Water treatment

Water treatment is any process that improves the quality of water to make it appropriate for a specific end-use. The end use may be drinking, industrial water supply, irrigation, river flow maintenance, water recreation or many other uses, including being safely returned to the environment. Water treatment removes contaminants and undesirable components, or reduces their concentration so that the water becomes fit for its desired end-use. This treatment is crucial to human health and allows humans to benefit from both drinking and irrigation use.

For medical water treatment, see Water cure (therapy).

Pre- for algae control and arresting biological growth.

chlorination

along with pre-chlorination for removal of dissolved iron when present with relatively small amounts of manganese.

Aeration

Disinfection for killing bacteria, viruses and other pathogens, using chlorine, ozone and ultra-violet light.

Materials[edit]

Stainless steels, such as Type 304L and 316L, are used extensively in the fabrication of water treatment plants due to their corrosion resistance to water and to the corrosivity of chlorination used for disinfection.^[36]^[37]

Control of water pollution

Clean Water Act

(water supply & demand)

Peak water

Pulsed-power water treatment

Solar water disinfection

Raw water#Treatment

Water purification

Water quality

Water softening

Water supply

Professional / research organization

International Water Association

– Independent non-profit standards organization

NSF International

WHO Guidelines