Water Purification: Frequent Contaminants and Strategies to Remove Them

DISCLAIMER: This can be a basic overview and never a complete information to all waterborne contaminants and water purification strategies. In the event you’re not sure if a supply of water is secure, make sure you purify it totally earlier than utilizing it for ingesting, cooking, or cleansing.

Photographs By: Amy Alton

Water. The supply of all life, there’s no animal that isn’t composed partly of it. The microscopic tardigrade, often known as a “water bear,” can drop its moisture content material to lower than 1 p.c of regular, however nonetheless harbors about 3 p.c at its driest. People, nonetheless, are about 60 p.c water and don’t have the flexibility to outlive with out contemporary water for greater than about three days.

In regular instances, those that obtain a water invoice from their city or metropolis are buying it from a system the place the water is examined, and one which should show to the Environmental Safety Company (EPA) that it meets Nationwide Main Consuming Requirements. An annual water high quality report is compiled and obtainable via the water firm with details about contaminants which have doable well being results. Having stated that, germs and chemical compounds can get into the water, both at its supply, via the distribution system, and even after leaving water remedy services. The Flint, Michigan, water disaster is without doubt one of the most notorious examples of this in current historical past. The town’s ingesting water was contaminated with dangerous ranges of lead, and research additionally discovered proof that an outbreak of Legionnaire’s illness (attributable to waterborne micro organism) might have been linked to the municipal water provide.

Above: Clear ingesting water is one thing we take with no consideration in fashionable society.

How Water Will get Contaminated

If water is taken from the unsuitable supply, it may end up in depressing sickness and even dying. The problem is to search out secure drinkable (potable) water or, no less than, to have the supplies and information to make it secure to drink.

Dangerous microorganisms or poisonous chemical compounds can get within the water from many sources, together with:

• Fertilizers, pesticides, or different chemical compounds used on land close to the water
• Concentrated feed operations from livestock farms
• Manufacturing operations from factories
• Overflowing sewers and cracks in water piping methods
• Flood waters
• Wildlife (often in smaller water sources like creeks)
• Soil containing substances similar to arsenic and uranium

Above: Flood waters aren’t secure to drink, as they usually include sewage and chemical runoff.

Secure to Drink or Not?

It’s not at all times apparent that water, even from the faucet, is secure to drink. Some indicators that ought to warn you of questionable water is that if it’s:

Cloudy – Turbidity, or cloudiness, may sign the presence of disease-causing microbes.

Slimy – Onerous water could cause your arms to really feel slimy when touching it. This doesn’t must imply hazard however may point out the presence of lead or different poisonous metals.

Discolored – Brown or different coloured water might signify the presence of microbes or toxins like copper, iron, or lead. It may additionally point out tannins. Tannins are pure natural matter that may outcome from water passing via decaying vegetation. In small concentrations, they aren’t harmful, however could cause a lot of issues if current in extra.

Smelly – Water that smells dangerous may harbor disease-causing organisms or toxins like barium or cadmium. Odors like rotten eggs might point out the presence of hydrogen sulfide. When uncovered to sure micro organism, it converts into sulfate, which might trigger dehydration or diarrhea.

A excessive stage of suspicion is smart with nearly any new water supply. Even the clearest mountain stream might harbor giardia, a parasite that causes diarrhea and dehydration. Higher secure than sorry.

In the event you lose entry to municipal ingesting water, you’ll be able to nonetheless depend sure sources within the dwelling as usually secure:

• Melted ice cubes made with water that isn’t contaminated
• Liquid from canned greens and fruit
• Water from your property’s rest room tank (not from the bowl), if it’s clear and never discolored by chemical remedy
• Water from your property’s water heater (the tank that connects to the water that comes out of your taps and showerheads)
• Bottled water from coolers

Water from swimming swimming pools and spas can be utilized for hygiene functions, however not for ingesting. Additionally, by no means use water from radiator tanks or boilers which are a part of your property heating system. They’re totally different out of your water heater for taps and showers and never secure to drink.

Above: Water provides are examined to see in the event that they meet Nationwide Main Consuming Requirements.

Myths About Water Purification

1. Water filters are costly and excessive upkeep. Low cost water filters such because the Sawyer Mini, Lifestraw, and others are compact, light-weight, and straightforward to make use of.
2. Bottled water is healthier. Bottled water is ok, however the amount required for a household is large over time and contributes to environmental harm. A water filtration system, alternatively, is a one-time funding for steady provides of secure water.
3. Water filters take away all the great minerals out of your eating regimen. Water filters do take away minerals, however the proportion of calcium, iron, and different minerals in water is small in comparison with what you get from meals like greens, fruits, and leafy greens.
4. Your metropolis or city ensures the availability of pure water. Municipalities use a whole lot of chemical compounds to make water secure for consumption; contaminants might at all times be current.
5. Clear water and/or fast-flowing water is secure water. Pesticides, chemical compounds, microorganisms, and different contaminants that aren’t seen to the human eye could also be current in faucet water or naturally occurring sources.
6. Water filters fully purify water. Water filters, nicely, filter, however they don’t at all times make water secure to drink. For instance, a Lifestraw can not take away the dissolved salt in seawater. All the time think about the supply of your water rigorously and use a remedy methodology that’s appropriate for the contaminants it would include. To be further secure, double-up with two purification strategies.

Above: The Lifestraw, a compact, light-weight business water filter.

Disinfecting Water

In the event you suspect that the water high quality is questionable, there are easy methods to assist make it secure to drink. Boiling is maybe probably the most well-known and eliminates micro organism, viruses, and parasites. Merely take a container, fill it with water, and get it to a rolling boil for one full minute. For altitudes over 6,500 toes, boil for 3 full minutes. Why? As altitude will increase, the atmospheric stress decreases as does the boiling level of water. To compensate for the decrease boiling level, the boiling time should be elevated.

Boiling takes gas, so that you may think about, as an alternative, chemical disinfection to do away with micro organism and viruses. That is most simply achieved with 5 to 9 p.c sodium hypochlorite (unscented family bleach). Use eight drops of bleach per gallon, however 16 drops if the water is cloudy. Combine the bleach into the water totally, and let it stand for half-hour earlier than consuming. Different chemical compounds similar to iodine or chlorine dioxide will work as nicely after a interval of ready. Bear in mind that outdated bleach (older than six months) loses efficiency.

For storage functions, calcium hypochlorite could also be an enchancment on family bleach. A 1-pound bundle of calcium hypochlorite in granular kind can deal with as much as 10,000 gallons of ingesting water. It destroys a wide range of disease-causing organisms together with micro organism, yeast, fungus, spores, and viruses.

Calcium hypochlorite is extensively obtainable to be used as a swimming pool additive. Utilizing granular calcium hypochlorite to disinfect water is a three-step course of.

1. To make a inventory of chlorine answer (don’t drink this!), dissolve one heaping teaspoon (about one-quarter of an oz) of (78 p.c) granular calcium hypochlorite for every 2 gallons (8 liters) of water.
2. Add only one a part of the chlorine answer to 100 components water to be handled.
3. Let the combination sit for no less than a half hour earlier than ingesting.

Above: Calcium hypochlorite might be saved as a stable water disinfection methodology.

In some circumstances, you could have neither gas for boiling nor chemical brokers for disinfection. On this case, you should utilize the ultraviolet gentle from the solar. This is named the photo voltaic water disinfection (SODIS) methodology. Colorless, label-less 2-liter plastic or glass bottles will serve the aim. Fill the bottle about 90 p.c with the questionable however clear water. Then, expose it to full daylight for six full hours. Cloudy climate takes for much longer. If raining, acquire the rainwater as an alternative. For the most effective impact, think about inserting the bottle on a reflective metallic floor, similar to aluminum foil, to extend the bottle’s gentle publicity. For a less complicated strategy to UV sterilize water, there are business UV sterilizers obtainable, such because the Steri-Pen.

It ought to be famous that water containing poisonous chemical compounds or radioactivity just isn’t made secure with any of the disinfection strategies talked about to date.

Above: Ultraviolet gentle from full solar disinfects water in about 6 hours.

Frequent Waterborne Contaminants

Many micro organism, parasites, and viruses thrive in an aquatic setting, together with:

• Cryptosporidium
• Legionella
• Campylobacter
• Norovirus
• E. coli O157
• Rotavirus
• Enterovirus
• Salmonella
• Giardia
• Shigella
• Hepatitis A

Chemical substances which were recognized to infect faucet water embody:

• Arsenic
• Nitrate
• Copper
• Radon
• Lead

Above: Questionable water sources require disinfection.

Filtering Water

You could have strategies to disinfect water, but when it’s cloudy or has particulate matter in it, you need to filter it first. Business filters such because the Lifestraw, Sawyer Mini, or the Berkey are helpful and extremely efficient, however for those who don’t have these, some improvisation is required.

Right here’s an inventory of what you’ll want:

• Plastic bottle with a cap
• Knife
• Hammer and nail
• Espresso filter or skinny material
• Giant cup or mug (both one works)
• Activated charcoal
• Sand
• Gravel
• Container to catch the water (jar, cup, mug, and so forth.)

Above: Supplies used to improvise a easy filter.

First, use the knife to chop the underside off the plastic bottle. Take the hammer and nail and punch a gap or two within the cap. In the event you don’t have a hammer or nail, use the knife to chop an X form into the bottle cap.

Above: Lower off the underside third of a transparent plastic bottle.

Above: Make one or two holes within the bottle cap.

Cowl the mouth of the bottle with the espresso filter and tighten the cap over it. Put the bottle upside-down into the container that’ll acquire the water (or use the cutout backside of the bottle). 

Above: Place the espresso filter or skinny material between the bottle and the cap.

Now add layers of filtering materials. Begin by filling the underside of the bottle with the charcoal. If the charcoal is in massive items, break it down with the hammer into pea-sized particles.

Above: Place a layer of charcoal within the upside-down bottle.

Fill the center with undyed sand.

Above: Add a layer of unfastened sand.

Fill the remaining with gravel (layers ought to be about the identical thickness) however depart an inch or so of house on the prime to keep away from spillage.

Above: Add a layer of gravel or small rocks.

The gravel layer will catch bigger items of particles. The sand layer catches smaller particles, similar to grime, and the charcoal layer can scale back ranges of micro organism and a few chemical compounds. Bear in mind that, originally, the charcoal might have some “soot.”

Above: Pour water to be filtered on prime, let drain into container at backside.

Maintain your improvised filter over a container. Pour water in slowly and be affected person, because the now-filtered water might take a while to stream into the container. If nonetheless not clear, put the water via a second time. If it takes too lengthy, use thinner layers. Extra graduated layers could also be added as desired.

Above: The improvised filter manages to seize many of the murky particulate.

One other methodology suggests making a filter out of the sapwood of timber like pine. Sapwood comprises xylem, which filters out grime and even micro organism (however not viruses). For this, you’ll start with a plastic bottle as earlier than. Then:

• Lower a 4-inch-long piece from a pine tree department of the thickness that, when the bark is peeled off, suits tightly into the bottle’s neck.
• Slide the primary inch or so of the stick into the neck of the bottle.
• Lower the underside of the bottle off and switch the bottle the other way up.
• Fill the bottle with water, and let the water drain via the stick.

With this methodology, it’s essential that the xylem stays consistently moist, or you’ll lose the filtering impact.

Whereas improvised water filters can drastically enhance style and odor in addition to scale back ranges of contaminants, it’s clever to comply with up with a secondary purification methodology (similar to bleach or boiling) each time doable. Even when your DIY filter eliminates 90 p.c of micro organism, the remaining 10 p.c may nonetheless be sufficient to make you sick.

Above: Deliver water to a rolling boil to disinfect it.

Storing Water Safely

After you have a secure water supply, you’ll wish to retailer a provide of it. Use food-grade water storage containers; these received’t leach poisonous substances into the water they’re holding and might be discovered at tenting provide shops. The container you utilize ought to be fabricated from sturdy supplies; in different phrases, not glass. It ought to have a narrow opening that makes pouring straightforward and have a prime that may be closed tightly. Keep away from containers that beforehand held poisonous chemical compounds, similar to bleach. Write the date on a label and preserve them saved in a darkish place with a temperature ideally between 50 and 70 levels F. Exchange your water provide each six months or so.

Saved water will usually style “flat.”  This happens as a result of, over time, the water loses oxygen very like soda loses carbonation. To revive the unique style, shake your water in a container for a minute or two earlier than ingesting.

Above: Water storage containers should be food-grade high quality.

What About Salt Water Purification Strategies?

You’ve heard that it’s harmful to drink salt water. Amongst different causes, it is because:

• The human kidney can’t get rid of massive quantities of salt, inflicting extreme pressure and resulting in dehydration.
• An excessive amount of salt causes elevated blood pressures that will result in organ failure.
• Consuming salt water causes muscle cramps.

Above: The Lifestraw and Sawyer Mini are compact, light-weight business water filters. Nonetheless, they can’t be used to desalinate seawater.

In case your solely choice is salt water, there are methods to desalinate it. Off the grid, the most effective methodology could also be distillation by evaporation. When water is evaporated, salt and different particles are separated from it. The distilled water is caught in a container and ought to be secure to drink. Desalination is most shortly achieved by boiling to entice steam; you’ll be able to, nonetheless, get condensation from seawater with daylight. You’ll want a pot, a smaller pot, some plastic wrap or sheeting, and one or two weights.

Partly fill the bigger pot with sea water and put the smaller pot within the bigger pot. Cowl the entire thing with plastic wrap and put a weight on the plastic over the middle of the smaller pot (however not touching it). Condensation of contemporary water will happen on the within of the plastic sheet, leaving the salt behind. The burden on the plastic will trigger contemporary water to drip into the smaller pot, which you’ll be able to drink from. They name this methodology a “photo voltaic nonetheless” or “moisture entice.”

Above: An improvised photo voltaic nonetheless

In regards to the Writer

Joe Alton, MD, is a doctor, medical preparedness advocate, and N.Y. Instances-bestselling creator of The Survival Drugs Handbook: The Important Information For When Assist Is Not On The Method, now in its 700-page fourth version. He’s additionally an out of doors fanatic and member of The Wilderness Medical Society. His web site at doomandbloom.internet has over 1,300 articles, podcasts, and movies on medical preparedness in addition to a complete line of high quality medical kits designed by the creator and packed in the US.

Written by Joe Alton MD