For thousands of years, humans have treated drinking water in one way or another. The idea of drinking water treatment originally focused on improving the qualities and appearance of the water. However, with the advancements of science the focus of drinking water treatment changed to make the water safer for consumption. Modern drinking water treatment processes have greatly reduced the number of illnesses and diseases caused by unpurified water. Early history of water treatment shows that it focused on the aesthetic qualities of drinking water. Methods to improve the taste and smell of water were recorded as early as 4,000 B.C. Ancient Greek writings showed treatment methods including filtering with charcoal, exposing water to sunlight, and boiling. Visible cloudiness (turbidity) was also a focus of early water treatment. Much of the drinking water had particles that made it look and taste odd. As an attempt to make water clearer, Egyptians used a chemical called alum starting around 1500 B.C. to try and take the particles out of the water. During the early 1700’s, filtration was discovered as an effective way of removing particles from drinking water (www.epa.gov). Starting in the late 1800’s, modern science changed the way that water was purified for drinking. In 1885, epidemiologist Dr. John Snow proved that cholera was a waterborne disease by linking illness outbreaks in London to public water places contaminated by sewage. Near the end of the 1880’s, Louis Pasteur presented the “germ theory,” which explained how micro-organisms spread disease through water. Around the late 19th and early 20th centuries, concerns about drinking water quality still appeared to focus on disease-causing micro-organisms in public water sources. ... ... middle of paper ... ...all be more susceptible to getting illnesses and diseases from harmful substances in water. In the future, our water treatment plants will continue to grow with even more advanced methods and techniques to make our potable water even better. BIBLIOGRAPHY United States Environmental Protection Agency. The History of Drinking Water Treatment. http://www.epa.gov/safewater/consumer/pdf/hist.pdf The World Book Encyclopedia. Vol. 21, 2013. Hach Company. The Stages of Water Treatment. http://www.h2ou.com/h2trtmntstages.htm Santa Clara Valley Water District. The Water Treatment Process. http://www.valleywater.org/services/TheWaterTreatmentProcess.aspx Sustainable Infrastructure Management Program Learning Environment. Atlanta, Georgia. http://simple.werf.org/Books/Contents/z-ready-to-delete/Drinking-Water/Asset-Management---City-of-Atlanta/Municipality-Facts
Humans need water. In a world that is overpopulated, we use a lot of water and other natural resources. Currently, in our world, clean water is getting scarce. Recently, for example, Flint, Michigan, had a water crisis. In early 2016, the water was discovered to be tainted with lead and other toxins. Long before that, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and Governor Rick Snyder along with his council, knew about the lead, but to save money for the city of Flint in early 2014 Snyder had changed the city’s water source to the Flint River which had corroded pipes, causing people of all ages to be sick from the high amounts of lead
No matter what, where, or who you are, water is a necessary component to keeping any organism alive. Although water is essential for life, in many places, clean drinking water is hard to find. There are many consequences to drinking contaminated water. Every year, three to five million people are attacked by water-borne diseases and over 100,000 of them die. One fatal disease that can kill within hours is cholera.
Public health practice in the nineteenth century mainly focused on sanitary reforms such as clean water, efficient sewage system, garbage collection and disposal, fumigation practices and clean housing facilities. This was mainly attributed to the filth theory which was widely accepted during that time. These sanitary measures were necessary to keep the infectious diseases such as smallpox, cholera and typhoid under control so as to prevent their epidemic outbreaks. However, in the early twentieth century, the advent of germ theory shifted the focus of public health from sanitary reforms to the laboratory. This changed the outlook of public health officials leading to alterations in the treatment procedures of the disease which were now concentrated mainly on the elimination of bacteria causing the disease. (Rosen, G.,1993)
As the bottled water becomes more popular, people prefer to drink bottle water over tap water. According to them, it has a better quality and taste. Unfortunately, people are being fooled by the water industries. The “purified” water, as its label, comes from municipal reserves. This research will discuss:
... on the economy, environment and society. Everyone should judiciously use water in a sustainable community. Not everyone has the wherewithal to implement a home water filtration system which can remove hazardous chemicals such as chlorine, lead, asbestos, pharmaceuticals and pathogens from our drinking water. Industries and public should take it seriously and not consider profit alone as it goals. They should have ethical responsibility to reduce water pollution and conserve it. EPA and other water utilities board should strictly monitor and take action against violators. Water pollution abatement plans should be made and implemented.
Water is one of the most vital components of human life. It is a necessity, a precious resource that humans need to live, that is taken for granted every day. There is no possible way for life to be sustained on Earth without water – it just cannot happen. The human body itself is composed of almost eighty percent water: almost 95 percent of the human brain is water. It is common knowledge that pure water is the best water – for humans, and for plants and animals. Regardless of this piece of knowledge, humans still find ways to disregard the sanctity of pure water and instead, pollute it. The right to water is not officially a human right. However, because “water is a basic need for human development, health, and well-being… it is an internationally accepted human right” (Thompson 3). Water contamination is an epidemic that is so common these days that it is no longer shocking to even hear that water is contaminated. Water contamination negatively effects water that is used on a daily basis. Continuing on in this way will eventually lead to contamination that will make the existence of clean water impossible.
the more people there are in the world the more water pollution there is going
Over the years humans have tried every possibility to overcome the health problems, spread of epidemics and infections, disease control and have worked towards a healthy society free of disease and health problems. They have succeeded to a great extent. The book “Good germs, bad germs” describes that though the life expectancy is now far more as it was in previous eras. Epidemic problems and infectious diseases are now getting lesser and lesser and humans are being treated successfully. The hygienic conditions have also been improved so as to ensure least growth of microbes, germs, parasites and bacteria. Antibiotics have been invented to address diseases and infections caused by bacteria and viruses. With all these substantial efforts the biologists, physicians and scientists have triggered another epidemic which is even more severe. They have killed those microbes and bacterial species which were human friendly and as a result of either their disruption or mutation, pathogenic bacteria have even become more active and resistant to treatments. This has led to increased ineffectiveness of antibiotic drugs, low immunity and various infections and inflammatory diseases. The chlorinated water for drinking and food processing along with excessive hygienic conditions indicates our fight against these bacteria and germs. Further, these antibiotics are even given to the livestock which becomes our food and as result many of their resistant germs end up in our digestive tract and other organs. Thus, the war against microbes through excessive cleanliness and use of antibiotics has resulted in antibiotic resistance among humans, which has become one of the prominent problems of medical science
Around the globe, especially in countries facing immense amounts if poverty, technology has allowed us to prevent diseases due to effected water, as there are better water filtration systems being implemented around the
Furthermore, more lives could be lost due to the spreading of diseases. With such extreme lacks of sanitation, clean water...
1999, 71, 181-215. Minear, R., Amy, G.. Water Disinfection and Natural Organic Matter: History and Overview. ACS Symposium Series -. 1996, 649, 1-9. Richardson, S. Water Analysis: Emerging Containments and Current Issues. Journal of Analytical Chemistry. 2003, 75, 2831-2857.
Clean water is needed for good human and animal health, but as DoSomething.org states, over 1 billion people worldwide don’t have a means of getting clean drinking water, an...
Having clean water to drink means that water must have microbial, chemical and physical characteristics that meet WHO guidelines or national standards on drinking water quality. Around 780 million people in the world don’t have access to clean drinking water (Millions Lack Safe Water). More than 3.4 million people die each year from water, sanitation, and hygiene-related causes. Nearly all deaths, 99 percent, occur in developing countries. Around the world, diseases in unclean water kill about 1,400 children every day (Clean Drinking Water). There are many organizations that raise money in order to help develop ways or create ways for people to obtain clean drinking water. However, many people are unaware that this is even a problem in other countries because we take clean water for granted.
The consumption of contaminated water can be dangerous for health reasons and several people have passed away from these water-borne diseases. Some of these diseases include Cholera, Typhoid, Dysentery, Giardiasis, and Malaria. These unfortunate diseases are currently the cause of numerous deaths, especially in small children. The availability of clean water can prevent many problems in low-income communities. The available resources for clean water are very rare, so these water sources need to pass through a process of water sanitation in order to just be sustainable to drink, “The world’s surface is made up of approximately 80% water, which is an indestructible substance.
The history of water purification started off in ancient Greek in the 2000B.C. people at the time used to boil water in order to purify it. There were also filtration and straining methods which helped to reduce visible particles and turbidity in water. However, due to the lack of knowledge in the chemical area, almost no process was taken to remove the harmful chemical contaminants. In fact, the purpose of water purification at that time was purely to make it smell and taste better. They believed if the water taste good to the mouth, it must be safe, clean and healthy. Therefore the Gr...