Water Purification

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Water Purification information

      Today if you drink water from the river, you’d become extremely ill.  The rivers are filled with all kinds of pollution, including
poorly treated sewage from waste water treatment plants. This means we have get used to the idea that we no longer live in the past world,
where we could drink straight from a river.  It's not safe to drink that water without treating it to remove harmful substances and pathogens
that can make you really sick.

 

No filter system is 100% effective. Treating water with chlorine will kill bacteria, but not all viruses, and we can't remove all the herbicides and 

pesticides that can be found in water.  So if you filter water, you have to use distillation, ultraviolet sterilization, and/or chemicals to be very safe.

                                                                    
        waterP      

  Question & Answer

  Once you find water, how do you inow if is pure or drinkable water?  If it’s not, how to make it drinkable?

 A long time ago, about 20 years, you could drink water from streams. The spread of Giardia  is increasing the risk of drinking this water.

   What is Giardia?

  Giardia is an organism that can seriously infect you if you get it. It infects your digestive system. IT spreads through animal waste. 

Assessing water purity 

  Pollutants:

  • Bacteries
  • silt
  • chemicals, heavy metals, etc

  Purification methods:

  • Boiling
  • Filtering

Pollutants

The modern world has a lot more problems for water purity: human-made chemicals and pollutants,  such as heavy metals, mercury, cyanide, arsenic, etc.

Here are some general rules to follow.

  • Don't drink water that is near roads. Cars give off pollutants that are harmful.
  • Don't drink water near mines, industry, factories, cities and towns, or any place where human beings live.
  • Don't drink water near farms - it may contain fertilizers and pesticides.
  deerisland                                           

CREDITS
Ange (ICSA)
Pictures
By NASA/Androemj [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Source: Deer Island Waste Water Treatment Plant on Freebase licensed under CC-BY
Image Source: Advanced NASA Technology Supports  Water Purification Efforts Worldwide
How does Space Technology help water purification?


Some NASA  technology that is used on the space station, can help people iget clean drinking water. Here are some places to learn about it.



nasahelp

Volunteers help install and test a water purification
system in Kendala, Iraq. (Concern for Kids)