Ten Tips to Maintain Water Quality

Water is important to our daily lives. As we know, the water quality has been worsening these days. Here are ten tips to maintain water quality at home : 

❄ Clean faucets and aerators regularly

❄ Clean and disinfect sinks and drains regularly

❄ Keep drains clear and unclogged

❄ Use cold water for drinking and preparing food

❄ Replace old plumbing and install certified “lead free” fixtures

❄ Flush cold water taps after household plumbing work or when the water hasn’t been used for several days

❄ Drain and flush your hot water heater annually

❄ Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the water heater, filters, treatment devices, softeners   and any other products attached to the water system

❄ Do not connect hoses or other devices intended for non-drinking purposes to household drinking water faucets

❄ Keep hazardous chemicals and unsanitary materials away from drinking water faucets

Properties of Water

Water (H
2O) is a polar inorganic compound that is at room temperature a tasteless and temperature a tasteless and odorless liquid, nearly colorless with a hint of blue. It is an important solvent for polar molecules in chemistry; it is known as the "universal solvent" for its ability to dissolve many substances.^[8] It is commonly found in its solid, liquid, and gas forms in nature.

Water has hydrogen bonding and is strongly polar. This polarity allows it to separate ions in salts and strongly bond to other polar substances such as alcohols and acids, thus dissolving them. Its hydrogen bonding causes its many unique properties, such as having a solid form less dense than its liquid form, a relatively high boiling point of 100 °C for its molar mass, and a high heat capacity.

Water is amphoteric, meaning it is both an acid and a base—it produces H+ and OH− ions by self ionization. This regulates the concentrations of H+ and OH− ions in water.

Because water is a very good solvent, water is rarely pure and some of its properties vary from those of the pure substance. However, there are also many compounds that are essentially, if not completely, insoluble in water, such as fats, oils and other nonpolar substances.

Various Types of Water Pollution

There are many types of water pollution because water comes from many sources. Here are a few types of water pollution:

1. Nutrients Pollution
Some wastewater, fertilizers and sewage contain high levels of nutrients. If they end up in water bodies, they encourage algae and weed growth in the water. This will make the water undrinkable, and even clog filters. Too much algae will also use up all the oxygen in the water, and other water organisms in the water will die out of oxygen starvation.

2. Surface water pollution
Surface water includes natural water found on the earth's surface, like rivers, lakes, lagoons and oceans. Hazardous substances coming into contact with this surface water, dissolving or mixing physically with the water can be called surface water pollution.

3. Oxygen Depleting
Water bodies have micro-organisms. These include aerobic and anaerobic organisms. When too much biodegradable matter (things that easily decay) end up in water, it encourages more microorganism growth, and they use up more oxygen in the water. If oxygen is depleted, aerobic organisms die, and anaerobic organisms grow more to produce harmful toxins such as ammonia and sulfides.

4. Ground water pollution
When humans apply pesticides and chemicals to soils, they are washed deep into the ground by rainwater. This gets to underground water, causing pollution underground.
This means when we dig wells and bore holes to get water from underground, it needs to be checked for ground water pollution.

5. Microbiological
In many communities in the world, people drink untreated water (straight from a river or stream). Sometimes there is natural pollution caused by microorganisms like viruses, bacteria and protozoa. This natural pollution can cause fishes and other water life to die. They can also cause serious illness to humans who drink from such waters.

6. Suspended Matter
Some pollutants (substances, particles and chemicals) do not easily dissolve in water. This kind of material is called particulate matter. Some suspended pollutants later settle under the water body. This can harm and even kill aquatic organisms that live at the bottom of water bodies.

7. Chemical Water Pollution
Many industries and farmers work with chemicals that end up in water. This is common with Point-source Pollution. These include chemicals that are used to control weeds, insects and pests. Metals and solvents from industries can pollute water bodies. These are poisonous to many forms of aquatic life and may slow their development, make them infertile and kill them.

8. Oil Spillage
Oil spills usually have only a localized effect on wildlife but can spread for miles. The oil can cause the death to many fish and get stuck to the feathers of seabirds causing them to lose their ability to fly. 

http://eschooltoday.com/pollution/water-pollution/types-of-water-pollution.html

Sources of Water

Water is a renewable resource. Uses of water include agricultural, industrial, household, recreational and environmental activities. The majority of human uses require fresh water.

Surface water

Surface water is water in a river, lake or fresh water wetland. Surface water is naturally replenished by precipitation and naturally lost through discharge to the oceans, evaporation, evapotranspiration and groundwater recharge. 

☑ Brazil is the country estimated to have the largest supply of fresh water in the world, followed by Russia and Canada

Under river flow

Throughout the course of a river, the total volume of water transported downstream will often be a combination of the visible free water flow together with a substantial contribution flowing through rocks and sediments that underlie the river and its floodplain called the hyporheic zone. For many rivers in large valleys, this unseen component of flow may greatly exceed the visible flow. The hyporheic zone often forms a dynamic interface between surface water and groundwater from aquifers, exchanging flow between rivers and aquifers that may be fully charged or depleted. This is especially significant in karst areas where pot-holes and underground rivers are common.

hyporheic zone:  a region beneath and alongside a stream bed, where there is mixing of shallow groundwater and surface water. 

Groundwater

Groundwater is fresh water located in the subsurface pore space of soil and rocks. It is also water that is flowing within aquifers below the water table. Sometimes it is useful to make a distinction between groundwater that is closely associated with surface water and deep groundwater in an aquifer (sometimes called "fossil water"). The natural input to groundwater is seepage from surface water. The natural outputs from groundwater are springs and seepage to the oceans.

Frozen water

Several schemes have been proposed to make use of icebergs as a water source, however to date this has only been done for research purposes. Glacier runoff is considered to be surface water.

The Himalayas, which are often called "The Roof of the World", contain some of the most extensive and rough high altitude areas on Earth as well as the greatest area of glaciers and permafrost outside of the poles. 

Desalination

Desalination is an artificial process by which saline water (generally sea water) is converted to fresh water. The most common desalination processes are distillation and reverse osmosis. Desalination is currently expensive compared to most alternative sources of water, and only a very small fraction of total human use is satisfied by desalination. It is only economically practical for high-valued uses (such as household and industrial uses) in arid areas. The most extensive use is in the Persian Gulf.

Functions of Water in the Human Body

Water plays an important role in maintaining our health. Nearly all of the major systems in our body depend on water. Do you know why?

The function of water in the human body includes:
☞ Regulates the body temperature.
☞ Moistens tissues such as those in the mouth, eyes and nose
☞ Lubricates joints
☞ Protects body organs and tissues
☞ Prevents constipation
☞ Lessens the burden on the kidneys and liver by flushing out waste products
☞ Helps dissolve minerals and other nutrients to make them accessible to the body
☞ Carries nutrients and oxygen to cells.

Introduction to Water

Water (chemical formula: H₂O) is a transparent fluid which forms the world's streams, lakes, oceans and rain, and is the major constituent of the fluids of organisms. Water is a liquid at standard ambient temperature and pressure, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice and gaseous state, steam (water vapor). It also exists as snow, fog, dew and cloud.

Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface. It is vital for all known forms of life.Water on Earth moves continually through the water cycle of evaporation and transpiration (evapotranpiration), condensation, precipitation, and runoff, usually reaching the sea. Evaporation and transpiration contribute to the precipitation over land. Water used in the production of a good or service is known as virtual water.

Safe drinking water is essential to humans and other lifeforms even though it provides no calories or organic nutrients. Access to safe drinking water has improved over the last decades in almost every part of the world, but approximately one billion people still lack access to safe water and over 2.5 billion lack access to adequate sanitation.There is a clear correlation between access to safe water andgross domestic product per capita. However, some observers have estimated that by 2025 more than half of the world population will be facing water-based vulnerability. A report, issued in November 2009, suggests that by 2030, in some developing regions of the world, water demand will exceed supply by 50%. Water plays an important role in the world economy, as it functions as a solvent for a wide variety of chemical substances and facilitates industrial cooling and transportation. 

per capita: for each person; in relation to people taken individually.