POLLUTION

AND
CONSERVATIO
N OF WATER
BY: SEMAASHALINI RAJAH

WATER
POLLUTION
-Water pollution
is the contamination of water bodies
(e.g. lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater).
This form of environmental degradation occurs when
pollutants are directly or indirectly discharged into
water bodies without adequate treatment to remove
harmful compounds.

-Water pollution affects the entire biosphere plants

and organisms living in these bodies of water. In almost
all cases the effect is damaging not only to individual
species and population, but also to the natural
biological communities.

CONTROLLING WATER POLLUTION

DO NOT pour fat from cooking or any other type of fat, oil, or grease
down the sink
DO NOT flush pills, liquid or powder medications or drugs down the
toilet. Avoid using the toilet as a wastebasket. Most tissues, wrappers,
dust cloths, and other paper goods should be properly discarded in a
wastebasket. The fiber reinforced cleaning products that have become
popular should never be discarded in the toilet.
Avoid using a garbage disposal. Keep solid wastes solid. Make a
compost pile from vegetable scraps.
Install a water efficient toilet. In the meantime, put a brick or 1/2 gal
container in the standard toilet tank to reduce water use per flush.
Run the dishwasher or clothes washer only when you have a full load.
This conserves electricity and water.

PURIFICATION OF WATER

Water purificationis the process of removing undesirable

chemicals, biological contaminants, suspended solids and
gases from contaminated water. The goal is to produce water
fit for a specific purpose. Most water is disinfected for human
consumption (drinking water), but water purification may also
be designed for a variety of other purposes, including fulfilling
the requirements of medical, pharmacological, chemical and
industrial applications. The methods used include physical
processes such asfiltration,sedimentation, anddistillation;
biological processes such asslow sand filtersor
biologically active carbon; chemical processes such as
flocculationandchlorinationand the use of electromagnetic
radiation such asultraviolet light.

 Filtration (PMR 2008)

1. Filtration makes use of a filter through which liquids such as water and solutions pass through
while insoluble solids do not.

2. The liquid that pass through the filter is called the filtrate.

3. The solid that is left on the filter is called the residue.

2 Distillation)
1. When mixture of water and impurities is heated until it boils, only the water changes into
steam while its impurities are left behind.

2. The steam is then cooled and condensed to produce pure water

Sedimentation

1. A mixture of water and heavy insoluble solids will separate after a while. 2. The solids will
settle or sink to the bottom as sediments due to gravity.

Ultraviolet Light
t Ultraviolet Light can kill micro-organisms in water.

 Boiling (PMR 2008)

1. Boiling water kill most, if not all, micro-organisms present in the water.

2. All drinking water must be boiled.

Some of the bacteria may be harmful. (diarrhoea and cholera)

Chlorination)
1. Chlorination is a gas which an kill micro-organisms.

2. When chlorine is added into water, most micro-organisms are killed and the
dissolved gas will leave the water after some time.

Ozone

1. Ozone is another gas that can kill micro-organisms in water.

WAYS OF CONSERVING WATER

1. Check faucets and pipes for leaks
A small drip from a worn faucet washer can waste 20 gallons of water per day. Larger leaks can waste
hundreds of gallons.
2. Don't use the toilet as an ashtray or wastebasket
Every time you flush a cigarette butt, facial tissue or other small bit of trash, five to seven gallons of water is
wasted.
3. Check your toilets for leaks
Put a little food coloring in your toilet tank. If, without flushing, the color begins to appear in the bowl within
30 minutes, you have a leak that should be repaired immediately. Most replacement parts are inexpensive
and easy to install.
4. Use your water meter to check for hidden water leaks
Read the house water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter
does not read exactly the same, there is a leak.
5. Install water-saving shower heads and low-flow faucet aerators
Inexpensivewater-saving low-flow shower heads or restrictors are easy for the homeowner to install. Also, long,
hot showers can use five to ten gallons every unneeded minute. Limit your showers to the time it takes to
soap up, wash down and rinse off. "Low-flow" means it uses less than 2.5 gallons per minute.


6. Put plastic bottles or float booster in your toilet tank
To cut down on water waste, put an inch or two of sand or pebbles inside each of two plastic
bottles to weigh them down. Fill the bottles with water, screw the lids on, and put them in your
toilet tank, safely away from the operating mechanisms. Or, buy an inexpensivetank bankor float
booster.This may save ten or more gallons of water per day.
Be sure at least 3 gallons of water remain in the tank so it will flush properly. If there is not
enough water to get a proper flush, users will hold the lever down too long or do multiple flushes
to get rid of waste. Two flushings at 1.4 gallons is worse than a single 2.0 gallon flush. A better
suggestion would be to buy anadjustable toilet flapper that allow for adjustment of their per flush
use. Then the user can adjust the flush rate to the minimum per flush setting that achieves a
single good flush each time.
For new installations, consider buying "low flush" toilets, which use 1 to 2 gallons per flush
instead of the usual 3 to 5 gallons.
Replacing an 18 liter per flush toilet with an ultra-low volume (ULV) 6 liter flush model represents
a 70% savings in water flushed and will cut indoor water use by about 30%.
7. Insulate your water pipes.
It's easy and inexpensive toinsulate your water pipes with pre-slit foam pipe insulation. You'll get
hot water faster plus avoid wasting water while it heats up.