Water Quality Monitoring and Management
Water Quality Monitoring and Management
Much of today’s world has very technologically advanced, and there seems to be no end in sight. Developments are rapidly being made, defying nature, and resulting in a more artificially based existence. We see it daily in our news feeds, where we are moving away from nature and moving towards the hands of technology. Here is water quality monitoring and management — our future depends on our protecting this resource.
It is hard to find a living environment based solely in nature.
Starting from food products to fruits, everything seems to contain preservatives and chemicals. Even something as necessary as water is also not pure as it used to be. Across the world, populations are struggling with fighting pollution, climate change and now increasingly water scarcity.
There are hundreds of millions of people around the world who do not have access to potable drinking water. Only a limited percentage of the water on this planet is fit for drinking, and that percentage is decreasing by the year. It’s common knowledge that the consumption of non-potable water can cause many fatal diseases and cope; people in rural parts of the world dig deep wells to extract water from below the surface.
There is also the contamination of the soils where water is harvested.
Certain types of soils have high levels of heavy metals such as Arsenic that can cause severe health issues like vomiting, abdominal pain, encephalopathy, and bloody diarrhea. Long term exposure can also tend to something as chronic as cancer and heart diseases.
We know that the availability of potable drinking water is not enough; and that it must be purified before drinking to ensure it is safe for consumption.
Techniques Of Water Management
FILTRATION OF WATER: Filtration is purifying water so that it is made potable. There exist many methods in which water is filtered. The primary tenant of filtration is to make the water free from any chemical or contaminant that may be negative to our health.
There are also many traditional methods of water filtration, but most are very time-consuming. The purposes of purification, which are in practice, today, are meant to be relatively quick and effective.
Some of the techniques in which water is purified are listed below.
- Activated Carbon Charcoal Filters: Activated carbon, better known as charcoal, is a widely available substance. The property of activated charcoal is to absorb any pollutant particulate matter that floats inside it. Heated charcoal, when inserted in water, absorbs the tiny particulate matters. This technique is generally used in factories where extensive scale work takes place and in homes for countertop or whole house setups.
- Reverse Osmosis: Reverse osmosis is the method in which the impure water consisting of particulate matters and high in solute concentration. Water is made to pass through a slightly permeable membrane from one side to another by applying osmotic pressure. The particles are caught on the membrane, and only the pure water can pass through it. A scientifically proven technique, reverse osmosis, has shown positive results when it comes to water filtration and is a trusted technique. However, it can be responsible for wasting water as part of its process.
- Ultra Violet Disinfection: This method uses an instrument called the UV lamp. Ultra Violet disinfection is an expensive and modern way of combating water impurities. The UV lamp emits a low power Ultra Violet ray inside the water, which penetrates through the bodies of the harm, causing organisms inside the water and deactivates them. This would only be effective against bacteria and viruses.
- Ultra Filtration: This method is somewhat similar to reverse osmosis, although it differs by the substances that are removed. The source water is forced to pass through a semi-permeable membrane by applying pressure. As a result, substances like colloids, pathogens, and bacteria are held back in the membrane.
An example of one water filer company that is turning non-potable water into drinkable water is big berkey water filters. These filters use a filter that utilizes activated carbon as one of its main filter ingredients.
The filter works somewhat like the companies Brita or Pur. Berkey has also developed shower filters, fluoride filters, and portable water bottles with filters fitted inside them.
A bottle water filter can be easily carried to places where non-potable water is the norm, and then used many times over without the fear of the user getting sick.
A shower filter will remove the chlorine that’s in municipal water and get rid of the chemical smell. These products have made our lives easier and more worry-free.
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