Treatment of Water
Introduction
Before we can get clean drinking water safe for drinking the water must be purified and treated. Raw water from the river or other sources of water contains a lot of impurities and even germs that can cause diseases
The treatment and purification of water to make it safe for drinking is carried out in a water treatment plant. In Singapore and several other countries in the world, rain water is collected in special catchment areas known as reservoirs. These are known as water catchment areas
Water Treatment Plant (Traditional)
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There are several stages to this water treatment
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Stage 1
In the first stage, large impurities like leaves are screned by the screning tank. A "sticking agent" such as aluminium sulphate is added to cause all particles to clump together which is left in the sedimentation tank for the particles to stick together and settle down
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Stage 2
In stage 2, the watet is filtered through layers of sand and gravel which can remove a lot of fine solid particles. Activated charcoal is also used to remove odour and taste
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Stage 3
In this stage, the water is chlorinated to kill germs and other harmful organisms that can cause serious diseases and make water unsafe to drink. Fluoride salts is also added in most cases to help in tooth decay
