Question

Water obtained from rivers and lakes may contain germs and other impurities. Explain how this water can be made potable.

Answer 1

Water present in rivers and lakes contains impurities as they get mixed with a lot of sand, rocks, and also pollutants from human waste. To make the river water potable, this water is treated by various methods. The processes involved in the purification of water help provide you with clean, and safe water.

The various method involved is listed below step by step

1. Screening: The first water treatment step is screening, which is when water from lakes, rivers, or the ground passes through a screen to filter out waste.
2. coagulation and flocculation: During this phase of the drinking water treatment process, positively charged chemicals are added to the water, which causes negatively charged particles like dirt and grit to bind together into larger particles to make them settle down.
3. Filtration: Filtration is also crucial for water treatment and purification because it helps eliminate potentially harmful pathogens like parasites, bacteria, and viruses.
4. Disinfectant: After filtration is complete, disinfectants like chlorine are added to the water supply to kill any remaining microorganisms or bacteria and help keep the water clean until distribution.
5. pH scale: treatment plants adjust the pH of the water so that it neither corrodes nor deposits too much scale in pipes, which helps plumbing work its best and prevents damage and lead and copper poisoning.

After these steps are followed, water is now clean enough to use and store, for day-to-day activities. This process helps in obtaining water in large quantities to fulfill the needs of the cities and industries.