![]() The water that enters the treatment plant is most often either surface water or ground water. Water may be treated differently in different communities depending on the quality of the source water that enters the treatment plant. Ground water is located below the surface of the earth in spaces between rock and soil. ![]() Surface water collects on the ground or in a stream, river, lake, reservoir, or ocean. UV light and ozone work well to disinfect water in the treatment plant, but these disinfection methods do not continue killing germs as water travels through the pipes between the treatment plant and your tap. In addition to or instead of adding chlorine, chloramine, or chlorine dioxide, water treatment plants can also disinfect water using ultraviolet (UV) light pdf icon external icon or ozone pdf icon external icon. This remaining disinfectant kills germs living in the pipes between the water treatment plant and your tap. To help keep water safe as it travels to homes and businesses, water treatment plants will make sure the water has low levels of the chemical disinfectant when it leaves the treatment plant. DisinfectionĪfter the water has been filtered, water treatment plants may add one or more chemical disinfectants (such as chlorine, chloramine, or chlorine dioxide) to kill any remaining parasites, bacteria, or viruses. Water treatment plants often use reverse osmosis when treating recycled water external icon (also called reused water) or salt water for drinking. Reverse osmosis external icon is another filtration method that removes additional particles from water. This filter only lets through water and other small molecules (such as salts and tiny, charged molecules). During ultrafiltration, the water goes through a filter membrane with very small pores. Water treatment plants can use a process called ultrafiltration in addition to or instead of traditional filtration. ![]() Activated carbon filters also remove any bad odors. These filters remove dissolved particles and germs, such as dust, chemicals, parasites, bacteria, and viruses. During filtration, the clear water passes through filters that have different pore sizes and are made of different materials (such as sand, gravel, and charcoal). Once the flocs have settled to the bottom of the water, the clear water on top is filtered to separate additional solids from the water. During sedimentation, flocs settle to the bottom of the water because they are heavier than water. Sedimentation is one of the steps water treatment plants use to separate out solids from the water. Often, water treatment plants will add additional chemicals during this step to help the flocs form. Flocculation is the gentle mixing of the water to form larger, heavier particles called flocs. Flocculationįlocculation follows the coagulation step. Common chemicals used in this step include specific types of salts, aluminum, or iron. When this occurs, the particles bind with the chemicals to form slightly larger particles. The positive charge neutralizes the negative charge of dirt and other dissolved particles in the water. During coagulation, chemicals with a positive charge are added to the water. Download image Water treatment steps CoagulationĬoagulation is often the first step in water treatment.
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