- Which is the potable water?
- Drinking water characteristics
- How do you get drinking water?
- What is drinking water for?
- Importance of drinking water
We explain what drinking water is and why it is important. In addition, its characteristics, what it is for and how it is obtained.
Which is the potable water?
Drinking water is water suitable for human consumption, that is, water that can be drunk directly or used for washing and / or preparing food without any risk to the Health.
The Water is extremely abundant on our planet, and since it is the solvent universal, often contains numerous elements and substances dissolved in it, which may (or may not) be detected with the naked eye and modify (or not) its taste, color and odor, thus representing a potential danger to the human body.
Therefore, drinking water is not as abundant in the planet, despite the fact that there are purification mechanisms invented by the man, because of the quality of the water of a community or nation depends, to a large extent, on its public health. Numerous cases of epidemics or massive poisonings have been due to the presence of toxic substances or infectious agents in it.
In this way, the presence of drinking water in the world is constantly threatened by the water contamination, of I usually and from air, since large bodies of water such as seas and oceans They are not suitable for human consumption, due to their enormous amount of dissolved salts.
Drinking water characteristics
According to the regulations of the European Union, it is established that drinking water must have a content of salts, minerals and ions (sulfates, chlorates, nitrites, ammonium, calcium, phosphate, among others) that is within the accepted ranges, which represents a pH between 6.5 and 9.5.
On the other hand, it should be as free from bacteria Y microorganisms pathogens (virus, etc.), as well as particles in suspension and organic or radioactive substances. This implies standards of medium purity that make it suitable for free and daily consumption.
How do you get drinking water?
Drinking water comes naturally from polar ice, mountain streams or deposits in the subsoil, and generally does not require more than a simple disinfection treatment, using chlorine, ozone, exposure to ultraviolet rays or other mechanisms that eliminate the free-living microorganisms present in it.
However, these are not always available. natural resources in the vicinity and the common waters are treated for drinking, which can be carried out by one or more of the following processes:
- Filtering processes. Through decantation in various materials, filtered out of the solid particles present or stripping volatile compounds.
- Physical purification processes. Like selective evaporation, also useful for removing salt levels from sea water, or by reverse osmosis or distillation.
- Boiled. A frequent home procedure, which consists of boiling the water for a few minutes, killing the microorganisms that exist in it. However, it is ineffective against dissolved substances or physical residues.
What is drinking water for?
We use drinking water when bathing or washing, among many other uses.
Drinking water is used mainly for direct consumption, that is, to drink, cook or wash the food that we will eat. Drinking water is also what we use when bathing or washing, although in many countries a distinction is made between the water used for these purposes (the one we obtain from the pipeline) and the mineral water to drink (which is bought packaged).
Similarly, drinking water is necessary for food industry, since at the agricultural level recycled or treated water is usually used. It is used to make food and beverages, also to manufacture medicines and other products chemicals, for cleaning hospitals, etc.
Importance of drinking water
Drinking water is, although it may not seem like it, a limited resource. It is much easier to contaminate a liter of water than to make it fit for human consumption again, and billions of liters of water are consumed daily in our cities, while investment in water purification is becoming more and more expensive.
The who has warned on numerous occasions the direct relationship between the incidence and morbidity of diarrheal diseases and other epidemics, with access to drinking water in the populations disadvantaged in the world. To the extent that we do not take care of the water and reduce the impact of our civilization on it, the more exposed we will be to the health consequences that this implies.