Water Quality and Treatment

The quality of our drinking water and water all around the world is something that we see in our news very frequently.  Generally we tend to think of water quality as a 3^rd word problem, something that does not affect us here in the U.S.  However that could not be farther from the truth.  The United States while having one of the most advanced water treatment facilities and infrastructures still has a lot of water problems.  Treatment facilities have a variety of methods for producing clean water.  They have to test water to make sure it is safe for people and the environment before releasing it.  But this does not solve all problems with drinking water.  If you follow the news, you have probably heard of the problems Flint,Michigan is having. 

A switch in water sources led them to have slightly corrosive water.  This led to the deterioration of lead in the pipes.  And people all over the area ingested harmful lead.  And things like this are not necessarily uncommon in the U.S.  Frequently water quality is an issue for debate on the world wide stage.  Which you can read about in my previous post about the UN’s statements concerning water quality.  But what else can be a problem in our drinking water?  Well for starters a big one is Coliform and other types of bacteria.  When generally talking about Coliforms, we usually associate them with sewage. Coliforms are found in a lot of places in the natural environment, including the digestive tract of most animals.

 Coliforms and other bacteria can enter our water system when it comes in contact with sewage and/or waste runoff.  This can become a huge problem because of the rate that bacteria can multiply.  This happens more frequently that you may think.   It has happened a few times here in Athens, Ohio in the past year.  When this happens, the city treatment plant recommends you boil your water for 8 minutes before using it for consumption.  Many times, to disinfect the system they may add elevated levels or Chlorine to the water to kill any remaining bacteria.  Because of this, you should always let your water run in your house after a boil alert to flush out excess chlorine.  Hard water is also a problem that many homes have across the United States.  This can cause excessive calcium build up on appliances and pipes in homes.  Which can cause some serious and expensive problems if it gets to far out of control.  However, generally this can be fixed with a water softener.  Another way of fixing hard water and cleansing it is putting it threw a reverse osmosis system.  This is gaining popularity in the United and in Europe as the cost of instillation continues to go down.   A simple charcoal filter is also a method of purifying water.  Another method that has become increasingly popular in the world in the past decade is a filter attached to the facet itself.  A big brand for this is Brita Water Filters.