Why Are Berkey Water Filters Always Out of Stock?

As a long-time user of Berkey water filters for over a decade, I’ve always trusted their quality. However, I’ve recently faced a significant challenge: the ongoing unavailability of replacement carbon black filters. Despite being on waiting lists for years, verified U.S. retailers consistently remain out of stock. My investigation into the issue led me to discover concerning headlines about lawsuits involving the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and pesticides. Naturally, my primary concern was whether there were safety issues with the filters themselves.

After contacting support at a retailer and reviewing various articles, I learned that while the filters are not currently being manufactured due to ongoing legal proceedings, there seems to be no known safety concerns associated with the product.

From my understanding the situation revolves around a lawsuit filed by Berkey Water Systems against the EPA. The EPA has classified Berkey filters as a pesticide because they use silver, a registered pesticide, to inhibit the growth of bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms in the filters. This use of silver is common in many carbon filters, and studies seem to indicate that silver poses a low health risk. This is a topic I want to dig into more and understand how much silver leaches from filters, do all activated black carbon filters use silver, what do other popular water products use, etc. 

Historically, the EPA has not required water filters to be registered as pesticides. However, last year, the EPA began regulating Berkey’s filters despite their long standing manufacture and sale. I’m reading that Berkey has attempted to comply with applicable laws and regulations, but the EPA’s reclassification of their filters as pesticides has led to the issuance of Stop-Sale Orders in certain parts of the country. Berkey argues that its filters do not meet the definition of pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as they “mechanically remove contaminants through a combination of micropores, absorption, and ionic adsorption”.

Anywho, that’s what I’ve picked up so far. It can be puzzling. I’m also reading about how New Millennium Concepts (manufactured Berkey filters) was in a lawsuit from 2022 claiming the filters do not perform as advertised, however the claim was testers were using counterfeit products which is actually an issue with Berkey filters. There are many knock-offs that should be avoided since it may not perform up to Berkey standards. Here are a couple articles that talk more about identifying counterfeit products: 

• https://www.usaberkeyfilters.com/blog/2023/04/counterfeit-berkey-parts/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiOy1BhDCARIsADGvQnC7AD4sYCsZgVzR2xKOgq_dkmhiOgSVM0Rql1ZYeEKe_dV3NE5uwgIaAjM-EALw_wcB
• https://support.berkeywater.com/identify-counterfeit-pf-2-fluoride-reduction-filters/

Due to the ongoing lawsuit, Black Berkey filters are currently not being manufactured, and it is possible that they will remain out of stock until the legal issues are resolved.
This uncertainty has left me disheartened and without a new filter for almost two years. Unfortunately I now need to explore alternative filtration options. I am currently considering under-the-sink filters which will be more expensive. I plan to share my findings on these alternative filters in a future blog post.