Water Treatment
Affect on the Environment
What naturally occurs during water treatment?
Substances that water mostly contain and are removed during the process are parasites, bacteria, algae, viruses, fungi, and minerals. When the water is purified and goes through the full treatment. This ranges from the dissolved particulate materials that comes from the surfaces from which the water may had full contact with after falling as rain. Its not easy to tell from the visual of water and if it's contaminated or not. Similar methods considers boiling or using activated carbon filters to treat possible contaminants that may be present and unknown in the water.
What anthropogenic things are done to the treatment of water?
The constant littering and polluting of our groundwater and other water sources would only wear down the treatment process of water being cleaned. It's a possibility that there would come a time where the cycle would not work they way it should. The more pollutants and unknown materials would only make it harder for humans and the environment to have clean water. Humans should practice the implement practices and policies to preserve the quality of water. Also, take the treatment of our water very seriously.
Coagulation
- Removes dirt and other particles contained in the water.
- Alum and other chemicals are added to water to form dirt particles called floc.
- The combination of the dirt and floc would weigh down to the bottom during sedimentation.
Sedimentation
- Floc contains heavy particles that would settle to the bottom and clear the water to move to filtration.
Filtration
- Water passes through filters; as in layers of sand, gravel, and charcoal, that would help to remove even smaller particles.
Disinfection
- Small amounts of chlorine would add (and other disinfectants) to kill any bacteria or microorganisms that could be in the water.
Storage
- Water is then placed in a closed tank, or reservoir, for the disinfection to take place.
- Water would then be stored in the plant and flow through pipes to homes, businesses,etc. in the community.
Pros & Cons
2/3rd's of the Earth is made up of water. Water is very limited on making fresh water. But, rain comes in hand and nourishes the earth when we need it. Water being a universal solvent, it absorbs the things it make contact with. When it rains, it dissolves, penetrates, and seeps in the ground to be treated. Waste-water can be processed to remove variety of contaminates from water to make it usable again. Treatment depends on the nature of the contaminants in the water and the end use of the water treated. One chemical process that is the best alternative for water to be treated is Reverse Osmosis. This process is when mineral-free water is produced. Reverse Osmosis would help to remove some chemical components of drinking water, such as , dangerous municipal addictive fluoride. Reverse Osmosis is less wasteful than distillation, and could possibly be effective towards drinking water.
However, only 2.8 of the Earth's surface is fresh water. The water supply is constant and it affects the environment. When rain is contacted with the ground it does pick up air pollutants and rust, which needs to be taken out before humans obtain too much and it's unhealthy. Reverse Osmosis may be a great alternative for water treatment, but it also has disadvantages to what could possibly go wrong. Like any other treatment, there are good things about it, but also there's always something bad about it. Reverse Osmosis can remove only a little piece of volatile organic compounds. But, the contaminates are small which makes it easier for the chemicals to get through the semi-preamble membrane, therefore, remain in the water. Also, with the removing of alkaline mineral of water, this produces an acidic effect. This can be very dangerous to the body system and cause many health issues.
Carbon and multimedia filters are built upon the capabilities of reverse osmosis and distillation. They maintain all good qualities of removing additional water contaminants that is involved in filtration. They may be able to remove large compounds, like salt and other small, dangerous chemicals, but with chlorine and pesticides, they can not remove. With a filtration making use of chemical and physical processes, this process does not require a costly energy source. Since carbon and multimedia filtration do not require heat/pressure sources, it's effected fairly costly. The process of reverse osmosis and distillation are a slow process, when water has been through, it has a great percentage of being free of contaminants than other purification techniques.
You may think since a treatment had so many goods things but also bad, then it's not the best to use. You may wonder: Why are we still using it? With the positive and negative equaling out, it's all in the matters of things are not going to completely be perfect. There are some minerals that are can not be distinguished. There, this makes it difficult for people to feel safe with water. But, humans body systems work in different ways. Your body and absorb and intake things, but not big portions that's continuous. That's why it's important to take care of how we treat Earth and be more cautious and more observant in checking your water before put to use. There are many ways to treat your water while at home. For example, you could get a faucet filter, Brita bottles, Filter on your refrigerator,etc. There are so many sources out there that you could use to make sure your Water is Treated properly and to your desire.