The Secrets To Clean Water In Rural Areas
We explore available solutions and go through their differences for the secrets to clean water in rural areas, so that you can figure out the most suitable option for you.
26/03/2020
While natural groundwater is typically protected against contamination, it still can’t be a reliable source of clean water. Drilling for groundwater is rather expensive, and sometimes these water sources are high in heavy metals. This means that it might also need to be purified. Surface water sources, on the other hand, are generally highly polluted. These problems may escalate when we consider rural areas and their water scarcity problem on top of having a polluted water supply.
The only logical solution for the water crisis our world is facing today is to start investing more in the different water purification methods that are available for household use; this way, we can ensure the cleanliness of our water supply. Three reliable solutions are commonly used to get clean, drinkable water; charcoal filtration, reverse osmosis, and water distillation are considered to be the best water cleaning solutions. Right here, we will explore these available solutions and go through their differences so that you can figure out the most suitable option for you.
What Is Water Pollution And Its Causes?
Before we begin to understand the different methods that are available to purify water, we need to understand what causes water to be polluted. Water pollution occurs due to different harmful substances; usually microorganisms and chemicals. These contaminants affect water quality, taste, and color. Water is known as “a universal solvent” for a reason; its ability to dissolve any substance is much higher than any other liquid on earth.
Distillation
People who live in rural areas usually suffer from contaminated tap water, whether it’s bacteria, metals, or other chemicals. That’s why it’s essential to pick a purification method that will provide you with clean drinkable water to ensure that your health is not affected by contaminants. Distillation is the oldest method that is used for cleaning water. Installing a water distiller at your house will not only ensure the cleanliness of water from bacteria and germs, but it also produces water that is free from any harmful chemicals or contaminants. The process depends on vaporizing water at a low boiling point.
That means that the resulting steam is much cleaner than tap water. When the steam condenses, you can be sure of the water quality that it produces. Water distillers also have fair prices and require little to no maintenance.
Filtration
The concept of filtration can be explained simply by taking the example of gas masks. These masks filter out any poisonous chemicals using carbon filtration. Charcoal filtration depends on the high surface area that activated charcoal has. It’s also very porous. The high surface area works by absorbing all kinds of impurities and harmful chemicals. Thus, when tap water passes through carbon, it gets rids of any contaminants it might have.
The biggest drawback to using carbon filtration as a method for purifying water is the constant maintenance routine you must keep up with. Charcoal filters need to be changed constantly whenever all the activated carbon is used up, so it may not be the most cost-efficient method of filtering water supply.
Also, carbon usually works on filtering one class of chemicals. It can’t filter out any rogue minerals, fluoride, or scale. Even though these filters produce water with a much better taste and filter it from chemicals, they still don’t offer the best water quality out there.
Reverse Osmosis systems
The idea of RO systems is somehow close to filtration, except that RO systems depend on two liquids that are different in their chemical states. The concept of osmosis depends on placing two liquids together with a semi-permeable barrier in between them. Chemicals are passed between the two liquids until they reach the same solute. Reverse osmosis, on the other hand, pressures one liquid and pushes it out of equilibrium. This way, one liquid will get rid of all chemicals and contaminants and the other liquid will contain all the chemical solute. This method has proven its effectiveness in many houses worldwide. However, maintenance is required for cleaning and changing the filters every 6 months and up to 3 years for some parts.
The whole world is facing a water crisis now due to climate change and its effect on rain frequency and water purity. While we might not be affected by the water scarcity problem that many countries are facing, the water problem grows in complexity in rural areas in terms of water pollution. The only approach that has been proven to be effective so far, is cleaning the available water supply using water distillation.