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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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Pollution
and how it affects water.
If
you don't think pollution affects your life or are unsure just how, the
best place to start is with your drinking water. Pollution of drinking
water causes many deaths and much illness among urban residents all over
the world. Particularly in developing countries, urban water supplies
are often fouled with wastes, and clean water is scarce. A pall of atmospheric
pollution hangs over many big cities, both in developed and developing
countries. Sanitation design and use of water often play a major role.
Water and Sanitation Urbanization can dramatically increase per capita
use of freshwater.
Fast
population growth with accelerated urbanization, combined with scarce
water supplies and poor sanitation, means that governments often cannot
supply enough water to meet demand. The number of urban residents without
access to improved water sources rose from 113 million in 1990 (5% of
the total urban population) to 173 million in 2000 (6% of the total urban
population), according to a study by WHO and UNICEF. WHO and UNICEF define
"improved" water sources as those that are better than previous sources.
The term does not necessarily mean that they are safe for household use.
Water is often scarce in urban areas of developing countries.
For
example, in Sierra Leone in 2000 the piped water supply covered just 23%
of the country's 1.8 million urban dwellers. Moreover, at least one-third
of urban water supplies in Africa and Latin America and one-half in Asia
operate only intermittently. Most residents of Mombasa, Kenya, for example,
have water pipes in their homes, but water flows into them for an average
of only three hours per day. When piped water supplies are inconsistent,
people turn to other sources of water that are usually more expensive
and/or unsafe. Urban water supplies often are contaminated from a variety
of sources, including discharge of untreated industrial wastes, leaching
from waste dumps into surface and ground water, inadequate treatment of
sewage, and poor solid waste management.
Few
cities in developing countries have adequate sewerage systems, and they
often are limited to more advantaged areas. Purification and recycling
of wastewater in sewage treatment plants is rare. In Asia, for example,
treatment plants process only an estimated 35% of wastewater, and in Latin
America and the Caribbean, about 14%. Worldwide, two-thirds of the sewage
from urban areas is pumped untreated into lakes, rivers, and coastal waters.
Even fewer people have access to improved sanitation facilities than to
improve water supplies. While the numbers with access increased slightly
between 1990 and 2000, the increase just kept pace with population growth.
According
to WHO, nearly two-thirds of urban populations in developing countries
do not have adequate sanitation in that they lack a flush toilet, a sanitary
latrine, or a pit that can be covered over. While conditions maybe better
in developed countries, if such conditions were to be neglected the results
would be a sharp incline in the same diseases now seen across the world.
Water-Related Diseases and Pollution. Worldwide, about 2.3 billion people
suffer from diseases that are linked to water problems. Water-related
diseases kill millions of people each year, prevent millions more from
leading healthy lives, and undermine development efforts.
Nearly
half of urban residents in Africa, Asia, and Latin America suffer from
one or more of the main diseases associated with the inadequate provision
of water and sanitation. Water-related diseases include diarrheal diseases,
schistosomiasis, trachoma, ascariasis, trichuriasis, and hookworm disease
. Diarrheal diseases are the major water-borne malady, responsible for
90% of the health problems related to water supply and sanitation. An
estimated 4 billion cases of diarrheal disease occur every year, causing
3 million to 4 million deaths, mostly among children. Other diseases such
as cholera can become endemic when there is poor food hygiene, lack of
sanitation, or unsafe drinking water. Such sad results can only be averted
when the pollution of source waters can be stopped and the water supply
then adequately examined and treated accordingly.
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