Water and Water Treatment

The UK 's water supply comes from various sources such as ground water supplies, rivers and reservoirs or boreholes.

Due to the variability in the water source, the overall water quality will vary around the country.

Water is often classified by its hardness content ie its ability to lather up or not, and therefore the amount of "scale" that can be seen on surfaces. The harder the water the more calcium carbonate content there is.

The hardness or calcium content is one of the many inorganic substances found in water, additionally there will be organic substances, living matter and gases

Water utility companies are only required to treat the water to remove those substances that are either poisonous such as certain heavy metals or highly infectious bacteria such as E.coli. This water is then perfectly safe for drinking and is known as potable water.

Widely used as a solvent water is treated or purified to meet the needs of many different industrial and healthcare requirements

Water treatment or Water Purification techniques are used to purify the water to meet recognised quality standards. Traditionally the term Water Treatment relates to the treatment of water by chemicals. Water treatment is now often referred to as water purification as this more generic term reflects the non chemical methods of water treatment often used today.

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