Climate change and the level of pollution to which we are subjected are factors that are increasing human beings’ concern about the water we consume. How do we determine whether the water quality is correct? What do we measure? Are the results reliable? There are several questions that may cross our minds that we need to answer.
We may think that water is an inexhaustible natural resource, but that’s not true; in addition to its quality, we should also be concerned about its supply. Many underdeveloped countries do not have easy access to drinking water.
The importance of the quality of the water we consume has led us to analyze it through its characteristics and components to determine its condition.
Factors for determining water quality
To corroborate if the water we consume is good quality, we have checked the following aspects:
- Physical Factor: in this case we will analyze the odor, taste, color, turbidity level and conductivity of the water. Regarding this factor the state and maintenance of the pipes through which the water circulates is very important. If it is not good, it can deteriorate the physical characteristics of the water and lose much of its quality.
- Chemical Factor: from the PH scale and the term of 7 we will determine the following: below this number as acidic water, water with a value equal to 7 as neutral, and water above 7 as alkaline.
- Radiological Factor: where the radioactivity index of the analyzed water is determined. These radioactive substances can have natural origin or appear from technological processes that operate with radioactive components.
- Biological/Bacteriological Factor: the components of the water are studied in order to detect the existence of biological components, such as possible bacteria: streptococci, clostridia, etc.
What is the cause of poor water quality?
Thanks to the factors discussed in the previous section, we will determine whether the water quality is good or not, but where does this poor quality come from? This fact can be due to natural or artificial causes.
- Artificial causes: the great majority of these causes come from human manipulation and environmental pollution to which we are exposed. The treatment of water is not adequate and it is not managed properly. These artificial damages are reflected in the water as dissolved contaminants or suspended solids.
Artificial causes are the ones that must be addressed with more attention if we want to achieve an improvement in water quality, since natural causes can hardly be modified by humans.
- Natural reasons: the causes of contamination for natural reasons are the result of geological characteristics or changes in the terrain in which the water is located.
Due to the concern of poor water management, , in 2015 The European Union Directive 2000/60/EC, the Water Framework Directive (WFD), is published. This directive seeks to stipulate a common process for water quality management in various EU countries. Today, four years later, it has been detected that many of the countries do not comply with the specified process.
In Llaberia Group we are experts in the proper management and treatment of water. We carry out different processes to obtain quality water. You can take a look here where we explain everything that we are able to do in this area!