Do Chemical Water Purification Methods Really Work?

 Does Chemical Water Purification Work?

 

Yes, it is able to render polluted water clean. However, while it’s good enough for everyday use (which includes drinking), fresh water far outweighs it in terms of natural benefits.

 

It is rightly said that water is the lifeline of every individual on planet earth. Fish, animals, humans, plants and every living thing, whether it is as small as bacteria or as large as an elephant, need fresh water for survival. The human body is 70% percent water and it cannot survive without it for more than three days.

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The importance and significance of water is well-known, and it is our prime need. Deserts usually have lower population than other areas, largely because of this fact. We get fresh water from rain, rivers, lakes, streams and water falling from the mountains. Humans and all living things get their water necessities fulfilled from these natural sources.

Along the natural water resources, factories and industries were built with the notion of saving time and money. Water was directly transported for their consumption from the vicinity and these resources were used for dumping the harmful waste materials of these setups. For hundreds of years and even today,  waste is dumped into fresh water. Nothing can escape the wrath of Mother Nature, and it is inevitably harming us in one way or other.

In order to survive, a purification process was developed to rid water of dangerous impurities. Pollution causes chemicals like lead, mercury, nitrates, petrochemicals, asbestos and many other pollutants to end up in water and need to be filtered out.

Do Chemicals Really “Purify” Water?

The Water Purification Process

The water purification process contains certain steps in increasing levels of severity, so that each time it is purer than before. The steps involve sedimentation, filtration and disinfection, along with other steps in between. In each stage of the process, a different technique is used to purify the water.

The disinfection part of the process is when chemicals are used to completely clean the water and make it 100% immaculate. The treatment also involves adjusting the pH of the water. Pure water is neutral — neither acidic nor basic. Neither acidic nor alkaline water can be safely consumed by humans.

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Chemical Water Purification

Chemicals commonly used for water filtration are chlorine and its compounds, ozone, ultraviolet, etc. Although these substances clean the water and make it consumable, it is highly controversial to say that filtered water is great for your health. In a nutshell, it seems like there was clean water, it got polluted with harmful compounds and elements, it went through severe treatment and there it is again, clean. But in all of this, that water which was once fresh and clean has lost a huge percentage of its beneficial nature. Treating water with more chemicals to make it filtered and consumable might make it clean enough for safe drinking and survival, but it does not stand in comparison with fresh, natural water. Fresh water isn't just good enough to help you survive, it is actually beneficial to humans.

Therefore, while water purification might be an ingenuous method to save humans from droughts and other dangers, it cannot be counted as equal to what humans have actually lost and are still losing — clean water. It is high time to realize this.

While chemically treated water is safe to drink, fresh, pure water is ideal. Check out our tips for collecting rainwater.

Have water purification or collection tips of your own? Let us know in the comments!