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    Question ID:   944         Current Version: 1
Question: How is drinking water treated?
Category: Food & Drink > Non-Alcoholic Drinks
Keywords: treatment, tap, drink, water, treat, supplier, contaminant
Type: how
Rating:(0 ratings)    Views: 844    Discussions: 0   In Watch Lists: 1  

 
    Answer:

When a water supplier takes untreated water from a river or reservoir, the water often contains dirt and tiny pieces of leaves and other organic matter, as well as trace amounts of certain contaminants.  When it gets to the treatment plant, water suppliers often add chemicals called coagulants to the water.  These act on the water as it flows very slowly through tanks so that the dirt and other contaminants form clumps that settle to the bottom.  Usually, this water then flows through a filter for removal of the smallest contaminants like viruses and Guardia.

Ground water is naturally filtered as it passes through layers of the earth into underground reservoirs known as aquifers.  Water that suppliers pump from wells generally contains less organic material than surface water and may not need to go through any or all of the treatments described in the previous paragraph.  The quality of the water will depend on local conditions.

The most common drinking water treatment, considered by many to be one of the most important scientific advances of the 20th century, is disinfection.  Most water suppliers add chlorine or another disinfectant to kill bacteria and other germs.   

Water suppliers use other treatments as needed, according to the quality of their source water.  For example, systems whose water is contaminated with organic chemicals can treat their water with activated carbon, which adsorbs or attracts the chemicals dissolved in the water.  

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