What is water treatment?

In recent years there has been a lot of discussion about water treatment solutions due to severe droughts in some areas, excess rain in others, and the growing awareness of water-borne diseases in countries with large numbers of the population below the poverty line. Water treatment can roughly be defined as the process of cleansing an available water supply or source so that the water can be consumed by humans safely and without any nasty side effects. In some cases, the water treatment process may clarify the water to the point that it is safe to drink and cook with, in other cases the water may only be suitable for bathing and washing clothes. The main aim of water cleansing is to ensure that there are no nasty chemicals, minerals, solids, diseases or biological contaminants coming out of the tap with the water people use. In areas where there are known pollutant problems (such as large levels of radium) or that are susceptible to algal blooms in the warmer months, there may be additional levels of treatment carried out.

There are now many different ways to treat water so that it is acceptable for human use. Of course, the type of treatment used depends on how the water is eventually going to be consumed – some treatment types are more stringent than others. In actual fact there are so many different ways of purifying and clarifying water that the market has branched into divisions of treatment concerning medical, industrial, commercial and health needs. There are also huge differences in the scale of treatment – from portable treatment machines to large-scale water purification plants.