Your Water Cycle

When you think about it, all water on the planet is recycled. The water cycle that we learned about in elementary school (evaporation; condensation; precipitation; collection) shows that the Earth’s water is always in movement on, above, and below Earth’s surface.  Of the world’s total water supply (about 332.5 million cubic miles), over 96% is saline, or salt water.  Of the total freshwater available to us, over 68% is unavailable, frozen into ice and glaciers.  Within the #watercycle, the fresh water sources we use (surface and ground waters) are the only waters available to sustain life.

So how do we treat this water? Once we use water, it is gathered by sewer or septic field, treated, and released back into the environment.  Most of us know generally that water treatment plants collect surface or ground #water, treat it to remove contaminants, and then distribute it to our homes, fire hydrants, and water fountains.  Would you like to know a little more about that process?

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has created a virtual tour of a water treatment plant so consumers can see step by step what actions are taken in the treatment and delivery of drinking water.  The #EPA video explains the difference between surface and ground water, points out potential sources of #contamination, and describes the disinfection process.  It is yet another source of information for water consumers as they decide whether this process is enough to protect your health, or if they would like to use a final barrier solution, such as a home-installed #Multipure Drinking Water System.