What is Potable Water and How is Water Purified?

What is Potable Water and How is Water Purified?

Portable Water

Drinking water or the water that is fit for consumption and food preparation is also called Potable water.

How is water purified?

• In order to prevent water pollution, water from households, industries and other sources is treated in a sewage treatment plant and then it is released into the water bodies.
• Also, water from the water bodies is treated before passing it on to the households and other industries to ensure that it is fit for usage.

How water is made safe for drinking?

1. Filtration: it is a physical method of removing impurities from water. Many households use water purifiers that can filter water and make it safe for drinking.
2. Boiling: it kills the germs present in the water. Many people boil water before drinking it.​
3. Chlorination: Chlorine is a natural cleaning agent for water which makes it fit for consumption. Often chlorine tablets are added in water to remove impurities from it.

How to Prevent Water Pollution?

1. Industries should strictly adhere to the laws and do not dispose of untreated sewage water into the rivers or any other water body directly.
2. More water treatment plants should be established near the industrial areas.
3. We should save water as much as we can, for example, we can make sure that there are no leaking taps in the houses.
4. We should reuse water if we can, for example, the water that we use for washing clothes can also be used for cleaning the house floors.