OPUS - CottagePure Drinking Water System

Product Notes:

Unlike reverse osmosis and distillation, the OPUS CottagePure system retains dissolved minerals in solution (including calcium and magnesium), to create a balanced, great tasting mineral water with no effect on pH (alkalinity).

5-Stage Filtration

This system features four filtering stages in three vertical compartments of a housing unit, along with an ultraviolet light chamber on top for disinfection -- a safe, natural process that adds no chemicals and does not adversely affect the taste or odor of your water -- to remove heavy metals, chlorine, dissolved and particulate lead, mercury, trihalomethanes, and VOCs, with a 99.95% reduction of cryptosporidium, giardia, entamoeba, E. coli and toxoplasma cysts... almost instantly! 

CottagePure eliminates the need to boil or bring in all your drinking and cooking water to protect you and your family or guests from water-borne illnesses from untreated water. It includes one additional sediment filter with the initial purchase, which should be sufficient to provide one full summer season of service before additional filters are required; however, depending on the level of sediment and the quality of your particular water supply and your volume of use, you may need more than just one filter change per year.

CottagePure uses four advanced filtration components to provide five stages of water purification in a standard three chamber vertical 10" housing design. The system is capable of destroying over 99.95% of bacteria and viruses, purifying and sterilizing water without the use of harmful chemicals. This system produces great tasting, contaminant and microorganism free drinking water. (This system does not remove fluoride, however.)

UV Sterilization

The germicidal ultraviolet sterilization filter is rated at 1 gallon per minute. To ensure optimum sterilization, the system restricts water flow to 2.3 litres per minute to achieve the NSF/ANSI standard of 40mj/cm², ensuring effective disinfection of all pathogenic microorganisms.

The system is designed to be installed under the sink or in an area that provides convenient access for filter changes. It includes a beautiful designer faucet with a ceramic disk valve and a brushed nickel exterior with a John Guest quick connect screwed on the end, to make it easy to attach the supplied tubing. Two 5 foot lengths of BPA free 1/4" LLDPE tubing are included to connect your cold water source to the system, and the system to the faucet. Your installer will need to supply components to connect the system to your cold water supply. The system includes four advanced filters with five filter technologies, housed in three 10" under-the-sink filter containers, with a horizontally mounted UV-C sterilization filter.

Please note, AC power is required for the UV-C sterilization filter. However, it only require six watts of power, so it would not make heavy demands on a generator, and many cottages using solar power would be able to power the unit.

Included Components and Specifications:

• a triple 10" filter housing, with a horizontally mounted germicidal UV filter.
• 2 (two) 10" 30 micron dirt/rust/sediment filters (1 as a replacement filter).
• a 10" High capacity 1 micron pleated dirt/rust/sediment filter.
• a 10" 0.5 micron 2-stage filter with 2.3 litre flow restriction to ensure contaminant, chemical, lead, mercury, and UV germicidal filtration.
• a UV-C germicidal lamp (replace after 12 months of use) with AC adapter.
• a brushed nickel designer faucet, with a lead-free ceramic disk valve, and a John Guest quick connect. A 5/8" hole is required to install this faucet.
• 2 (two) 5 foot lengths of BPA-free LLDPE 4" tubing: in red, for water input from cold water source; and blue, to connect water output from the unit to the faucet.
• Quick Connect fittings on most of the system for fast and easy installation.
• a filter wrench to enable easy filter changes.
• a 1 Year Limited Warranty.

Customer Review: OPUS Cottage Water Treatment System

We purchased the OPUS Cottage Water Treatment System from Aviva two years ago and are very satisfied with it. We live on a small lake in North Western Ontario, and by August the water is quite green, with a distinct algae taste. Using the OPUS system we get clear water with a very agreeable taste. Previously we were buying distilled water for around $500-$600 dollars a year. This system easily paid for itself in the first year. It came with extra filters, so we just had to replace the UV light after the first year. Annual maintenance to replace filters and light is about $130.

I agree with the suggestion on the Aviva website that you have this unit installed by a professional. My plumber didn’t like the connection valve that came with the system, and installed a t-junction instead. We take the water from the OPUS system and put it into a Greenway water system (available from Canadian Tire for $40) that sits on top of the water cooler we purchased from World of Water. This gives us about 7 litres of cold water on tap all the time. Refilling is a snap.

I heartily recommend this system, and imagine that any of the large OPUS systems would also function well. (We went with this simple system because it only has filtration and purification without fluoride.) I checked out other UV systems before I purchased. This system is competitively priced.

- M Simkin

The individual components included in the five-stage design include:

- Stage 1: 30 micron dirt/rust/sediment filter (1 extra filter is included).
- Stage 2: 1 micron dirt/rust/sediment filter.
- Stage 3 & 4: Advanced 2 stage flow restricted microfiltration filter featuring Spun Fiber, for sediment removal to 0.5 micron; and Powdered Carbon, for removal of metals, lead, chlorine, VOCs, MTBE, THMs, pesticides and a wide range of contaminants.
- Stage 5: 1 GPM flow rate UV-C sterilization filter with AC transformer adapter.

Stage 1 – 30 Micron Spun Polypropylene Filter

Installed in the left filter container, the spun polypropylene microfiber dirt, rust and sediment filter removes particles 30 microns or larger (the majority of particles in lake and untreated water), extending the life of the 1 micron filter in Stage 2. This filter should be changed when water pressure significantly drops.

Stage 2 – 1 Micron Pleated High Capacity Sediment Filter

The filter installed in the middle container is a one micron high capacity pleated carbon filter, to trap particles 1 micron or larger. Particulate matter smaller than 1 micron will be captured by the third (.5 micron) filter. If water pressure is still low after replacing the 30 micron filter, this filter should be replaced.

Stage 3 & 4 – .5 Micron Carbon Filter

The third filter, installed in the right container, is a 2-in-1 (2 stages in one filter component) 0.5 micron powdered carbon filter designed to remove a wide range of contaminants. A unique feature of this filter is that it is flow-restricted to 2.3 litres per minute, to ensure adequate sterilization by the final UV sterilization filter. If water pressure continues to be low after replacing the 30 micron and 1 micron filters, this filter should be replaced.

An important feature of this filter is to ensure there is no turbidity (cloudiness) of the water that passes through the germicidal ultraviolet (UVC) filter. For effective sterilization, the water that passes through the UV-C filter must be crystal clear. This filter, rated at 0.5 micron, ensures that the water entering the final UV-C filter will be properly sterilized. It is critical that the flow restricting component, which looks like a small round piece with a hole in the centre, is facing upwards when this filter is installed.

The two stages of this 2-in-1 filter include:
– Stage 3: Spun fiber for sediment removal down to .5 microns (microfiltration).
– Stage 4: Flow restricted powdered carbon filter that adsorbs (removes) heavy metals, chlorine, dissolved and particulate lead, mercury, trihalomethanes, VOCs, and reduces cryptosporidium, giardia, entamoeba and toxoplasma cysts by 99.95%, ensuring the water is crystal clear with no turbidity for effective UV sterilization.

Stage 5 – Germicidal UV-C Sterilization Filter

Ultraviolet light effectively kills bacteria, viruses, mold, algae, yeast, cysts (including giardia and cryptosporidium), some volatile organic compounds and other biological contaminants. Replace after 12 months of use.

Unlike chlorine or chloramines (toxic chemicals used to kill micro-organisms), UV-C sterilization systems do not add any potentially poisonous or harmful chemicals into your drinking water or adversely affect the taste or smell. Unplug from power when not in use for more than a week to maximize the life of the UV-C lamp. The UV-C filter (bulb) uses six watts of power.

Extras, Replacement Schedule, and Installation Requirements

CottagePure comes complete with 1 extra filter (so has 4 in total); two 5 foot lengths of 1/4" BPA-free linear low density polyethylene tubing (LLDPE); a ceramic disk faucet with a brushed nickel exterior and a quick connect attached for easy connection to the water output tubing; and a filter wrench. How long these filters will last will vary depending on the particulate and contaminant levels in the source water; however, the system should provide one full summer season of use before additional filters are required.

The filters must be changed at minimum annually, even if the system is only used during the summer months. All filters should be removed, and the containers dried, between seasons, if the system is only used seasonally. The UV bulb will last 12 months. If the unit is only used for 3 months of the summer and is unplugged at the end of the season, it should last for four seasons.

Replacement filters can be bought as individual replacement water filters or as part of an Annual Water Filter Replacement Kit. For detailed information on how to install them, please download the Cottage Pure water system Installation Guide.[PDF]

There are two annual filter kit options available for the CottagePure. Both include one 0.5 micron 2-stage filter, one 1 micron filter, and two 30 micron filters; the Complete kit also includes a replacement UV-C lamp bulb, while the other does not.

As leaks and filter damage can result from improper installation, all OPUS filtration products should be installed by either a licensed professional plumber, or by someone experienced in water filtration installations. CottagePure requires AC power for the UV-C sterilization filter; however, the bulb only consumes 6 watts of electricity, so many cabins or lakehouses using solar power will be able to power the unit. Dahl valves and SharkBite TEE components are recommended for the highest quality installations. A saddle valve, for 1/2" copper pipe, is available for $8.50. 

Options:

Replacement Filters (Individual)
Annual Replacement Filter Kits
Germicidal UV Sterilization Replacement Bulb