Water We have seen first hand this semester how important water is to our bodies and the world around us. But what is in the water we drink? Where does it come from?

Why Water Matters to us 70% of the human body is water Water is required in every cell of the body The average person should drink 8 8oz. Glasses of water a day.

But where does our drinking water come from? The majority of American City’s get their drinking water form wells (pulling water up from an aquifer, or from surface water (Lakes, rivers, or springs.) From either source the water is far from drinkable, it must be cleaned and filtered before human consumption.

Step 1, of the most common form of water treatment: Coagulation- flocculation Coagulation-Flocculation Coagulant is added to the source water and mixed. The coagulant then creates an attraction between suspended particles, and creates ‘flocs’. The flocs will settle at the bottom as a sludge. The remaining water is the filtered.

Step 2: Filtration Simple filtration is usually done with charcoal or sand. Pictured is a simple and easy way of filtering water. Anyone can do this. This process removes almost all particles. This step is not necessary when water comes from the ground.

Step 3: Chemical Disinfection Chlorine is add to ‘wash away’ iron, hydrogen sulfide and other minerals. Chlorine is the most common water treatment method in the world. Some Chlorine particles stay in our drinking water. Other forms of Chemical Disinfection are adding Fluoride, or Chlorine dioxide.

What comes out of your tap? According to the City of Nampa water report we get trace amounts of Chlorine, Arsenic, Barium, Chromium, Fluoride, Nitrate, Alpha emitters ( Radioactive), Copper, and Lead. This sounds scary but when you look at the huge amount of water the city is supplying to the people verses how small these trace amounts really are we are safe. Most of these trace contaminants are added to clean the water. And the others come from the wells and pipes. They show us that our water really does come from the ground.

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