Where is water treated

NSW Health monitors Sydney Water and all treated drinking water providers' performance against these guidelines. Water quality testing takes place at every stage of the supply system, including at the water treatment plants and from pipes in the distribution system. Water is tested for up to 70 different characteristics including taste, colour, odour, microorganisms and chemical content. WaterNSW acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands and waters on which we work and pay our respects to all elders past, present and emerging.

Skip to a section on the page. Search toggle Home Contact us Alerts and updates Search this site:. Insights Portal Real-time data WaterLive. Home Water quality Learning centre Exhibitions Water for Life Timeline Drinking Water Treatment Drinking Water Treatment Drinking Water Treatment The final step in providing safe clean drinking water is the removal of any chemicals, organic substances or microorganisms that could be harmful to our health.

The treatment process for freshwater using a flocculation method. A tremendous amount of time and technology is expended to make surface water safe to drink. Water treatment technology must deal with a number of potential perils resulting from the movement of water from its source to our tap.

Mountain springs might flow through sulfur, zinc or arsenic-laden formations. Groundwater can pick up contamination from fertilizers, septic tanks, mine drainage, naturally occurring minerals, industrial chemicals and metals such as arsenic and chromium.

Rivers and streams sometimes carry harmful microorganisms from animals or humans, presenting a risk of disease. Storm drains can carry polluted runoff from cities into rivers and streams. Public and private water suppliers operating treatment systems today have methods to control nearly all of the properties found in water: hardness, acidity and alkalinity, color, turbidity, taste and odor, as well as the biological and organic chemical characteristics. Large water suppliers have their own laboratories to test water while smaller agencies use commercial labs.

In some systems, fluoride is added to reduce tooth decay. California law requires fluoridation of water in systems with 10, or more connections if outside funding is provided. According to the state, 30 percent of all public water providers in California fluoridate their water.

The treatment of groundwater varies from community to community, and even from well to well within a city depending on contaminants in the water.

The water may be treated as it is pumped from the ground to remove certain contaminants or it may be chlorinated if there is concern of bacterial or parasitic infection. The driving force behind the development of drinking water standards and regulations is the protection of public health. There is more than one way to produce treated water. There are also multiple types of treated water. Among other applications, water treatment is used for drinking water.

Water treatment is necessary for many different applications. Perhaps the most frequently thought of application is drinking water. Treated water for this purpose goes through processes to make it safe for consumption by humans or other animals. Examples of water treatment processes for drinking include desalination, coagulation, sedimentation, filtration and disinfection.

Most often, a combination of the processes is used to produce treated drinking water. Another application where treated water is produced is wastewater recycling.

Wastewater is often produced as a byproduct of other industrial processes. Sometimes the wastewater is too hazardous to return back to nature. Solid matter collected in the sedimentation and filtration processes is sent to be used as fertilizer. To protect against bacteria, viruses, and other microbes, the water must be disinfected. In most cases, this is done using chemicals such as chlorine or with ultraviolet light. After the water purification process has been completed, the water is pumped into water storage tanks.

The clean, safe drinking water is then pumped to homes and businesses when needed. Water purification is a specialized and involved process that focuses on keeping communities healthy. These steps guarantee continuous access to safe drinking water.