Water treatment describes those industrial-scale processes used to make water more acceptable for a desired end-use. These can include use for drinking water, industry, medical and many other uses. Such processes may be contrasted with small-scale water sterilization practiced by campers and other people in wilderness areas. The goal of all water treatment process is to remove existing contaminants in the water, or reduce the concentration of such contaminants so the water becomes fit for its desired end-use. One such use is returning water that has been used back into the natural environment without adverse ecological impact.
The processes involved in treating water for drinking purpose may be solids separation using physical processes such as settling and filtration, and chemical processes such as disinfection and coagulation.
Biological processes are employed in the treatment of wastewater and these processes may include, for example, aerated lagoons, activated sludge or slow sand filters.
Read more about Water Treatment: Potable Water Purification, Sewage Treatment, In Developing Countries, Industrial Water Treatment
Famous quotes containing the words water and/or treatment:
“We’ve only just begun to learn about the water and its secrets, just as we’ve only touched on outer space. We don’t entirely rule out the possibility that there might be some form of life on another planet. Then why not some entirely different form of life in a world we already know is inhabited by millions of living creatures?”
—Harry Essex (b. 1910)
“Judge Ginsburg’s selection should be a model—chosen on merit and not ideology, despite some naysaying, with little advance publicity. Her treatment could begin to overturn a terrible precedent: that is, that the most terrifying sentence among the accomplished in America has become, “Honey—the White House is on the phone.””
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)