Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Potable water is water which is fit for consumption by humans and other animals.
Water which is not safe to drink can carry diseases and heavy metals. People who consume this water will become ill, and there is a risk of death. The lack of potable water is often accompanied by other lapses in sanitation, such as open sewers and limited garbage collection. Many of these public health issues impact the poor more than anyone else. Water which is contaminated can be treated to turn it into potable water. Once of the easiest ways to treat water is boiling. Boiling water may not remove heavy contaminants, but it can neutralize most bacteria and viruses which may be present. Water can also be treated with chemicals such as bleach, which sometimes come in the form of tablets for field and camping use. In addition, water can be pumped through a filter to remove particulates.
Some countries have laws governing water safety, with severe penalties for polluters. These nations typically test water on a regular basis for contaminants, making the results of this testing available to citizens by request. In First World nations, people can drink water directly from the tap but in india that would lead to hospitalisation. We do not have any safe water drinking act like US or Singapore.
1. Collection
o
To produce potable water, there has to first be a water supply. Usually, we draw saltwater from the oceans or water from rivers. The majority of water treatment plants are located near oceans and rivers. A series of wells draw water from these sources and into pipelines, where it travels to central treatment facilities to be made suitable for drinking. Seawater contains a high concentration of salt that would be fatal to humans -- it would dehydrate anyone who tried to drink it. Also, there are bacteria and sediments that contain microorganisms.
Sanitation
o
There are several processes used to purify water. Sedimentation, the first step in water purification, is the process to remove suspended sediments from water. A collection of water goes into a tank, where heavier sediments sink to the bottom due to gravity, according to FreeDrinkingWater.com. Chlorine serves as disinfectant because, although sediment is removed, microorganisms are still present due to algae and fish. Organic matter carries high concentrations of bacteria.
Disinfection
o
There are two types of disinfection methods: physical and chemical. Either a physical force can be used to destroy bacteria, such as ultraviolet light or electronic radiation. According to Lenntech, chemical methods of disinfection
include soaps, detergents and hydrogen peroxide. It helps to raise the pH of the water.
Chemical disinfectants react not only with microorganisms but also with naturally occurring organic matter present in the water, producing trace amounts of contaminants collectively referred to as disinfection byproducts (DBPs). The most well-known DBPs are the trihalomethanes. Although DBPs are not known to be toxic at the concentrations found in drinking water, some are known to be toxic at much higher concentrations. Therefore, prudence dictates that reasonable efforts be made to minimize their presence in drinking water. The most effective strategy for minimizing DBP formation is to avoid adding chemical disinfectants until the water has been filtered and to add only the amount required to achieve adequate disinfection. Some DBPs can be minimized by changing to another disinfectant, but all chemical disinfectants form DBPs. Regardless of which chemical disinfectant is used, great care must be exercised to ensure adequate disinfection, since the health risks associated with pathogenic microorganisms greatly outweigh those associated with DBPs. There are a number of other processes that may be employed to treat water, depending on the quality of the source water and the desired quality of the treated water. Processes that may be used to treat either surface water or groundwater include: 1. lime softening, which involves the addition of lime during rapid mixing to precipitate calcium and magnesium ions;
2. stabilization, to prevent corrosion and scale formation, usually by adjusting the pH or alkalinity of the water or by adding scale inhibitors;
3. activated carbon adsorption, to remove taste- and odor-causing chemicals or synthetic organic contaminants; and
4. fluoridation, to increase the concentration of fluoride to the optimum level for the prevention of dental cavities. Compared to surface waters, groundwaters are relatively free of turbidity and pathogenic microorganisms, but they are more likely to contain unacceptable levels of dissolved gases (carbon dioxide, methane, and hydrogen sulfide), hardness, iron and manganese, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) originating from chemical spills or improper waste disposal practices, and dissolved solids (salinity). High-quality groundwaters do not require filtration, but they are usually disinfected to protect against contamination of the water as it passes through the distribution system. Small systems are sometimes exempted from disinfection requirements if they are able to meet a set of strict criteria. Groundwaters withdrawn from shallow wells or along riverbanks may be deemed to be "under the influence of surface water," in which case they are normally required by law to be filtered and disinfected. Hard groundwaters may be treated by lime softening, as are many hard surface waters, or by ion exchange softening, in which calcium and magnesium ions are exchanged for sodium ions as the water passes through a bed of ion-exchange resin. Groundwaters having high levels of dissolved gases or VOCs are commonly treated by air stripping, achieved by passing
air over small droplets of water to allow the gases to leave the water and enter the air. Many groundwaters-approximately one quarter of those used for public water supply in the United States-are contaminated with naturally occurring iron and manganese, which tend to dissolve into groundwater in their chemically reduced forms in the absence of oxygen. Iron and manganese are most commonly removed by oxidation (accomplished by aeration or by adding a chemical oxidant, such as chlorine or potassium permanganate) followed by sedimentation and filtration; by filtration through an adsorptive media; or by lime softening. Groundwaters high in dissolved solids may be treated using reverse osmosis, in which water is forced through a membrane under high pressure, leaving the salt behind. Membrane processes are rapidly evolving, and membranes suitable for removing hardness, dissolved organic matter, and turbidity from both ground and surface waters have recently been developed.
Video Links http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z14l51ISwg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuYB8nMFxQA