Safe drinking water

Importance of Safe Drinking Water

1. Safe Drinking Water Made By – Deepansha Singh Class – VIII A Roll No - ⑭

2. Contents Introduction How Much Water Do You Need What Contaminants are there in the Water Well Water Bottled Water Contaminants in the Pipes Health Effects of Drinking Contaminated Water Water Quality and Water Filters Sources of Fresh Water Treatment of contaminated Water Distribution of Water Conclusion Glossary

3. Introduction Most of us don’t think about the water we drink. We turn on a tap, fill a glass, and drink. But how much water do you really need to drink every day? Is the water you're drinking safe or would bottled water be safer? What can you do if your tap water suddenly became contaminated ? Clean drinking water is a basic human need.Unfortunately , more one in six people still lack reliable access to this precious resource. The problem is particularly acute in the developing world.

4. How Much Water Do You Need Your body weight is more than 50% water. Without water, you couldn’t maintain a normal body temperature, lubricate your joints, or get rid of waste through urination, sweat, and bowel movements. Not getting enough water can lead to dehydration, which can cause  muscle weakness and cramping, a lack of coordination, and an increased risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. In fact, water is so important that a person couldn’t last more than five days without it . You often hear that you need to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day. The Institute of Medicine's Food and Nutrition Board recommended that women actually need 91 ounces of water daily, and men need 125 ounces.

5. So how much water do you need? Enough to replace what you lose daily through urination, sweating, even exhaling. And your need for water increases: In warm or hot weather With vigorous physical activity, such as exercise or working in the yard During bouts of illness, especially if you have a feve r, are vomiting, having diarrhea or coughing It is a good idea to track how much water you drink for a few days just to get a feel for the amount needed. You can get enough water each day by drinking water and consuming fluids like soup and drinks, along with lots of vegetables, which contain water. Keep in mind that if you’re going to do something strenuous, like playing sports or running, you'll need extra water before, during, and after.

6. What Contaminants are there in the Water Water can be contaminated in several ways . It can contain microorganisms like bacteria and parasites that get in the water from human or animal fecal matter . It can contain chemicals from industrial waste or from spraying crops. Nitrates used in fertilizers can enter the water with runoff from the land . Various minerals such as lead or mercury can enter the water supply, sometimes from natural deposits underground , or more often from improper disposal . The EPA has set minimum testing schedules for specific pollutants to make sure that levels remain safe.

7. Still, some people may be more vulnerable than others to potential harm caused by water contaminants, including: People undergoing chemotherapy People with HIV/AIDS Transplant patients Children and infants Pregnant women and their fetuses

8. Well Water For almost one out of every seven Americans, a private well is the primary source of drinking water. Private wells are not regulated by the EPA. Well water safety can be affected by many factors, including: How the well was built Where it’s located How it’s maintained The quality of the aquifer supplying the well Human activities in your area The EPA recommends that you talk with local experts, have your well water tested regularly, and not let problems go untended.

9. Bottled Water According to the International Bottled Water Association, Americans drank 9.1 billion gallons of bottled water in 2011, a 4.1% increase over the previous year. One argument advanced for the use of bottled water is its safety, yet there isn't the same guarantee of safety with bottled water as there is for the water in your tap. The FDA oversees the standards that apply to bottled water, but it doesn't have the ability to oversee a mandatory testing program like the EPA does with public water suppliers. So, although it can order a bottled water recall once a problem has been found, there is no guarantee that the bottle of water you bought is safe.

10. Contaminants in the Pipes Occasionally, your tap water can become contaminated as a result of breaks in the water line, although one of the biggest problems is lead getting into the water from pipes. Even ''lead-free'' pipes can contain as much as 8% lead. The best way to avoid consuming  lead from tap water is to only use water from the cold tap for drinking, cooking , and making baby formula and to let the water run for a minute  before using it.

11. Health Effects of Drinking Contaminated Water How contaminated water effects your health depends on the type of contaminants. Does boiling contaminated water make it safe to drink? It depends on the contaminant. Boiling water can kill germs, but things like lead, nitrates, and pesticides aren't affected. And since boiling reduces the volume of water, it increases the concentration of those contaminants . Cryptosporidium  is a pathogen that sometimes gets into water supplies. It can cause a gastrointestinal disease that could be fatal.

12. Nitrates  can contaminate water and pose an immediate threat to infants. In the intestines, nitrates are converted to nitrites, which prevent blood from transporting oxygen. An enzyme present in the system of older children restores the blood's ability to carry oxygen. Lead  can cause both physical and mental developmental problems in infants and children. Adults who have been drinking lead-tainted water for a number of years can experience kidney problems and high blood pressure.

13. Water Quality And Water Filters In an effort to make their drinking water safer, some people use water filters at home. There are four main kinds: Activated carbon filters  can remove certain organic contaminants that affect taste and odor. Some systems are also designed to remove chlorination byproducts, solvents, and pesticides, or certain metals such as copper or lead. Ion exchange units  with activated alumina can remove minerals such as calcium and magnesium, which make water hard . Reverse osmosis units  with carbon can remove nitrates and sodium as well as pesticides and petrochemicals.

14. Distillation units  boil water and condense the steam, creating distilled water. No one system will remove all water contaminants. If you do decide you want to install a system, you should have your water tested by a certified laboratory first to find out what's in your water. No matter which water filtering system you choose, you need to maintain it ; otherwise, contaminants build up in the filter and make the water quality worse than it would be without the filter. It's important to know that a home water filter won’t protect you from water that has been declared unsafe. If that happens in your area, follow the advice of your local water authorities until the water is declared safe to drink once more.

15. Sources of Fresh Water Drinkable water is a precious commodity. Most of the Earth’s water is sea water. About 2.5% is freshwater – and two-thirds of that is frozen in ice caps and glaciers. Underground reservoirs are an important source of water supply for many people. Humans use wells to tap renewable and non-renewable aquifers which quench their thirsts and water crops. Rivers and lakes contain only a small amount of Earth’s water – but these surface waters are crucial. Like some aquifers, they are constantly replenished when water moves from the atmosphere to Earth and again through the water cycle.

16. But surface water sources are subject to variable precipitation patterns that make them notoriously unreliable. Protecting and managing the freshwater sources, above and below ground are essential tasks.

17. Treatment of Contaminated Water Contaminants are substances that make water unfit for use. Some contaminants can be easily identified by assessing the taste, odor, and the turbidity of water. Most, however, cannot be easily detected and require testing to reveal whether or not water is contaminated. If left unchecked, contaminants can cause a whole host of water-related diseases which exact a terrible toll on human health. Contaminants are either man-made or naturally occurring. Some contaminants are organisms that are pathogens like viruses, bacteria, and parasites such as microscopic protozoa and worms. These living organisms can be spread by human and animal waste.

18. Good sanitation and hygiene can help to stop the spread of these organisms. The other contaminants are the man-made byproducts of industry and agriculture including heavy metals like lead and mercury, and hazardous chemicals and compounds like insecticides and fertilizers. Naturally occurring contaminants can contaminate water as well. Toxins such as highly poisonous metal arsenic may be naturally present at unacceptable levels. Contaminated water must be treated before it can be used for human consumption. Water treatment can occur at two distinct places: At a centralized water treatment facility At the point of use

19. Where ever treatment takes place, a diverse range of technologies is used to purify drinking water. Treatment technologies are selected and applied using several determining factors including water source, type of contaminant and the cost. For the most effective treatment, a combination of technologies is used to ensure that the water if fully decontaminated.

20. Distribution of Water Distribution systems move water from a source or a water treatment plant to the people who consume it. Water distribution requires infrastructure. This infrastructure could range from complex pipe systems to the simplest of water containers. All the infrastructures from the simplest to the most complex, have associated costs. Moreover, water in any distribution system may became contaminated if sources are not properly protected and monitored, treatment plants are not properly operated, or infrastructure is not maintained. Although they share the same basic function, distribution system vary greatly from culture to culture, from one economic stratum to the next, and from great cities to humble villages.

21. Conclusion People cannot create water. But, by managing sources and distribution systems, they can maximize the amount of available of water and make the most out of every drop. SAVE WATER !!!!!! SAVE LIFE !!!!!

22. Glossary FRESHWATERS Water that does not contain significant levels of dissolved minerals and salts. RESERVOIRS A large body of water used to store supplies for human use. AQUIFERS A geological layer or “formation”, typically sand, gravel, or limestone that can store and transmit ground water and allow it to be pumped in “useful” quantities. SURFACE WATER All water, fresh and salt, that is direct contact with the atmosphere. Oceans, rivers, lakes are all sources of surface water.

23. WATER CYCLE The Sun – driven process of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation that moves the water from the oceans and Earth to the atmosphere and back again. Also called the Hydrological-Cycle. PRECIPITATION The process by which the atmospheric water vapour falls to earth including rain, snow, hail, sleet, dew, and frost. DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM Any system by which the water is moved from the source to its consumers. CONTAMINANTS Any harmful or undesirable substance found in the water. Contaminants include microorganisms, dissolved naturally occurring minerals, human generated chemicals, and radiological materials.

24. TURBIDITY The visual appearance of cloudy water filled with suspended particles. Turbidity, as an optical property, may be measured and used to rate water quality and clarity. PATHOGENS An organism that triggers acute or chronic disease. Bacteria, Viruses, Parasites are some common pathogens. BACTERIA Single-celled organisms that lack a nucleus. They are found in all living things and all types of environments. Some bacteria can cause diseases.

25. VIRUSES Extremely tiny microorganisms, often pathogenic, that reproduce in the cells of a host organism. Viruses may be present in human and animal waste and spread through contaminated water. PARASITES An organism that lives on or inside or another “host” organism. [parasites do not benefit their hosts, but instead feed at their expense. PROTOZOA Single-celled eukaryotic organisms often present in water. Protozoa may be parasitic and some, like Giardia and Cryptosporidium are pathogenic.

26. ARSENIC A poisonous element that commonly occurs in the natural environment and can contaminate ground water. Drinking arsenic-rich water over months and years causes arsenic to accumulate in the body. This can lead to arsenicosis. INFRASTRUCTURE The facilities, equipments, and materials necessary for the operation of a water supply or sanitation system. Infrastructure includes storage systems such as dams and reservoirs as well as distribution and treatment system.

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