One of the key factors for living and being healthy is taking enough water during the day. It is recommended that adults should consume at least two litres of water a day. Even though it is essential for our existence, there is a gradual decrease in drinking water on the planet and there are people in some African states struggling to get even the small amounts of drinking water. The water they can find is stored in wells and it is almost impossible for the households to have regular water supplies.
Unfortunately, this water is usually infected with bacteria or viruses that cause irreparable health damage. All of this is said with a purpose to emphasize the importance of pure drinking water and the water we have is not as pure as we assume. This water should be characterized as chemically stable instead of pure drinking water since it contains purifying chemicals such as chlorine as well as the particles it picks up when it is transferred to our households. So, to prove the hypothesis of a healthy soul in a healthy body, here are some reasons why high-quality water is one of the key factors for well-being.
What Particles We Can Find in the Drinking Water?
Surface water and drinking water can be polluted with various chemicals, bacteria, viruses, fungi, microbes, and radionuclides. For years, water infections caused dramatic outbreaks of the diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and hepatitis, and ever since water filtration was introduced in wider use, it subdued. The potential risk for these diseases are still wells which are, in some areas, the only source of drinking water, and since it is not home-based, they cannot be connected to the water filtration system. Luckily, you can purify well water by installing water treatment systems. When choosing the best option, they do not differ considerably from the regular water filters so you can find water softeners, distillers, disinfection systems, whole house filters, etc. which are quite effective ways to purify water and get rid of all impurities and damaging particles. The use of the filter will mainly depend on the type of contaminants and water characteristics.
The Most Common Water Contaminants
Speaking of the most common water contaminants, we conclude that the majority are the chemicals in everyday use while a small amount falls on the contaminants of natural origin. Hence, the most common water contaminants come from industry and agriculture, treatment and distribution, human and animal waste, as well as natural sources.
- Industry and agriculture include products containing organic solvents, heavy metals from the storage facilities and disposal sites, petroleum products. Water on its way to the aquifers usually got contaminated with these substances. Not only are the industry chemicals risky, but agriculture can be a serious source of pollution as well. Pesticides and fertilizers can also be a huge problem since these can be carried to the water sources with rainfall or snowmelt, or can even penetrate aquifers.
- Treatment and distribution are yet another cause of serious water pollution. While these treatments are used to decontaminate the water from many damaging particles, these treatments, on the other hand, influence water quality to the great extent. Truth to be said, water can get contaminated once it enters the distribution system and hence it can contain chemicals such as heavy metals caused by the corrosion of the piping elements, such as lead or copper.
- Human and animal waste from sewage and septic systems can interfere with drinking water. The problem arises when the water gets contaminated with this waste that contains harmful microbes and chemicals that can cause serious health issues. Additionally, animal waste from feedlots and wildlife can be serious water pollutants.
- Natural sources are not as usual as artificial sources of pollution. Namely, as water travels through the ground, it can pick up some harmful contaminants of natural origin such as arsenic, some heavy metals, as well as radionuclides. Also, natural catastrophes are responsible for some terminal pollution of the drinking water sources.
All previously mentioned contaminants are the ones that often occur in drinking water and can cause some long-term health problems. The point is that most people are not aware that drinking contaminated water for a long time can cause serious conditions and some of them even with terminal outcomes. This is just yet another reason why having a filtration system in your home is highly needed. Luckily, numerous technologies can help you with this process both in your home and well. However, these systems are quite pricey but are a worthy investment if we take into consideration the fact that they will be used for a very long time and that will pay for themselves.
Effects of Contaminated Water on Your Health
Drinking contaminated water, depending on the number of contaminants, can cause the occurrence of some serious health issues that can influence your well-being. Some contaminants are more dangerous than others. Some types of cyanides that penetrate the water can cause an almost instant reaction while some can make changes in your organism gradually. Constant exposure to some damaging particles changes the structure of the cell making it work against our body which is the core of a great number of diseases. In line with this, contaminants that can be found in the water can lead to health effects depending on the type of contaminant, the concentration in water, the amount of water you consume daily, and for how long you have been exposed to the contaminants. So, to better explain this, there are two types of intoxication: chemical exposure and disease-causing microbes.
Drinking water containing chemical particles can lead to a whole variety of long-term and short-term health conditions. Some of the health issues you can face as the result of long-term chemical exposure include skin discolouration, reproductive organs damage, problems with the nervous system, internal organ damage, as well as developmental problems. Exposure to a small number of chemical particles can have an equally negative effect on your health as the higher concentrations, hence, long exposure to a small number of contaminants can cause long-term diseases such as cancer. However, there is still some research to be done to get more information about other outcomes of the long exposure to chemical contaminants.
Potential Health Effect
On the other hand, there is also exposure to health-damaging microbes. The most dangerous waterborne diseases are cholera and typhoid fever. The first symptoms of water intoxication are stomach pain, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and kidney infection. It is important to note that if you are facing these problems for a long time and there is no other physical cause, then they are most probably caused by contaminated water. Another serious disease caused by harmful microbes is hepatitis and a weakened immune system. Unfortunately, hepatitis can be fatal for people facing some immune system problems as for people having cancer or AIDS. These are just some of the potential health problems caused by contaminated water, while, on the other hand, depending on the type of contaminants, there are different responses. Different water filtration systems employ different technologies extracting all of these particles and leaving completely pure water. Depending on the type of filtration system, some of them are more efficient than the other ones.
Types of Water Filtration Systems
Namely, there are a couple of main types of water filtration systems and these include mechanical, absorption, sequestration, ion exchange, and reverse osmosis filters.
- Mechanical filters remove sediment, dirt, and some other particles. There is a whole variety of different mechanical filters going from the basic mesh to the complex ceramic filter composition catching ultra-fine and pathogenic organisms.
- Absorption filters are most commonly made of carbon and are used for eliminating waterborne contaminants. The main reason for the filters made of carbon is the fact that it is composed of a huge number of nooks and crannies catching chemical impurities such as chlorine and some other chemical particles.
- Sequestration filters use the technology of the chemical isolation of harmful matters.
- Ion exchange filters use the principle of water softening by exchanging calcium and magnesium ions contained in the hard water with some other ions such as sodium and hydrogen ions.
- Lastly, reverse osmosis is the process that removes all the dissolved organic particles such as magnesium and calcium ions. During the process, water is forced through the semipermeable membrane under huge pressure, and as the water passes through the membrane, all the harmful contaminants are left in the membrane, while pure water is the result of this high pressure.
Pure water is the base for well-being and is the unique source of life. Indeed, only a small percentage of all water on the planet Earth is drinking water. However, drinking water is not entirely pure because of the different factors such as natural or industrial ones and it is why having good-quality filtration systems is mandatory for keeping your home supplied with pure water and bills for endless water bottles considerably lower.
Nina Burkovskaya is a senior content writer at Raisetwice since 2020. She has 12 years of yoga experience and 5 years experience of motivational coaching. On a free time loves to read biographies of the famous people and go for a walk with her dog.