Purity of Water | La Pureté de l'eau

T h e
Purity of
Water
ii
La
pureté
de l’eau
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The Purity of Water
| Notes from the field |
By Lucie Lederhendler
Sci/Art Exhibition, Science Odyssey (2 ND iteration)
Concordia University
Spring 2017
Fieldwork and the Anthropocene (1 ST iteration)
Concordia University
Winter 2017

About
The Purity of Water is the outcome of a research-creation project
that elucidates the connections between purity and cleanliness on
the one hand, and purity and pastoralism on the other. Freshwater,
understood as a singular entity, is divided here into three stages of
its life: dropping from the sky; flowing downstream; rushing from the
tap. Toxic, rotting wood stands in for the urban infrastructure that
controls water’s movement on the way to the faucet.
The wood pieces in The Purity of Water were excavated from
several feet below the asphalt of rue Saint Philippe in Saint-Henri
during street construction in the summer of 2016. Based on their
decomposition and shape, they are likely cast-off railroad ties from
the streetcar line that used to run down rue Saint-Jacques, or from
the railroad tracks a block away. The rain water (red dyed) and tap
water (blue dyed) were collected from the same corner. The river
water (yellow dyed) was collected from Quenneville Bay at the parc
de l’Aqueduc in LaSalle, where the Saint-Lawrence River meets the
aqueduct that delivers water to the city of Montreal.
All of these water samples will melt together, in a singular puddle.
Dyed water makes the currents in the puddle visible, and acts as
a reminder that the singular puddle holds within it a multiplicity of
origin stories.
While tap water is safe to drink, it is heavily treated; while “wild”
water is untouched, it is heavy with the sins of the past. “Past”
here can refer to upstream, where this water here was before, in
a polluted over there. It can mean the recent past, where a bag of
chips not properly discarded yesterday is floating down the river
today. Lastly, looming large in the post-industrial neighbourhood of
Saint-Henri, understanding ourselves in the present as the future of
the past - a future that the past was willing to sacrifice for the sake
of a developed present.

Materials
As this work is the result of an environmentalist inquiry, all of the
materials have been chosen to reduce the footprint of the work.
The ice was formed using a wine box and discarded shower
curtain.
The ice is tinted with onion skin, beets, and red cabbage dyes.
The base is a repurposed canvas frame that will be used again.
The vinyl covering, stand, and pipe were acquired at the Concordia
Centre for Creative Reuse.
The cover of this monograph is a made from the canvas and vinyl
coverings from the previous iteration of this project.
Thanks
AJ Little, Bettina Forget and the Visual Voice Gallery, Kate Eldred
and Izja Lederhendler, the Concordia University Centre for Creative
Reuse (CUCCR), MJ Thompson, Keith Waterfield, Kayle Sykes,
Darian Goldin Stahl

Sites
B
A
1

D
E
C
2 3 4

Water’s journey
A - From the Saint-Lawrence River, a pumping station
(image, right) draws water into the aqueduct.
B - After a journey of about 1.5 kilometers, the water
goes through a first filtration at the Usine Charles J. Des
Baillets Treatment Plant.
C - The water continues along the Canal l’Aqueduc for
nearly 7 kilometers until it reaches the Usine Atwater
Treatment Plant.
D - Now underground, most of this twice-treated water
travels uphill to the Usine McTavish Reservoir and
pumping station, 3.5 kilometers due North, where it is
tested.
E - The reservoir distributes potable water all over the
city of Montreal, including to a single residence in the
Southwest burrough.

Collection sites
1 - Quenneville Bay (image, right) is a scenic inlet at the
parc de l’Aqueduc in LaSalle.
2 - In a typical Montreal residence, twice-purified water
flows freely from the kitchen faucet.
3 - An outside hook and a bucket is all that was needed
to collect precipitation in the humid continental climate
region where Montreal is located.
4 - With its harsh winters and extensive underground
network of flowing water, it is unsurprising to find
upturned streets all over Montreal. This excavation dug
up three cast-off railroad ties under rue Saint-Philippe, in
the summer of 2016.

Samples
Wood*
~ 150 Stabilizer “OK”
240 Alkalinity “High”
.05 Chlorine “Low”
>8.4 pH “High”
Rain**
~ 0 Stabilizer “Low”
0 Alkalinity “Low”
0 Chlorine “Low”
7.2 pH “OK”

River
~ 0 Stabilizer “Low”
40 Alkalinity “Low”
0 Chlorine “Low”
7.2 pH “OK”
Tap
~ 100 Stabilizer “OK”
40 Alkalinity “Low”
0 Chlorine “Low”
< 8.4 pH “High”
* Residue from the wood pieces was soaked in tap water overnight.
** Snow: ~ 0 Stabilizer / 80 Alkalinity / 0 Chlorine / 6.8 pH
Interestingly, rain collected in the winter showed a 6.9 pH level.

Definitions
Stabilizers
Cyanuric acid is a compound that is added to chlorinated water to
prevent the chlorine from breaking down in sunlight. More than 98%
of Cyanuric acid is discharged through urine within 24 hours.
Alkalinity
Alkaline substances like carbonates and bicarbonates prevent
sudden changes in pH. Water with high alkalinity will tend to
increase in pH. High levels of alkaline substances make “hard water,”
which can result in lime and calcium deposits.
Chlorine
Chlorine is a common disinfectant. The EPA has required the use of
chlorine in drinking water at the level of 4ppm in order to prevent
water-borne diseases.
pH
Low pH values are more acid, high levels are more alkaline, or basic.
Measurements lower than 2.5 or higher than 10.5 are considered
extreme. A measurement of 7 is neutral, and calculated based on
pure water.
The test strips used were intended for pool and spa testing.
They are “AquaChek R Pool & Spa Test Strips”.
Sources: aquachek.com, The World Health Organization, and
Spectrum Analytic, inc. Guide to interpreting irrigation water analysis. N.d.

Observations
Wood
Strong fungal odour.
Rotten from about one-inch from all edges, but viable at centre
Contains metallic scraps, including a screw head and a coping saw
blade.
Rain
Rain was collected during two seperate showers in May 2017. The
first collection was from a top-floor balcony, in an effort to reduce
the presence of falling plant matter. There was no obvious reduction,
so the second collection occured on a semi-covered second-floor
balcony. It was examined after three days at room temperture,
which may account for the presence of apparent animal life.
River
Collected at approximately 1 degree Celsius, the water had a yellow
tinge and visible material floating in it. However, under the microscope,
material was not ubiquitous.
After 24 hours at room temperature, animal life could be found in
samples, identified by intentional movements.
With a magnification limit of 40X, species could not be determined,
but are of either bone-shaped or circular varieties, and translucent.
pH was more neutral than tap water.
Tap
Delightfully free of animal life.
Remarkably aerated, even after 24 hours at room temperature.
PH towards the alkaline, but I am unsurprised to learn I have hard
water in my apartment.

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