Water Treatment Process

Water is consumed by every living creatures on earth. Our daily activities require us to use a large amount of water which is available easily to us by just turning the valve at the end of a pipe. The water that is being used daily by consumers is treated water that can be safely drank directly from the tap. How is the water being treated?

It start from the source where the raw water is taken. Raw water is the untreated water with a lot of unhealthy elements in it. Raw water can't be utilize directly without being treated due to the contents which will cause bad effect to the health. The raw water for example from the river will be pumped to a pond for an initial process called aeration. Aeration is a process of circulation the water which in this case to ensure more air into the water. Aeration usually done by a device called aerator which will circulate the water to the air. 

Photo: Aeration Tank 



After the aeration process, the water will flow to the flocculation tank for flocculation and coagulation process. Flocculation and coagulation is the process to separate suspended solids from the water. In this process, the suspended solids will form a colloid that will become heavier and drop to the bottom of the water. The coagulation and flocculation will only happen by the aid of chemicals which in common water treatment processes are Alum and polymers.

Photo: Colloids forms in flocculation



The next process is called sedimentation. Sedimentation is the process of settling the suspended solids or colloids formed in flocculation and collection of sludge or the suspended solids. In this process, the water will become clearer than in the previous process. The sludge in the sedimentation process will move down to the bottom of the tank and will be collected for disposal by a mechanical system.

Photo: Sedimentation tank



The final step is filtration. Filters are being used to remove the fine particles that are still present in the water. Water will flow through the filter by gravity action from top to the bottom of the filter and will be collected by an underdrain system. The water then will be stored in a tank as clear water.

Before the water is safe to be drank, some chemicals need to be dosed to eliminate biological threats such as bacteria. Some common chemicals used are chlorine solution, fluoride solution and soda solution. These chemicals are used not only to eliminate the micro organisms, but also to correct the state or condition of the water such as acidity so that is is suitable to be consumed. The information above are the basic of water treatment process. However, the process might be different for different locations on earth due to the geographical and environmental condition of the place.