Water Quality Management Dr.

Medalla
(July 28, 2012)

Functions of Water

Power production from hydropower &

steam generation
Commercial & industrial processes
Agricultural purposes
Residential & commercial fire
protection
Process of carrying away human &
industrial wastes

Properties of Water

Pure water is clear, colorless,

tasteless & odourless
Strong solvent
Water is seldom appropriate for
human use w/o some kind of
treatment
Freezes at 0c & 100c
Specific heat & surface tension is high
Important constituent of all living
matter
Medium of transferring nutrients
Medium of removing waste materials
from the human body
Maintaining thermostability through
heat transfer andevaporation
Hard water will consume a lot of soap
due to high concentration of Ca and
Mg

Microbial Water Contaminants

Radiologic Water Contaminants

Potential contaminants or parents of

daughter contaminants born of
reactions of these compounds with
other compounds
Toxicity, potential human effects &
carcinogenic potential

May be naturally occurring or manmade

Water-Borne Disease Outbreak

Criteria
1. >2 individuals must have experienced
similar symptoms
Susceptible Subpopulations at Risk

Pregnant women & developing

foetuses
Neonates, infants & children
Geriatric patients
Immunosuppressed individuals
Patient undergoing
immunosuppressive therapy
Patient treated with chemotherapeutic
agents
Patient with pre-existing clinical
disorders or chronic diseases resulting
from impairment of the renal, hepatic
or immunologic system

Water Purification Process

Water-borne pathogen disease trends

are constantly changing and evolving
3 categories: Bacterial, Protozoan,
Enteric Viruses

Chemical Water Contaminants

May result from industrial & municipal

discharges, urban road runoff &
reaction of chlorine w/ natural organics
Acceptable levels of contaminants in
water

Coagulation
o Chemical addition, mixing and
flocculation
o Production of flocs
o Principal coagulants used: Alum
& Ferric salts
o Lime & soda ash may be added
to increase alkalinity of water
Sedimentation
o Effluent from flocculation tank
are led to sedimentation tank
o Detention time varies from 2-6
hrs
Management of Sludge
o Sludge: materials that falls to
the bottom of water treatment
tanks

Considered as pollutant and

must be reclaimed and disposed
of properly
Filtration
o Conventional filter is
approximately 1 meter in depth
o Composed of sand grains
varying in size
o Rest on a bed of graded gravel
with small orifices
Disinfection
o Chlorine: single most important
process
o Properties of water
disinfectants:
Effectively remove
sensitive bacteria, viruses
and amebic cysts
Remain non-toxic and
tasteless
o Reasons for looking for
alternative methods of
disinfection:
Chlorine imparts an
undesirable taste and
odor
Reaction of chlorine with
organic matter has
o

resulted to formation of
reaction by-product
o Other methods:
Boiling
Corrosion Inhibition
o More corrosive because of
addition of coagulants and
chlorine
Ion Exchange
o Resins from both natural &
synthetic sources are used
o Most common are zeolites
Removes Ca and Mg,
replacing them with Na

Examination of Water

Bacteriological
o Most important single test
o Made to detect the presence of
indicator organism
Physical
Chemical
Radiological

Treatment Methods

< 50 alone Chlorination

50-5,000 treatment