all three, along with nitrates, arsenic, and most dissolved solids. A membrane rejects the vast majority of what a carbon filter can't hold onto. We specify systems tested to NSF/ANSI 58 for RO performance and NSF/ANSI 53 for health contaminants like lead, and NSF P473 for PFOA and PFOS reduction specifically. What RO won't do on its own is disinfect, which is why wells with bacteria get UV as well.

Most under-sink RO installs land between $400 and $950 all-in, depending on the system and how much work the cabinet and countertop need. Tankless high-flow units cost more. Ongoing, budget roughly $80–$150 a year for pre-filters, with the membrane itself lasting two to five years. Compared to a bottled-water habit, most households are ahead within two or three years.

They solve different problems. Whole-house carbon treats every tap — showers, laundry, appliances — for chlorine, odor, and sediment. RO treats only the water you drink and cook with, but treats it far more thoroughly, pulling out lead, PFAS, nitrates, and dissolved solids. On typical Metro Atlanta city water, carbon at the main plus RO at the kitchen is the combination that covers both, and it costs less than a whole-home RO system that most homes don't need.

Reverse osmosis does remove dissolved minerals along with the contaminants, which is why some people find it tastes flat. It isn't a health problem — your minerals come overwhelmingly from food, not water — but it is a taste preference worth solving. We can add a remineralization stage that puts calcium and magnesium back and lifts the pH slightly, which most homeowners prefer once they taste both.

Private wells aren't covered by the Safe Drinking Water Act, so testing is the owner's responsibility — and it's worth doing annually. Georgia has state-certified labs, and UGA Cooperative Extension is the route most homeowners use for well panels. Test at minimum for total coliform and E. coli, nitrates, and metals like lead and arsenic; PFAS is a separate, pricier panel. We'll pull the sample and interpret the results with you rather than handing you a page of numbers.

It depends on what your test finds. Reverse osmosis handles chemical and dissolved contaminants — lead, PFAS, nitrates — but it isn't a disinfection system. UV is the opposite: it inactivates bacteria, viruses, and protozoa without chemicals, and it's the standard answer to a well that comes back positive for coliform or E. coli. Wells often need both. On treated city water, RO alone is usually the right call.

A conventional under-sink RO sends roughly three to five gallons to the drain for every gallon it purifies, because that's how the membrane flushes the contaminants it rejects. It's less dramatic than it sounds in a real household's water bill, and it's also improvable — a permeate pump or a high-efficiency system cuts that ratio substantially. If waste is a concern for you, say so and we'll spec accordingly.

Yes, and it's the upgrade people are happiest about. We can tee the purified line over to the fridge so both the dispenser and the ice maker run on RO water instead of a fridge filter that only handles taste. On a long cabinet-to-fridge run or in a house with low pressure, we'll add a booster pump so the ice maker still keeps up.