Micheal Ferguson, Author at The Program on Water Issues

Worried about your drinking water’s purity? Knowing how water is purified will help you be more attentive to where you source your drinking water and how to make your water safe when in doubt.

Drinking water is purified using multiple chemical or filter processes

powi.ca gathered information about why water needs to be purified before drinking it, purification methods, and how to do it yourself when reliable sources are unavailable.

Why We Purify Drinking Water

Water purification can help remove harmful contaminants while improving your drinking water’s taste, smell, and appearance. It can significantly reduce or eliminate the chlorine, soil residue, and organic and inorganic substance amounts in tap or treated water.

Note: Water filtration helps prevent water-related illnesses and diseases. Children, elderly adults, and people with poor or compromised immune systems are more susceptible to experiencing adverse effects from contaminated tap water.

Public (Tap) Water Treatment

Tap water is purified using treatment plants

Public water systems use multiple water treatment steps, including coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection, to provide safe drinking (potable) water. The following is how each step works:

Coagulation – Positively charged chemicals are added to the water. The positive charge neutralizes dirt’s and other dissolved particles’ negative charges. As this occurs, particles bind with the chemicals to form larger, heavier particles. Chemicals used in this step include salts, aluminum, or iron.

Flocculation – Following the coagulation step, flocculation is the water’s gentle mixing to form larger, heavier particles called flocs. Water treatment plants will sometimes add additional chemicals during this step to encourage floc formation.

Sedimentation – This crucial step separates solids from the water. During sedimentation, flocs settle to the bottom of the water since they are denser.

Filtration – Once flocs have settled, the clear water (on top) is filtered to further separate solids from the water. During filtration, the clear water passes through multiple filters with different pore sizes (like sand, gravel, and charcoal). These filters remove remaining dissolved particles and germs, like chemicals, parasites, bacteria, and viruses. Carbon filters help remove foul odors.

Disinfection – After filtration, water treatment facilities may add chemical disinfectants (like chlorine, chloramine, or chlorine dioxide) to kill remaining parasites, bacteria, or viruses. This helps keep water safe as it travels to homes and businesses.

Water treatment facilities will ensure the water has low chemical disinfectant levels when it leaves the treatment plant. Remaining disinfectants kill germs and pathogens living in pipes between water treatment plants and their final destinations.

Note: Water may be treated differently in communities depending on the source water’s quality. Water entering treatment facilities is most often surface water or groundwater.

Drinking water is purified in treatment facilities

Water Purification Methods

If you suspect your water is contaminated or a local water advisory is announced, and you don’t have any emergency bottled water stored, you can purify it yourself by using one of the following methods:

1. Filtration

Filtration is a highly effective water purification method. The right filters can eliminate harmful compounds in your water. This method uses chemical and physical processes to purify water, making it safe to drink.

Filtration eliminates large and small compounds and dangerous disease-causing contaminants with one fast filtration process. Since filtration does not eliminate all mineral salts, filtered water is considered healthier when compared to other methods.

2. Distillation

Drinking water is purified using distillation

Distillation utilizes heat to collect pure vaporized water. This method is scientifically effective because water has a lower boiling point than other contaminants and disease-causing elements.

Water is heated until it reaches its boiling point, then left boiling until it vaporizes. This vapor is collected in a condenser to cool when the vapor is reversed into liquid water (clean and safe for drinking). Other substances with a higher boiling point remain as sediments in the container.

3. Boiling

Boiling water is the cheapest and safest water purification method (recommended when public water systems issue contamination alerts). Sometimes, water sources or distribution channels may render your water unsafe. Parasites and germs go unseen by the naked eye, but the effects of their ingestion can be life-threatening.

Clean water should be kept at a rolling boil for 1 to 3 minutes. For people living in higher altitudes, it is recommended to boil your water longer because water boils at lower temperatures in higher altitudes. When water is drawn from wells, leave it (allowing compounds to settle before filtering the clean water for use).

4. Chlorination

Chlorine is a chemical used for many years to treat water for home consumption. Chlorine is a water purification method that kills germs, parasites, and disease-causing organisms found in ground, well, or tap water. Water can be purified using chlorine tablets or liquid chlorine.

As a readily available water purification product, chlorine is relatively cheap and highly effective. Chlorine tablets kill all bacteria leaving your water clean and safe. However, take caution and follow the manufacturer’s instructions when using chlorine liquid or tablets to treat drinking water.

Note: Those suffering from thyroid irregularities should consult their physician before using this product.

Purified Water Benefits

Purified drinking water provides a safe way for people to stay hydrated. It also aids digestion, increases athletic performance, efficiently detoxifies the body, and promotes skin health.

Purified Drinking Water

In this article, you discovered essential information about why clean, purified water is necessary for good health and filtration methods that remove bacteria, pathogens, and other impurities that can cause severe health issues over time.

Knowing why your drinking water needs to be purified and how to make it safe to drink when there are problems or you are unsure of its source will help keep you from ingesting harmful bacteria and other pathogens found in untreated water.

Relying on tap, spring, or well water without filtering or purifying it will expose you to impurities that can cause severe (and sometimes life-threatening) medical conditions.

Sources:
cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/public/water_treatment.html
epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/emergency-disinfection-drinking-water
nps.gov/articles/2wayspurifywater.htm
fema.gov/press-release/20210318/fact-sheet-how-make-your-water-safe-drink
skagitcountywa.gov/Departments/Flood/drinkingwater.htm

Unsure of causes and don’t want to contribute to the detrimental effects of water pollution? Knowing what water pollution is, the causes, and how to take action will help you live a healthier life and help the planet.

Water pollution occurs when sewage is allowed to drain in bodies of water

powi.ca gathered information about what water pollution is, its types, health concerns, and how you can help stop it.

What is Water Pollution?

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies. Typically, a water body will become contaminated through human activities, negatively affecting its intended uses. Such water bodies include lakes, reservoirs, rivers, oceans, aquifers, and groundwater. Water pollution is the result of contaminants being introduced into these water bodies.

Note: The World Health Organization (WHO) states that polluted water is water that’s composition has been altered to the extent that it is unusable.

What Causes Water Pollution?

Sometimes, water pollution can occur naturally (mercury released from the Earth’s crust). However, by far, the most common cause of declining water quality occurs due to human activity. Consider the following:

Deforestation
Industry, Agriculture, and Livestock
Trash and Sewage Dumping
Fossil Fuel Spillages/Accidents
Maritime Traffic
Global Warming

While substantial global progress has been made to increase clean drinking water and sanitation access to the world’s population, billions still lack these essential services.

According to the United Nations, “One in three people do not have access to safe drinking water, two out of five people do not have a basic hand-washing facility with soap and water, and more than 673 million people still practice open defecation.”

Note: The UN further states that over 80% of the world’s untreated sewage water finds its way into water bodies.

Consequences of Water Pollution

Water pollution can lead to illness and death from bacteria and disease in the water

Multiple diseases are caused by consuming poor quality drinking water, and 80% of diseases and 50% of child deaths are related to poor drinking water quality worldwide. Water pollution can also cause diarrhea, skin afflictions/diseases, malnutrition, and cancer. Diseases transmitted by contaminated water include:

Cholera
Giardia
Typhoid fever

Note: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Giardia is a tiny parasite that causes giardiasis (diarrheal disease). Giardia is found on surfaces, in soil, food, or water contaminated animal feces and people. Bewarem, as the way you contract giardiasis is by swallowing Giardia germs.

What is Eutrophication?

When water pollution causes the proliferation of algae in a body of water, the introduction of nutrients stimulates the growth of plants and algae, which significantly reduce oxygen levels in the water. This severe oxygen reduction, known as eutrophication, suffocates all plant life and wildlife, creating ‘dead zones’ where water is deprived of life. These harmful algae can also produce neurotoxins that adversely affect or kill wildlife.

Why Prevent Water Pollution?

Our blue planet is one of water, and no species can survive without it. That said, water is a limited resource. Consider that:

Only 2.5% of the planet’s water is freshwater
Of which 69% is found in glaciers and ice
30% in groundwater
0.7% as permafrost
0.3% in lakes and rivers (principal source for human consumption)

Note: The rapid degradation of water quality and its contamination means the amount of water available for human use and consumption is becoming scarcer.

Ways to Prevent Water Pollution

More efficient and cleaner water use begins with individuals at home and in the workplace. Heating and pumping water require chemicals and energy. When we waste less water, we conserve fuel and reduce the pollution generated by burning fossil fuel and treating water with chemicals. The following will help you do your part in preventing water pollution:

1. In The Bathroom

When you buy a new toilet, purchase a low flow model (1.6 gallons or less per flush)
Check your toilet for leaks by placing food coloring in the tank and watching for leaks in the bowl
Turn off the water while brushing teeth and shaving
Install water-efficient showerheads
Take shorter showers, and draw less bathwater

Tip: Have your plumbing and sewage lines inspected annually for leaks.

2. In The Kitchen and Laundry Room

Prevent harsh chemicals (including cleaning products) from entering sink drains or trash receptacles
Compost food scraps (avoid using your sink’s garbage disposal) Keep at least a gallon of fresh drinking water in your refrigerator rather than running the faucet for cold water
Only operate your washing machine with a full load of clothes. Wash using warm water instead of hot, rinse using cold water instead of warm, wash with cold water whenever possible, and hang your clean clothes out to sundry if you have the space

Tip: For more reading on high-efficiency appliances and water conservation, read this guide.

3. In Your Yard and Landscape

Water pollution can be reduced with responsible landscape watering practices

Wash your car less frequently or wash it at a car wash (they clean and recycle the water). If you insist on washing your car at home, use a bucket instead of running the hose and use only eco-friendly cleaning products
Install an irrigation timer on your watering system
Install a drip-irrigation water system Use native or drought-tolerant plants and grasses and use hardscapes to reduce grass-covered areas
Limit watering times to evenings or early mornings to minimize evaporation
Install porous pavement or gravel alternatives instead of asphalt. This allows more rain to recharge groundwater supplies

Tip: Hire a trusted landscaper to professionally care for your yard and its water system.

Water Pollution Solution

In this article, you discovered essential information and definitions about water pollution, its causes, consequences, and what you can do to prevent it.

Knowing what actions can prevent water pollution will keep you from adding to the global reduction of usable water and help you educate others to do the same.

Ignoring the cataclysmic effects of water pollution will have you risking your health, loved ones, and future generations – as clean water becomes less available.

Sources:
un.org/sustainabledevelopment/water-and-sanitation/
epa.gov/p2/pollution-prevention-tips-water-conservation
cdc.gov/healthywater/other/agricultural/contamination.html
who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drinking-water

Help prevent environmental collapse due to contaminated or depleted groundwater sources. Knowing where groundwater originates and how important it is to our planet will help you make more educated decisions about your water usage and waste.

Groundwater goes through a repetitive cycle

powi.ca gathered information about what groundwater is, its importance, and how you can help preserve and protect it.

What Is Groundwater?

Groundwater is the water present or trapped beneath Earth’s surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the deep fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when conditions permit it to yield a usable volume of water.

Note: The upper surface of the underground saturated zone is called the water table. Contrary to popular lore, groundwater does not form underground rivers.

How Is Groundwater Formed?

Groundwater forms when water from the surface (including rainwater) seeps into the ground. This process is known as recharge. The water is able to move underground through the rock and soil by way of connected pore spaces.

Is Groundwater Freshwater?

Ninety-eight percent of Earth’s available freshwater originates as groundwater. It is about sixty times as plentiful as the freshwater found in all lakes and streams. Water in the ground travels through pores in soil and rock, and in fractures and weathered areas of bedrock.

How Does Groundwater Get Polluted?

Groundwater can be contaminated by human activity

Groundwater contamination or pollution is nearly always the result of human activity. In higher population density areas and where human use of the land is intensive, groundwater is especially vulnerable.

Virtually any activity in which chemicals or wastes are released to the environment, intentionally or accidentally, has the potential to infiltrate and pollute groundwater. When groundwater becomes contaminated, it is challenging and expensive to clean up.

Note: Depending on its physical, chemical, and biological properties, a contaminant that has been released into the environment (in any volume) may move within an aquifer the same way groundwater moves.

What Is Saltwater Intrusion?

Groundwater pumping can reduce water pressure and freshwater flow toward coastal areas, causing saltwater to be drawn toward the freshwater zones of the aquifer. Saltwater intrusion decreases freshwater storage in the aquifers and can result in the abandonment of wells.

Note: The problem is that water desalination requires tremendous amounts of energy. Salt dissolves quite easily in water, forming strong chemical bonds, and those bonds are extremely challenging to break. The energy and technology to desalinate water are both expensive, and this means that desalinating water can be excessively costly.

Why Is Groundwater Important?

Groundwater provides fresh drinking water to the world population

Groundwater resources supply nearly half the world’s drinking water and support the farms that feed us. And that’s just the beginning; consider the following:

Groundwater supplies about 40% of all the drinking water in the United States
Groundwater cools the data centers that keep the Internet operational
It drives industries including energy, mining, and manufacturing
In more arid countries, an impressive 90% of groundwater use is for crop irrigation
Nearly 20% of all endangered species in the U.S. rely on groundwater for their survival

Note: Unlike the concern generated when major above-ground reservoirs reach critically low levels, many of our aquifers have been quietly overused for decades and are not being replenished at rates that can meet current demands.

How Can I Preserve Groundwater?

Contaminated groundwater is very difficult and expensive to clean up. Solutions can be found after groundwater has been contaminated, but this isn’t always easy. The best course of action (worldwide) is to adopt pollution prevention and conservation practices that protect vital groundwater supplies from being contaminated or depleted in the first place. Consider the following conservation/preservation suggestions:

Properly dispose of chemicals
Take used motor oil to a recycling center
Limit or reduce the amount of fertilizer used on plants
Fix pipe bursts and plumbing malfunctions immediately
Take short showers
Shut water off while brushing your teeth
Recycle water whenever possible
Run full loads of dishes and laundry
Check for leaky faucets and have them fixed
Abandon all unneeded wells
Exchange older appliances for newer “water-efficient” ones

Tip: For important home water efficiency tips, visit this Guide to Home Water Efficiency.

Groundwater Information

In this article, you discovered what groundwater is, why it is so essential to the ecosystem, what pollutes it, and how you can help protect it.

Knowing how to conserve and preserve groundwater will help every aspect of the world’s ecosystems thrive and continue benefitting from ample freshwater supplies.

Ignoring the need to preserve and protect groundwater will leave communities without sufficient potable water and contribute to the extinction of species dependent on clean groundwater for their survival.

Sources:
epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-08/documents/mgwc-gwc1.pdf
usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/contamination-groundwater
nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-insights/perspectives/groundwater-most-valuable-resource/
groundwater.org/action/home/top10.html
scientificamerican.com/article/keeping-groundwater-safe-and-abundant/

Avoid being ignorant to the demise of the planet’s atmosphere due to the earth’s changing temperature. Knowing what climate change is and the drivers behind it will help you make better choices in how you affect your environment.

Climate change is being driven by several factors including co2 emissions

powi.ca gathered information about climate change, how it differs from global warming, its primary causes, and what can be done to slow it down.

Climate Change Definition

Climate change refers to any long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be naturally occurring, like through variations in the solar cycle or tilting of Earth’s axis. But since the industrial revolution in the 1700s and 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily from burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas.

“Natural” climate change is a change in Earth’s climate. This could be a change in Earth’s usual temperature. Or it could be a change in where rain and snow usually fall on Earth.
According to NASA, weather can change in just a few hours, while climate takes hundreds, thousands, or even millions of years to change.

Is Climate Change Global Warming

No. While the two terms are often used interchangeably, Global Warming refers to the rise in global temperatures principally due to the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Climate Change refers to the increasing changes in the measures of global climate patterns over a long period. Such measurements include precipitation, temperature, and wind patterns.

More precisely, global warming is one of many aspects of climate change.

What is Driving Climate Change

While there are multiple contributors to climate change, the main driver is the greenhouse effect. Some natural and manmade gases in the Earth’s atmosphere act like the glass windows in a greenhouse, trapping the sun’s heat and preventing it from radiating back into space, causing global warming.

Climate change is being driven by several factors including livestock farming

Undeniably, Human activity is another of the leading causes of climate change. Consider the following:

People burn fossil fuels
People convert land from forests to agriculture
Farming livestock

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, populations have burned increasingly higher quantities of fossil fuels and modified exceedingly significant quantities of land from fertile forests to overworked farmland.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the following gas emitted by human activities are principal contributing factors to greenhouse gasses:

Carbon dioxide (CO2) – Fossil fuel consumption is the primary source of CO2. CO2 can also be emitted from direct human-induced impacts on forestry and other land use like deforestation, land clearing, and degradation of soils.

Methane (CH4) – Agricultural activities, waste management, energy consumption, and biomass burning all contribute to CH4 emissions.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) – Agricultural activities, like fertilizer use, are the primary source of N2O emissions. Fossil fuel combustion also produces N2O.

Fluorinated gases (F-gases) – Industrial processes, refrigeration, and consumer product usage contribute to F-gas emissions.

Ironically, the same land damaged by deforestation and land clearing can also remove CO2 from the atmosphere through reforestation, improvement of soil composition, and other proactive measures.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Country

According to the EPA, in 2014, the top carbon dioxide (CO2) emitters were:

China – 30%
The United States – 15%
The European Union – 9%
India – 7%
The Russian Federation – 5%
Japan – 4%

This information includes CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion, cement manufacturing, and gas flaring. Together, these sources represent a significant proportion of total global CO2 emissions.

What Can I Do to Slow Climate Change?

While the challenges of controlling climate change are principally seen as a “big business” problem, the reality is that everyone from all cultures and walks of life is in some way inherently charged with helping the global community slow climate change. Here are some ways to reduce your impact:

Use Public Transportation – Transportation accounts for nearly 30% of global greenhouse emissions, and that percentage is increasing every year. We can each rethink our approach to transportation and start using alternatives like public transportation, carpooling, or even riding a bike.

Avoid Plastic – every plastic item is produced from fossil fuels, and in every phase of its “life,” it emits greenhouse gases.

Change Lightbulbs – Using LEDs and CFLs could help prevent billions of tons of carbon from being added to the world’s atmosphere.

Go Paperless – Converting to paperless saves trees and helps the environment.

Turn Off Your Water – Only 1% of the world’s freshwater is accessible. Do your part to conserve water by using less.

Go Zero Waste – Use the 5 Rs of zero waste. Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Rot, and Recycle

Support Local Farming – Eating locally grown food reduces the carbon footprint left by shipping food.

No one alone can change the world’s climate, but all of us together can slow the contributors to climate change.

Climate Change Defined

In this article, you discovered the definition and essential information about climate change, how it is different from global warming, and what is driving it.

Understanding what causes climate change will help you make more informed decisions about consumption and refuge habits while helping others clear up misconceptions and misunderstandings.

By ignoring climate change, you join the portion of the world’s population that’s barreling towards (and dragging everyone else into) an era of unconscionable natural disasters and severe weather catastrophes.

Sources:
un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-climate-change
nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-climate-change-k4.html
usgs.gov/faqs/what-difference-between-global-warming-and-climate-change
epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data
climate.mit.edu/what-can-be-done-about-climate-change

The Program on Water Issues

Research, analysis and dialogue on important and emerging freshwater issues.

How Drinking Water is Purified