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Did
you know?
Reverse osmosis is the finest water filtration method known. This process will
allow the removal of particles as small as ions from a solution. It is used
to purify water and remove salts and other impurities in order to improve the
color, taste or properties of the fluid. R.O. uses a membrane that is semi-permeable,
allowing the fluid that is being purified to pass through it, while rejecting
other ions and contaminants from passing.
This technology uses a process
known as crossflow to allow the r.o. membrane to continually clean itself. This
is the reason of why an r.o. element can last many years before clogging or
need replacement. This
water purification process requires a driving force to push the fluid through
the membrane, and the most common force is household water pressure or pressure
from a booster pump. The higher the pressure, the larger the driving force and
efficiency.
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Forms of micro-organisms in drinking water, part 2
WORMS
Worms
belong to the animal kingdom. There are three types of worms (flatworms,
roundworms [nematodes], and rotifers) found in water. For the most part,
they dwell in the bed of material at the bottom of lakes and streams.
There they do important work as scavengers. The rotifers are the only
organisms in this category at or near the surface. They live primarily
in stagnant fresh water. The eggs and larvae of various intestinal worms
found in man and warm-blooded animals pollute the water at times. They
do not generally cause widespread infection for several reasons: they
are relatively few in number and are so large they can be filtered out
of water with comparative ease. The typical size of parasitic worms or
helmiths, such as flukes, tapeworms, hookworms, ascris, pinÂworms, trichina
worms, and filaria worms is 30-50 microns in diameter.
PROTOZOA
A
basic classification in the Protista kingdom is that group of microscopic
animal-like protists known as protozoa. These one-celled organisms live
mainly in water either at or near the surface or at great depths in the
oceans. Many live as parasites in the bodies of men and animals. Like
other organisms, protozoa can be classed as helpful or injurious. Sometimes
drinking water becomes infested with certain protozoa which are not disease-producing.
When present, they give the water a fishy taste and odor. Some protozoa
are aerobic, that is, they exist only where free oxygen is available.
Some exist where no free oxygen is available. Others can be either aerobic
or anaerobic.
Note:
One important group of protozoa are those which commonly form cysts. These
protozoans have somewhat bladder-like sacs or vesicles which form a resistant
protective wall when they find themselves in unfavorable surroundings.
On entering more favorable surroundings (such as the body of a warm-blooded
animal), the cyst abandons this wall and dwells in the blood stream of
the animal. One of the most common of these cysts carries the waterborne
disease, amoebic dysentery, for which there is no universal cure at this
time. The protists Giardia lamblia and cryptosporidium are a cause of
acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI), which is the most frequently diagnosed
waterborne disease in the United States. The symptoms of the AGI illness,
giardiasis, may include severe dehydration, weight loss, and fatigue.
Giardiasis can persist for several months or longer. Giardiasis is usually
associated with unfiltered surface water that has not been disinfected
sufficiently to kill or inactivate the protozoan cysts. Fortunately, these
cysts, being typically 2 to 50 microns in diameter, are much larger than
bacteria and can be removed from water by fine filtration.
NEMATODES
Nematodes
belong to the worm family. They are commonly called roundworms. Nematodes
have long, cylindrical bodies which have no internal segments. Interestingly
enough, those nematodes which are found in the bodies of men and warm-blooded
animals are large enough to be visible to the naked eye. Those living
in fresh water and in the soil are microscopic. Nematodes can be a problem
in drinking water because they impart objectionable tastes and odors to
water. They are also under suspicion of being carriers of the type of
disease-bearing bacteria found in the intestines of warm-blooded animals,
though studies show, however, this possibility is somewhat remote. Nematodes
are apt to be found in municipal waters derived from surface supplies.
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