Toast to the tap: The water we drink.

Toast to the tap: The water we drink.

Physical, chemical and biological characteristics of natural and potable water

Taken from: http://www.frro.utn.edu.ar/repositorio/catedras/civil/ing_sanitaria/Ingenieria_Sanitaria_A4_Capitulo_03_Caracteristicas_del_Agua_Potable.pdf / http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agua_potable_y_saneamiento_en_República_Dominicana

Translated By Rosa Batista

The water contains several chemical and biological substances dissolved. Since the moment the water is condensed in form of rain dissolves chemical component of its environment and flows over the ground surface. Besides the water contains living organisms that react with its physical and chemical elements. For that reason is necessary to treat the water to make it save for human consumption. The microorganisms that cause diseases make the water dangerous for human consumption.

In general, the water’s quality is judged as the grade in which it is adjusted to the physical, chemical and biological standards established by national and international rules. According to the use of the water are the requirements of quality of it.

Is important to know the requirements of quality for each use to determine if the water needs to be treated and what process have to be applying to obtain the desired quality.

Physical characteristics

Is necessary to have special care with the taste, aroma, clarity or muddiness and viscosity of the water offered, because of the bad taste and its use in the elaboration of beverages, foods and textiles. The tastes and aromas are due to (or because of) the presence of chemicals, volatiles substances and organic matter decomposed. The color of the water is due to the presence of minerals as iron, manganese, organic matter and colored residues from factories.

Chemical Characteristics

The multiples chemical compounds dissolved into the water can be from natural or industrial origin. There will be good or bad according to its composition and concentration. For example, the iron and the manganese in small quantity not only cause color, there oxidize too to form deposit inside the faucets.

The hard water is water that requires considerable quantity of soap to produce lather and form incrustations into the faucets.

Biological Characteristics

The water contains a variety of biological elements: microorganisms and fishes. The microorganisms’ origin can be natural or for the flow of the rain that carries this type of organisms into water. The quality and quantity of microorganisms accompany the physical and chemical characteristics of the water, because when the water has mild temperature and organic matter, the population of microorganisms grow and diversify. The most important microorganisms in the water are: alga and bacteria.

The biodiversity of water indicates the low probability that it is polluted, whereas the tap water will be treated to eliminate its biological elements.

Dominican Republic has attained impressive increases in access to water supply and sanitation over the past two decades. However, the quality of water supply and sanitation services remains poor, despite the country's high economic growth during the 1990s.

Various factors affect the water quality in the Dominican Republic, including: poor condition of purification systems, minimal operational controls, low level of maintenance of treatment plants, and mostly intermittent systems. 38.4% of water systems have no chlorination system installed. These are mostly smaller systems in rural areas. The fact that a chlorination system exists is not a guarantee that water is actually properly disinfected.

According to 2002 figures by the service providers only 73.6% of drinking water quality samples showed satisfactory drinking water quality, as measured by the absence of total bacteria, compared to a standard of 95%. The presence of bacteria as such is not a health menace, but the presence of coliforms is an indicator of the potential presence of pathogens.