10.1.1

Potable Water & its Sources

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Potable Water

We need to drink water to stay alive. But, water is often found with other substances dissolved in it. These substances can be harmful so we treat water to make it potable (safe for human consumption).

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Reduce concentrations of microbes

  • To make water potable, we need to drastically reduce the number of microbes found in it.
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Reduce concentrations of dissolved minerals and salts

  • To make water potable, we need to reduce the concentrations of dissolved minerals and salts found in the water.
  • We do not eradicate the minerals and salts from the water completely.
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Potable does not mean 'chemically pure'

  • If water is potable, it does not mean that it has to be chemically pure.
    • Being chemically pure is defined as being made up of just H2O molecules.

Sources of Potable Water

Potable water can be obtained from:

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Fresh water

  • Fresh water only needs filtering and sterilising.
  • It is the easiest source to treat.
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Seawater

  • Seawater is the most expensive source to treat because of the large amounts of energy needed to desalinate the water.
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Waste water

  • Treatment of waste water involves many steps.
  • Less energy is used to treat waste water than to desalinate seawater.

Jump to other topics

1Atomic Structure

2Chemical Bonding

3Quantitative Chemistry

4Chemical Changes

5Energy Changes

6The Rate & Extent of Chemical Change

7Organic Chemistry

8Chemical Analysis

9Chemistry of the Atmosphere

10Using Resources

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