Types of Impurities in Water

What makes water dirty, what types of impurities in water, and how to make dirty water drinkable. What are the caus es of water pollution and Water Borne Dis eases? We ans wer these ques tions of Water Contamination here. Contam inated Water is m ainly due to three reasons as explained below.
Dirt or Suspended Solids: These are the s olids which are ins oluble like dust, fine s and, clay, rust, etc. They remain sus pended in the water and cause cloudines s or dis coloration. 'Total S us pended Solids ' or 'TS S' is the technical term us ed to meas ure how m uch of it is there in the water. 'Turbidity' is another technical term us ed as a measure of the amount of S us pended S olids in the water. A simple filter usually called a sediment filter, with pore s ize of 20 microns or lower can remove almost all of the s us pended matter in water.
Germs or Microorganisms : Bacteria, Germ s, Pathogens, Microbes , Viruses, Paras ites and their eggs (cysts) are collectively known as microorganisms . These minute living organisms, Germs and Viruses cause Water Borne Diseases. Water tanks can sometimes be a breeding ground for m icrobes . In the usual test for microorganisms , only one group of bacteria known as Coliform or e-coli is tested for, this is because it is the most comm on s pecies, and the first m icroorganism to infect water. Ultrafiltration which has a pore size of about 0.01 micron is able to filter out even the smalles t m icroorganis ms, Germs and viruses.
Dissolved Solids: These are salts and other chemicals that dissolve in the water and cannot be removed by simple filtration. 'Total Dis solved Solids ' or 'TDS ' is the technical term us ed to give a measure of the amount of diss olved matter in the water and is us ually expressed as 'ppm' which stands for 'parts per million' or as 'milligrams per liter' (mg/L).
For convenience, usually the electrical conductivity of the water is m easured and converted by us ing a multiplication factor to give an approximation of the TDS in water. To remove the diss olved solids in water it has to be distilled or special filters called Reverse Osmosis has to be us ed.
Drinking Water Impurities
The introduction above gave the basics of the different types of impurities of water that can get into the water, we will now go into a little more details about each of the contaminants or water impurity which cause problems in water.
Suspended Solids:
Water with s uspended solids looks cloudy, muddy, rusty, etc. This is us ually becaus e of s and or clay particles being so s mall that they do not settle down but s tay suspended in the water. If this water is pas sed through a filter it becomes clear. Some rivers or stream s, during the monsoon season become m uddy, but the water may be safe to us e after passing through a filter and then disinfected with UV.
Microorganisms:
Microorganisms or m icrobes are minute living things which can be pres ent in the water, especially in water from wells and surface waters. These microbes can be clas sified as Bacteria, Viruses , Protozoa, parasites and their eggs called 'Cys ts '. Microbes are res ponsible for waterborne diseases like Cholera, Typhoid, Dysentery, etc. Fortunately most of the microbes can be removed by disinfection with Chlorine. After Chlorine became widely used as a dis infectant for public water s upplies from early 1900s , Cholera and Typhoid outbreaks has become very rare.
Recently a new type of very minute one celled parasite known as Cryptosporidiumof the protozoa family, has been identified in water as being the cause of s everal outbreaks of gas troenteritis. The microbial cys ts (oocys ts) or eggs of this parasite known as 'Cryptosporidium oocysts' in water is what spreads the paras ite. The Cryptos poridiumpar asite its elf in water is killed by Chlorine and other disinfectants but the Cryptosporidiumeggs or Cys ts or Oocys ts are very resistant to many chem ical dis infectants, including chlorine. UV inactivates the cysts and prevents its multiplication and spreading. These Cryptosporidium Cysts are so s mall that it can only be certain to be filtered out by Ultrafiltration and RO. UV is effective in deactivating it, provided s ufficient UV radiation falls on it. Now in the US and in Europe, Municipal water treatm ent facilities are installing
high power UV treatm ent sys tems to make s ure that their drinking water facilities are capable to remove the threat of CryptosporidiumCysts.
Dissolved Solids:
S ome salts diss olved in water are not toxic in sm all quantities, but there is a limit which can be tolerated by our bodies . For exam ple Sodium Chloride or the common salt, is being used by us daily to flavour food, but that does not mean that we can drink sea water which contain a high percentage of s odium chloride or s alt. S o the individual salts, diss olved in the water, may not be toxic in sm all quantities, but there is an upper limit to these dis solved solids in our drinking water. The World Health Organization or WHO and m ost of the governments around the world has s et an upper limit for diss olved non toxic s alts in water to 500 ppm (parts per million) or 500 milligrams per liter of water. Most of our Public s upplied water is safe with regards to TDS , but it is a good idea to check.
Ordinary filtration cannot get rid or reduce the diss olved solids in our water. Distillation of the water is one m ethod to get rid of the dis solved s olids, but this requires a lot of electricity or fuel and is not practical for domestic use. The other most comm on way to get rid of dissolved s olids is by a water purification process Reverse Osm osis or ROwhich is des cribed in detail in a s eparate page on our site.
Some of the common problems with diss olved solids in water are discus sed below.
Hard Water:
Hardnes s in water is caused by dis solved salts of Calcium and Magnes ium. Hard water is not harmful to health as long as the TDS is within the limits . Hard water can be softened by replacing the Calcium and Magnes ium with S odium in an Ion Exchange Water S oftener. For washing clothes, treating the hard water with Sodium Carbonate or was hing s oda, reduces many of its problems. Water Softners , Nanofiltration and Revers e Osmosis RO are good treatments to make hard water soft. We have a dedicated page on hard water.
Iron:
Iron causes a rusty or metallic taste in water and it can als o stain clothes. Iron and manganese occur naturally and mos t ground water has s ome amount of diss olved iron and m anganese. Aeration (the addition of air to the water), Green S and filtration, chlorination, and dos ing hydrogen peroxide or Potas sium permanganate are some of the rem edies to get rid of Iron. RO will remove dis solved Iron and Manganese.
pH:
pH is a value that determines if a subs tance is acid, neutral or bas ic, calculated from the num ber of hydrogen ions present. The initials pH s tand for "Potential of Hydrogen". It is measured on a scale from 0 to 14, on which 7 m eans the s ubstance is neutral. pH values below 7 indicate that the s ubs tance is acidic and pH values above 7 indicate that it is bas ic. The pH of pure water is neutral or 7. Carbon Dioxide when it dis solves in water produces an acid and lowers the pH, like in fizzy drinks. The allowable limit for pH in drinking water as per Indian and International Drinking Water S tandards is between 6.5 and 8.5. Water with a pH of less than 6.5 is acidic and corrosive to metals and could have a s our taste. Water with a pH of more than 8.5 could indicate that the water is hard.
Because the pH scale is logarithmic, a difference of one pH unit repres ents a tenfold, or ten times change. For example, the acidity of a sample with a pH of 4 is ten times greater than that of a sample with a pH of 5. A difference of 2 units, s ay from 5 to 3, would mean that the acidity is one hundred tim es greater, and s o on.
On the right is a graphical representation of the pH values of s om e comm on items .
Organic C hemicals :
Organic chemicals in water makes the water smell or tas te bad and also gives it s ome discoloration. These impurities of water can vary from pes ticides, petroleum products and other various toxic chemicals .
Chlorine which is us ed to keep water free of bacteria, causes another problem by reacting with some organic material in the water to form harmful chemicals like Chloroform, Trim ethohalanes (TMHs), Haloacetic Acids (HAA), Trihalomethanes (THMs ) and other "Dis infection by-products" (DBPs ) or "Chlorination Dis infection by-products " (CBPs), which are all environmental pollutants and many cons idered 'carcinogenic', or suspected of caus ing Cancer. Activated Carbon filters are very effective in getting rid of such impurities in water which norm ally occurs in m inute quantities.
Toxic C hemical Impurities in Water
Arsenic:
It is very unlikely that the Public water supplies being piped to your homes will have Ars enic in it. People who us e well or bore well water have to be extrem ely careful. They must have their water tes ted in a good laboratory. Ars enic occur s naturally in rocks, soils, etc. and waters that come in contact with thes e rocks and soils becom e contaminated. Ars enic is odorless and tasteles s, so there is no way of knowing if your water is contaminated. Many parts of India have Arsenic problem, s o it is highly recomm ended to test your well and bore well waters once every 6 months.
Expos ure to ars enic can caus e severe damage to health. Ars enic pois oning is cumulative, meaning that even very minute amount of ars enic in the water is accumulated in the body over time. What this means is that the body continues to abs orb arsenic without getting rid of any ars enic. If Ars enic contam inated water is drunk continuously, then in a few months or years you become very sick. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that the m aximum level of arsenic in drinking water s hould not exceed 0.01 mg/L (10 ppb or parts per billion - a billion is a thousand times sm aller than a million or 10 lakhs). So in effect they recommend that it should be zero.
Arsenic can be removed by oxidation with chlorine (Sodium Hypochlorite) or potas sium perm anganate or coagulation with ferric chloride and then filtering it. Activated alum ina and ion exchange resins are also effective. The best choice will be Reverse Os mos is or RO.
Mercury:
Mercury is a heavy metal and its compounds are sometimes found in the natural deposits of cer tain areas of India. Batter ies, fluores cent or tube lights, CFL bulbs , etc. usually contains Mercury and it s hould not be disposed or thrown on the ground or anywhere near your water supply.
The maximum contaminant level for mercury s et by BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards), WHO (World Health Organization), EPA (Environmental Protection Agency of USA) and other well known standards is in parts per billion or ppb. This very sm all negligible limit for mercury, is so s et, becaus e it is a highly toxic chem ical. Mercury caus es kidney damage and als o many other ill effects. Activated Carbon filters and RO can remove Mercur y from water.
Lead :
Like mercury, Lead is also a heavy metal, and is harm ful to health in the s ame way as mercury. Some of the older pipes and fittings contain lead. RO is effective in removing all heavy metal contam inants .
Hexavalent C hromium 6:
Chromium is actually a micro nutrient required by our body in m inute quantity. This form of Chromium is the s afe trivalent or 'Chromium-3'. Chromium als o exists in another very rare form known as 'Hexavalent Chromium' or 'Chromium-6'. Hexavalent Chromium-6 is usually introduced into ground water when chemical industries using Chromium, dis charge their water without proper treatment. Hexavalent Chromium-6is poisonous and s hould be guarded against especially by people using well water. The famous movie "Erin Brockovich" s tarring Julia Roberts , is about Hexavalent Chrom ium-6 and its poisonous effect on some rural people. The Environment Protection Agency of US A EPA has set the Maximum Contaminant Level MCL of Chromium at 0.1 ppm (parts per million). There are several methods of getting rid of Hexavalent Chromium -6 from water, but the
simplest one is to use an RO unit.
Nitrates in Water:
The mos t comm on way Nitrates, Nitrites and Amm onia gets into our water sources , is due to the leakage or s eepage of fertilizers or farm and animal wastes into the ground water sources. Nitrates in water are es pecially dangerous to infants under 6 months, causing the blue baby syndrome due to the infants blood not being able to carry enough Oxygen from their lungs to their body. Adults may also be affected by nitrates and nitrites in water due to the formation of chemicals called nitros am ine in the digestive tract.
The EPA has s et a maximum limit for Nitrates in water as 10 m g per Liter or ppm meas ured as NO3 or Nitrate. RO is the best purifying method for removal of Nitrates and Nitrites in water.
Fluorides in water:
Fluorides are chemicals that contain the elem ent fluorine. Fluorides occur in many water s ources naturally. In some countries fluorides are added to drinking water as a health s upplement for the protection of teeth and bones . Fluoride in water in very s mall quantities , about 1 to 1.5 mg per Liter or ppm - parts per million, is beneficial to health, but any excess is not good for health. Many toothpaste manufacturers add it in the toothpas te to protect the teeth against cavities. The EPA has set a m aximum lim it of Fluor ides in water as 4 mg per Liter or ppm. Exces s fluorides in water can have harmful effects ranging from dis coloration or pitting of teeth to bone and skeletal damage.
RADON:
Certain minerals are radioactive and people who drink water containing it over many years may have an increased risk of getting cancer. Radon is natur ally occurring and ground waters in s ome areas of India may be contaminated with it. The only way to be certain is to get the ground or well water tes ted. Activated Carbon filters are very good for the removal of radon from water s upplies and it is the m ost comm on way to reduce Radon in the wate