Water treatment

Water treatment is any process that improves the quality of water to make it more acceptable for a specific end-use. The end use may be drinking, industrial water supply, irrigation, river flow maintenance, water recreation or many other uses, including being safely returned to the environment. Water treatment removes contaminants and undesirable components, or reduces their concentration so that the water becomes fit for its desired end-use. This treatment is crucial to human health and allows humans to benefit from both drinking and irrigation use. Water treatment is any process that improves the quality of water to make it more acceptable for a specific end-use. The end use may be drinking, industrial water supply, irrigation, river flow maintenance, water recreation or many other uses, including being safely returned to the environment. Water treatment removes contaminants and undesirable components, or reduces their concentration so that the water becomes fit for its desired end-use. This treatment is crucial to human health and allows humans to benefit from both drinking and irrigation use. Early water treatment methods included sand filtration and chlorination. The first documented use of sand filters to purify the water supply dates to 1804, when the owner of a bleachery in Paisley, Scotland, John Gibb, installed an experimental filter, selling his unwanted surplus to the public. This method was refined in the following two decades, and it culminated in the first treated public water supply in the world, installed by the Chelsea Waterworks Company in London in 1829. Treatment for drinking water production involves the removal of contaminants from raw water to produce water that is pure enough for human consumption without any short term or long term risk of any adverse health effect. In general terms, the greatest microbial risks are associated with ingestion of waterthat is contaminated with human or animal (including bird) faeces. Faeces can be asource of pathogenic bacteria, viruses, protozoa and helminths. . Substances that are removed during the process of drinking water treatment, Disinfection is of unquestionable importance in the supply of safe drinking-water.The destruction of microbial pathogens is essential and very commonly involves theuse of reactive chemical agents such suspended solids, bacteria, algae, viruses, fungi, and minerals such as iron and manganese. These substances continue to cause great harm to several lower developed countries who do not have access to water purification. The processes involved in removing the contaminants include physical processes such as settling and filtration, chemical processes such as disinfection and coagulation and biological processes such as slow sand filtration.