Drinking Water Treatment

Introduction Larger water supplies serving many properties or commercial or industrial premises usually have shared upstream treatment systems similar in principle to those used at municipal water treatment works. This means that water is fully treated before being supplied to a distribution system from where it will go on to feed consumers. Smaller supplies, such as those feeding individual properties, would normally still be expected to have a suitable form of treatment situated such that it will provide water for drinking and other domestic uses at all points in the property, although there are exceptions which are discussed later . It is essential that the design of any treatment process is based on a full investigation of site conditions, including chemical and microbiological analysis of the water to be treated, a risk assessment and the results of laboratory or pilot scale tests to determine the effectiveness of the process and the chemical dosing requirements. This chapter provides an overview of the basic principles of water treatment; anyone planning to install or upgrade a water treatment process should seek expert guidance.

Introduction : Water treatment represents a fundamental aspect of modern hemodialysis technology [1]. While at the beginning of chronic hemodialysis therapy, chemicals were major contaminants, over the last decade microbial contamination has become a major concern. Water supplied to hospitals is normally of a quality similar to that supplied to homes but its use in hemodialysis deserves further treatment as impurities can be responsible for many unwelcome acute side effects, including cramps, nausea, hypotension and fever. Water impurities have also resulted in epidemics of severe, occasionally fatal, disease in dialysis patients and can cause a range of clinical problems including anemia, bone disease, hyper- and hypotension, acidosis, muscle weakness, nausea, vomiting and neurological disturbance. Recently, chronic exposure to low levels of dialysate impurities has also been linked with malnutrition, heart disease and amyloidosis, which, in turn, are associated with reduced survival. Fatal or life-threatening mishaps still occasionally occur in the process of performing hemodialysis treatment.