How does municipality purify water

Even though the water treatment process can differ substantially from municipality to municipality, the general steps of the water treatment process include:.

The main goal of municipal water treatment is to make sure that the quality of the water meets that the standards that have been set by the EPA regarding over 90 different contaminants that can be found in the water.

When properly applied, the amount of contaminants and possibility of disease transmission through the water will be at acceptable levels. Municipal water is treated to make sure that it is clean and healthy enough to be delivered to rural, suburban, and urban populations.

The types of source water that are treated include surface water and groundwater. While a significant amount of this water is sent to homes after it has been treated, the water can also be used by local businesses and industrial plants for a wide range of manufacturing processes. The main applications that municipal water will be used for after treatment include:. Here at Sensorex, there are a wide range of important water treatment sensors that you can use to test the quality of your water and to make sure that contaminants are at the right levels.

All of these sensors can be used in municipal water treatment. Blending groundwater with surface water is often used to improve the quality of the final product. Still, this is not possible in certain areas due to the contaminant concentrations in the feed water.

Screening and Straining: Surface water sources such as lakes, rivers, and reservoirs, contain varying quantities of suspended and dissolved materials. This material may include turbidity, colour, taste, odour, microorganisms, fish, plants, trees, waste, and occaisonally untreated effluent. The material may be organic or inorganic, suspended or dissolved, inert or biologically active, and vary in size from colloidal to a tree trunk. Some of these larger items can impede equipment in the treatment process.

The first process in conventional water treatment is to screen, strain or separate the larger items and debris from the source water. This is often achieved by using a large metal screen, often called a bar- screen, placed in front of the water source intake. Large items are trapped on the screen as the water passes through it. Chemical Addition: The pre-screened water pumped to the treatment plant is combined with chemicals to allow the suspended particles floating in the water to clump together to form heavier and larger particles.

This clumping is often referred to as floc. The chemicals react with the natural alkalinity in raw water to form an insoluble solid. These chemicals are referred to as coagulants and flocculants. Coagulation and Flocculation: A rapid mixing unit is usually used to add the coagulant to the water. Rapid mixing provides a rapid and thorough mixing of chemicals and water.

The rapid water mixing is allowed slow to enable the suspended matter in the water to form floc and increase in size. The continued mixing is gentle enough to allow the floc to continue growing and gain mass. This means that contaminants and debris can wash into the system, and impact humans, fish and other wildlife that use the lakes, rivers and ocean areas where stormwater flows. There are 6 key stages in our municipal water systems: Source water — the lakes, rivers and underground aquifers that are the source of our water supply, fed by rain and melting snow.

Water treatment — the processes to filter and purify water so that it is safe for human use. Water distribution systems — the pipes and pumps that deliver clean water to our taps. Wastewater collection systems — the pipes and pumps that take away used water from our toilets, drains, bathtubs, and laundry.

These are also called sewers. In BC, there are over 26, km of municipal sewer pipes underground — that is enough pipe to circle two-thirds of the way around the earth! Wastewater treatment — the processes to remove contaminants from our used water so that it can be safely returned to the environment. This is also called sewage treatment. Another disinfection option is ultraviolet light: UV from a lamp destroys viruses and bacteria.

In , in Flint, Michigan , the city switched its primary water source to the Flint River. The water treatment services were not adequately set up to treat a highly corrosive water supply that caused health issues throughout the local population. The Flint River water was so corrosive it caused the heavy metal to leach into the supply after the water had passed through the main treatment facilities, highlighting the risks along any water system.

A water dispenser uses an array of technologies to ensure your water supply is purified, starting with high-performance carbon filtration that removes chlorine, lead and pesticides. This is followed by microbiological purification using UV light to eliminate Hands-free dispensing. Blog How does your city treat drinking water? Latest Articles The business case for safe and sustainable hydration Read more. World Mental Health Day Read more. The importance of promoting employee wellness alongside sustainable hydration Read more.

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