How Water is Treated Even in America

The drinking water supply here in the United States is one of the safest kinds of water in the entire world. Having said that, even in the States, some of the sources that provide drinking water can be contaminated which causes sickness and even disease. Drinking water sources are very prone to contamination and have to have the right treatment in order to remove waterborne germs and agents that can cause disease. There are various different methods of treatment that are used to in order to make drinking water safe. The most common types are:

1. Coagulation and Flocculation – This the the first step in water treatment. Usually chemical drum pumps will be used to add chemicals to the water that contain a positive charge. This neutralizes any negative charges that are in dirt and other particles that may have dissolved into the water. The particles then bend with the chemicals in order to form larger particles.




2. Sedimentation – Then comes time to allow those larger particles to settle. The large particles are called floc and during sedimentation they sink to the bottom of the water supply because of how heavy they are. This is done on purpose so as to separate the floc from the water.




3. Filtration – Now that the floc is at the bottom of the water, the clean water on top can pass through different types of filters including sand, gravel and charcoal so that the dissolved particles like dust, bacteria, viruses and chemicals can be skimmed. The chemical drum pumps that were used to deposit the chemicals in to the water in the beginning can sometimes play a part in the filtration process in order to remove any bad chemicals.




4. Disinfection – Lastly, after the water is filtered, it needs to be disinfected. Chlorine or chloramine is added to kill of any parasites, bacteria or viruses that may have been missed in the other steps. This protects the water from germs as it passes through the pipes and go into homes and workplaces.

Different communities may treat their water differently depending on the quality of the water to begin with. Sometimes chemical drum pumps are used and sometimes they rely fully on the filters. Surface water usually needs more filtration and treatment than ground water so in those case chemical drum pumps might be used. But, lakes, rivers and streams contain more pollutants and sediment so they require more treatment.

Even though water goes through this huge process before even entering the home, many people still feel more comfortable installing their own home water treatment systems in order to remove contaminants, make the water taste better, take extra precautions or turn hard water to soft water. Most home treatment systems will use sanitary pumps. Typical household water treatment units consist of:

Filtration systems that will remove any kind of impurity from the water using a physical barrier like a chemical or biological process.

Water softeners to reduce how hard the water is. These usually use sodium or potassium to replace the calcium which makes the hardness.

Distillation systems which is the process used to boil and steam impure water. The steamed water is collected in a container that is set aside and leaves behind solid pollutants.

Disinfection kills pathogenic microorganisms in a chemical process using disinfectants like chlorine, chlorine dioxide and ozone. Ultraviolet light, electronic radiation and heat are typically used in this process.

Having the best water that you can is important to many people so there really is no limit to how many times water can be filtered. The EPA approves the first process and has determined that after that treatment, the water is safe but if people want to continue to filter and clean their water, there’s nothing wrong with that. Water can never be too clean and if it encourages the residents to drink the water then that is what matters. People tend to not drink as much as they should so anything that encourages water consumption to be upped is a great idea. We should drink an average of 64 ounces of water daily. You may want a system to make your water more appealing to you if you don’t drink enough.