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Drinking Water Quality and Human Health: Everyone needs to know

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The quality of drinking water plays a significant role in maintaining good health. Drinking water quality and suitability can be established by its color, taste, odor, and concentration of dissolved organic and inorganic matters. 
Analysis of pH, conductivity, turbidity, total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), total organic carbon (TOC), and heavy metals content such as As, Hg, Cu, Zn, Mg, Fe, Cd, Pb, Cr and Sn in drinking water are needed to know the quality and suitability of drinking water.

The quality of drinking water plays a significant role in maintaining good health. Drinking water quality and suitability can be established by its color, taste, odor, and concentration of dissolved organic and inorganic matters. 
Analysis of pH, conductivity, turbidity, total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), total organic carbon (TOC), and heavy metals content such as Arsenic (As), Mercury (Hg), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Magnesium (Mg), Iron (Fe), Cadmium (Cd), Lead (Pb), Chromium (Cr) and Tin (Sn) in drinking water are needed to know the quality and suitability of drinking water.
Statistics:
More than 780 million population do not have safe and clean drinking water hence suffering from water-borne diseases, resulting in 6 – 8 million people dying yearly. 
The inorganic chemicals pose a greater threat in comparison to organic chemical contamination. Heavy metals such as Lead (Pb), Mercury  (Hg), Arsenic (As), Magnesium (Mg), Nickel (Ni), Copper (Cu), Chromium (Cr), and Zinc (Zn) pose a significant risk to cause health problems as heavy metals get accumulate in human organs and hamper normal functions and growth. 
Cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, kidney-related problems, and cancer are linked to the traces of heavy metals such as chromium (Cr) and cadmium (Cd). In addition, lead (Pb) is known to hamper the physical and mental growth of infants. At the same time, arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg) can cause cancer and severe skin-related damage along with kidney and liver damage.
The presence of radioactive elements like uranium (U) in the groundwater causes high chemical toxicity and lethal effects on the human skeleton and kidneys.
Microbial infection
The risk from microbes is connected with the consumption of drinking water that is infected with human and animal excretions and causes Diarrhea.
Water quality parameters 
Turbidity 
Turbidity is the measurement of light's ability to pass through water. Turbidity is caused by suspended material such as clay, silt, organic material, plankton, and other particulate materials in water.
5 NTU Turbidity can be visible to the average person, while turbidity in muddy water may exceed 100 NTU. However, groundwater typically has very low turbidity because of the natural filtration that happens by soil.
Color and odor
Organic/inorganic matter dissolved in water imparts color to water. The taste and odor of water can be caused by foreign matter such as organic materials, inorganic compounds, or dissolved gases.
Drinking Water TDS
Solids are present in water in solution or in suspension form. Calcium and magnesium are accountable for water hardness, scale formation, and staining.
The TDS level helps to suggest whether the drinking water is suitable for consumption or requires filtration. Parts per million (PPM) is used for measuring TDS levels in the water.
TDS Level Chart for Drinking Water

TDS in water (measured in PPM)   Suitability for Drinking Water
Between 50-150  Excellent for drinking
150-250 Good
250-300 Fair
300-500  Poor, not good for drinking
Above 1200   Unacceptable

The standard method to make clean water

  1. Boiling of water: Boiling of water is an effective way of killing bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. If boiling water is not possible, chemical disinfection is an effective way to clean water.
  2. Chlorine or/iodine-based compounds are most commonly used for disinfection of drinking. Chlorination or iodination followed by activated carbon (charcoal) filter may be applied to remove excess taste/odor.

The use of iodine is not advised for long-term use 

  • by pregnant women and infants
  • those with a history of thyroid disease

The use of Silver is sometimes encouraged as a disinfectant. It is not suggested as its efficacy is uncertain, and it requires a long contact duration.

Method use Recommendation   Observations
Boiling of Water  Bring water to boil and allow to cool 
  •  Kills all pathogens
  • turbidity/cloudiness is not removed 

Use of Chlorine compounds: For typical room temperature and water temperature of 25°C and minimum contact time should be 30 minutes. Increase contact time for colder water (double time for each 10 °C less than 25 °C). 

Sodium hypochlorite Household bleach (5%) 4 drops per liter
  • An effective method to kill most bacteria and viruses
  • A longer time is required to kill Giardia cysts, especially when water is cold
  • Not effective against Cryptosporidium
Sodium dichloroisocyanurate tablet  per package directions 
  • An effective method to kill most bacteria and viruses
Calcium hypochlorite  (1% stock solution) 4 drops per liter 
  • An effective method to kill most bacteria and viruses
Flocculant-chlorine tablet or sachet  per package directions
  • Effective for killing or removing most water-borne pathogens (coagulant-flocculants partially remove Cryptosporidium)
  • Flocculated Water must be decanted preferably through a clean fabric filter before use.

Iodine Method:  Water temperature of 25 °C required minimum contact for 30 min, increase contact time for colder water. Prepare according to package instructions
Caution: Not recommended for pregnant women, people suffering from thyroid problems or infants. 

  • It kills most of the pathogens 
  • Longer contact time needed to kill Giardia cysts
  • Not effective method against Cryptosporidium
Tincture of iodine (2% solution)  5 drops per liter
Iodine (10% solution) 8 drops per liter    
Iodine tablet   1 or 2 tablets per liter  
Iodinated (triiodide or pentaiodide) resin Iodinated (triiodide or pentaiodide)  

Portable filtering devices: 
Pore size efficiencies for different pathogens (viruses, bacteria, and protozoa), and filter media pore size, must be rated at 1 µm. Water must be clear to avoid clogging of pores, and it is recommended before disinfection with chlorine or iodine if water is not boiled.

Ceramic filters
  • 1 µm or less filter pore size will remove Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and other protozoa
  • Filters will not eliminate most bacteria and viruses with a pore size larger than 1 µm.
  • Carbon filters 
  • Microfilter, 
  • Ultrafilter, 
  • Nano filter
  • Reverse osmosis 
  • 1 µm or less filter pore size will remove Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and other protozoa
  • Filters will not eliminate most bacteria and viruses with a pore size larger than 1 µm.

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