Installing water wells in India is the first step to providing safe drinking water, but well water treatment will ensure India has drinkable water. Here's how it works.
Humans need water to live, yet water poses some of the greatest health risks. A World Health Organization report on water sanitation reveals that 5.7% of poor health and disability and 4% of all death in the world occurs due to exposure to unsafe drinking water.
India does not contain an abundance of safe, clean drinking water. Though several rivers run through the country, the high population density creates serious sanitation problems. This leaves the need for fresh water from other sources.
Building wells in India creates a way for the people to access clean drinking water, a limited resource in that part of the world. However, this makes well water treatment a necessary new focus for the country.
Well Water Treatment for Safe Water in India
Though installing wells finally provides the people access to fresh water, well water treatment is necessary to produce potable water. Keep reading to learn more about wells and how to make well water safe for drinking.
What Is a Well?
A well refers to a structure that opens a path through the ground, tapping into an area called the water table. Attached buckets with pulleys or pipes with pumps allow people to lift the water out of the ground for use.
Is Well Water Safe to Drink?
Unfortunately, fresh water does not necessarily mean safe, drinkable water. Water does not come out of the ground ready to drink. Many contaminates tarnish India's well water, including the following:
- Fertilizers
- Pesticides
- Nitrates
- Heavy metals like arsenic and iron
- Other toxins from landfill and industrial runoff
- Natural microbes from the soil
Any of these contaminants can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, general illnesses, nervous system disorders, mental retardation, physical disabilities, and even death.
Well water treatment makes it possible to avoid these health issues.
How Well Water Treatment Works
Measures must be taken for the people in India to safely drink well water. They include the following:
Testing the Well Water
Testing the well water will tell the person maintaining the well which contaminants to filter out and treat. Testing can get costly, so choosing broad spectrum treatments is common.
Distilling the Water
This process involves using heat to evaporate the water through tubing. Successful distillation catches all of the solids into one area and sends the pure water through to another.
Filtering the Water
Water filtration can help remove many of the larger contaminants, like solid waste, metals, and salts. Small screens to more complex filtration systems can work to catch much of the waste.
UNICEF and WSP worked together to create an affordable and effective filter. Their ceramic filter design is based around poking tiny holes into clay. These remove nearly all bacteria and protozoa from the water.
Purifying the Water
Filtration systems may not eliminate microbes from the water. This requires disinfection to deactivate or kill the bacteria.
You can physically disinfect well water with ultraviolet light, extreme heat, and electronic radiation. Chemical purification options include silver, chlorine, or ozone.
Every Human Deserves Clean Water
Clean water is a basic human right, not a privilege. So well water treatment is imperative for India's new wells.
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