Municipal Water Treatment is a Vital Aspect of Society

Posted by joanne on June 28th, 2009 at 03:58pm

We’ve seen the pictures of people in undeveloped countries drinking from polluted streams and heard about the rampant disease epidemics that take place in those countries. Living the way we do in the United States, it’s difficult to believe that anyone in the world does not know the link between polluted water and disease, but they either don’t or can’t correct the situation. What most of us don’t realize is that only 2 centuries ago, most of the United States had the same problems, and epidemics spread in our country in the same manner they do in other nations now. People didn’t understand what was happening, and even if they would have, the technology wasn’t yet in place to run widespread municipal water treatment systems.

Actual water filtration started in Scotland in the 1700s. Scotland was a part of the world at that time that had many scientists and philosophers that were part of a period of time known as the Scottish Enlightenment, so it wasn’t any surprise that they were in the position to comprehend the importance of clean, healthy drinking water and to then create a way to purify existing water sources. At this point in time, a Scottish scientist and engineer, Robert Thom, created the first municipal water treatment facility. He utilized a technique called slow sand filters and was able to make clean, disease-free water for an entire town.

Since the 1700s, municipal water treatment systems have been recreated and improved in order to provide safe water for citizens in some of the most populated metropolitan areas worldwide. Drinking water is taken from two different sources: groundwater and surface water. The bulk of all the water we drink comes from groundwater sources. Toxins run into this groundwater and must eventually be removed before the water will be safe for consumption. Groundwater also contains bacteria and other contaminants that enter it from surface water.

The human body is about two-thirds made up of water, and we must continuously replenish the water supply in our bodies if we are going to stay in good health. Therefore, it is important that we have reliable sources of clean drinking water. That’s where municipal water treatment plants have made a major difference in the healthy lives we lead. We in the U.S. no longer have to worry about coming down with serious diseases from drinking the water that comes out of our faucets, and we have all the fresh water we could possibly want. Now we have to attempt to get clean water to people all over the world.

Under Technology