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Your Doorway to an In-Depth Treasury of Water Information

The purpose of WATERFAQS.COM is to provide sensible, unbiased information regarding the quality, processing, testing and evaluation of water for drinking and industrial purposes.

Areas that will be addressed include:

• water sources
• filtration
• processing
• transportation and delivery
• testing of water for drinking, as well as industrial purposes such as food, cosmetics, and drugs.

Sources of water originate primarily from:

• rivers
• lakes
• deep wells
• artesian wells
• springs

Each type of source presents advantages and disadvantages from a quality point of view, as well as actually acquiring significant amounts of water from it.  As all of these sources are basically dependent on snow and rainfall recharge, processing of the water is dependent on the impurities acquired during recharge.

Some of the more common means of treating water include:

• simple disinfection methods such as chlorination and chloramination
• more elaborate methods include ozonation, chlorine dioxide, and ultraviolet radiation.

The method used will be directly related to the impurities present, physical characteristics of the water, and intended end use.

Filtration of the water to improve physical and aesthetic qualities range from:

• particulate filters, such as gravel, sand, cartridge filters, and bag filters
• more complex methods such as carbon filtration, and advanced applications of ozonation, and chlorination.

Many home point-of-use (POU) devices utilize these more simple means of treatment.  This site will provide solid information regarding evaluation of different types of home systems, and whether or not they might help provide you with the water you need.

Removal of specific chemicals, or alteration of chemical qualities, involves the use of:

• reverse osmosis, ion exchange, distillation, and nano-filtration
• pretreatments such filtration, aeration, addition of chemicals, temperature adjustment, or the use of several treatments in series.

The type of treatment used, and the level of the efficiency generated, will be driven by end-use requirements and applicable regulations, economics, wastewater limitations and other personal and business considerations. More advanced POUs may utilize some of these methods, and this site will help you decide if they might be of benefit to you.

Transportation of water will have a direct impact on the quality and quantity of water delivered.  Piping, tanks, meters, valves, and any materials coming into contact with the water may impact quality.  The extent of the impact depends on the quality parameters of the water, as well as the type of contact materials involved.  Information will be provided which will help you evaluate how systems may affect your water quality.

Bottles water companies, water vending machines, soft drink and alcoholic beverage bottlers, ice companies, and other commercial suppliers of water products will deliver to you a range of water qualities depending on the variety and combination of treatment processes, desired quality, economics, and equipment utilized.  You should be able to contact any company to obtain information on the source, treatment, and quality of the water used in their products.  The information on this site will help you ask the right questions.

And last, but not least, many of the multitudes of analytical methods for testing and evaluating the quality of water will be reviewed on this site.  Some of the more common methods evaluated are used for the analyses of:

• organic content
• inorganic concentrations
• microbiological qualities

This information will provide you with some background in order to better understand analytical results provided to you by municipalities, vendors of treatment devices and bottled water, or as part of your own water-related project.