A Guide to Clean Water Technologies

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Clean, freshwater is something we often take for granted because it is so readily available to us. But this isn’t the case in a lot of countries around the world. Everyone should have access to clean water wherever they live, which is why water charities are so important. Charities such as WaterAid and charity: water work in a variety of ways, with support from individuals and businesses, to supply developing countries with clean water and the infrastructure that supplies it.

These clean water techniques may also be used in emergency situations, such as after a natural disaster, in order to make water drinkable. Let’s look at some of the techniques and technologies used to create clean water.

Distillation

Distillation can be used to remove salt or contaminants from water to make it drinkable. This process involves heating water to evaporate it then collecting the condensation. The contaminants will be left behind and the liquid that’s collected in the form of condensation should be clean. This is an effective way of making seawater potable. This can be done manually on a small scale or in a plant on a much larger scale.

Reverse osmosis

Another similar method is reverse osmosis. This process sends the water through a partially permeable membrane. The contaminants will be too large to pass through this membrane, leaving only clean water, which can be collected after passing through the membrane. This process is usually achieved using high-pressure pumps to force the contaminated water through the membrane. Reverse osmosis is commonly used in desalination plants.

Building infrastructure

The above are solutions for turning groundwater or other forms of dirty water into clean, potable water. But water charities also aim to provide the infrastructure required for communities to continually access clean water, just like that old adage about teaching a man to fish. Here are some things a charity may construct in order to achieve this:

  • Drilled or hand-dug wells

  • Water pipe systems

  • Water purification systems

  • Gravity-fed systems

  • Rainwater catchments

  • Spring protections

The aim of these constructions is to make the community self-sufficient, so that they no longer have to rely on the charity for their supply of clean water.

There are a number of ways you can support a clean water charity. Even something small can help make a difference. Contact Mountain Park Spring Water to find out more about our spring water delivery service around North Carolina and Virginia.