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Scarcity and conservation of water
Scarcity and conservation of water
An essay about water scarcity
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Introduction:
Water is one of the most important substances on earth. All plants and animals must have water to survive. If there is no water, there would be no life on earth. It covers about 71% of the Earth’s surface, and is vital for all known forms of life. But only 2.5% of the Earth’s water is fresh water.
Continuing population growth is significantly reducing per capita water availability and increasing industrialization and urbanization. Due to industrialization and urbanization, it is becoming more polluted and risk of this polluted water consumption and its sanitation problem is increasing day to day in most of the developing countries. Climate change is exerting additional, chronic strains on water resources, potentially shifting
In order to achieve different levels of contaminant removal, individual waste-water treatment procedures are combined into a variety of systems, classified as primary, secondary, and tertiary waste-water treatment. More rigorous treatment of waste-water includes the removal of specific contaminants as well as the removal and control of nutrients. Natural systems are also used for the treatment of waste-water in land-based applications. Sludge resulting from waste-water treatment operations is treated by various methods in order to reduce its water and organic content and make it suitable for final disposal and reuse.
There are different approaches to secondary treatment: trickling filter plants, Constructed Wetlands, activated sludge plants, and waste stabilization ponds, Up-flow anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) and Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) which are used in the wastewater treatment Plant.
Comparison of different Waste Water Treatment
These aerobic bacteria then break down the waste within the wastewater.
Some systems utilize a pretreatment stage prior to the main treatment processes, as well as more treatment and sanitizing prior to release into the environment. Anaerobic bacteria (bacteria that live in environments that contain no oxygen) transform organic matter in the wastewater into biogas that contains large amounts of methane gas and carbon dioxide.
Often used to treat industrial wastewater that contains high levels of organic matter in warm temperatures.
Usage Used in rural areas or small communities where central sewage systems would be costly or impractical to implement.
Used when site or soil conditions are not amenable for septic (anaerobic) systems.
Used when the water table is too high for effective septic system use. Small-scale systems can be used to treat individual households or several households in a shared facility. In developing countries where centralized wastewater treatment systems are cost-prohibitive to build and implement, small scale anaerobic treatment systems are a viable option, and may include on-site, community on-site or off-site
our pipelines and sewers where it goes to a treatment plant to be treated, but
Entire towns and rural households that lack wastewater treatment systems discharge raw wastewater directly into rivers and streams through open lines known as “straight pipes.” (O’Dell, 2005). The lack of proper wastewater disposal promotes environmental degradation and creates potential health hazards, including contamination of drinking water sources.
Stephenson, R., & Blackburn, J. J. (1998). The Industrial Wastewater Systems Handbook. New York: Lewis Publishers.
Treatment methods at these nine plants vary slightly according to the water it treats and where it is going. However, all plants use filtration, disinfection and fluoridation methods.
Water makes up about 70% of the earth and about 77% of the human body. 96.5% of the water on earth is found in oceans, 2.5% is fresh water in lakes and rivers, and the final 1% is other saline water. Clearly, water, if not the most, is one of the most important things on our planet. Water is essential to all forms of life, and without it, there would be no trees, no animals, no people, no earth, and no life. So, what would the earth be like without water? Nonexistent.
Non-chemical Water Treatment Systems: Histories, Principles and Literature Review, Loraine A Hucler, P.E., MarTech Systems, Inc., Lawrenceville, NJ, October 2002.
Measures to expand and improve public delivery systems of drinking water, contributing to a reduction in morbidity and mortality associated with enteric diseases, because these diseases are associated directly or indirectly with providing substandard water or poor provision water. Currently, 1,400 million people lack access to safe drinking water and nearly 4,000 billion lack adequate sanitation. According to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), 80% of diseases are transmitted through contaminated water.
Water is the life blood of the earth. When water is healthy it has a complex structure that enables it to communicate information, carry energy, nutrients and healing, to self-cleanse and discharge wastes."
The formation of the biofilm depends on factors like the type of surface used, presence of polymeric molecules on the surface and cell-cell interactions. Wastewater is passed through the surfaces on which the biofilms are attached. The microorganisms in the biofilm utilize the organic matter present in the wastewater and subsequently, the biofilms grow. There are four predominant reactor types that utilize this technology. Trickling Filters (TFs), Rotating Biological Contactor (RBC) Systems, Constructed Wetlands and Membrane Bioreactors (MBRs) (Sehar & Naz, 2016).
Summary: Without water, there is no way that life would be sustainable on this planet. It is without a doubt our most valuable resource.
Water is the most important substance in our evolution and our daily lives. Without water,
Pharmaceutical waste seems to be one of the dominant elements that are prevalent in our waters, and other aspects of the environment. These aforementioned elements are largely becoming a concern in today’s society because its effects have proven to be harmful towards our environment, and all of its existing forms of life. Through various ways, whether controllable or uncontrollable, pharmaceutical waste slowly and increasingly multiplies its presence within the environment. Additionally, it eventually trickles down into our waterways and causes a large array of damages. Some of the most common ways that this waste gets into the water includes: disposal through the drainage systems, farming fertilization methods and the maintenance of treatment plants. These methods are self-explanatory through their brief discussions, but it helps decipher whether the disposal of these dangerous wastes are intentional or not.
Having clean water to drink means that water must have microbial, chemical and physical characteristics that meet WHO guidelines or national standards on drinking water quality. Around 780 million people in the world don’t have access to clean drinking water (Millions Lack Safe Water). More than 3.4 million people die each year from water, sanitation, and hygiene-related causes. Nearly all deaths, 99 percent, occur in developing countries. Around the world, diseases in unclean water kill about 1,400 children every day (Clean Drinking Water). There are many organizations that raise money in order to help develop ways or create ways for people to obtain clean drinking water. However, many people are unaware that this is even a problem in other countries because we take clean water for granted.
The problem of water scarcity has increasingly spread throughout the world as of yet, The UN reports that within the next half- century up to 7 billion people in 60 countries which is more than the whole present population will face water scarcity (Sawin “Water Scarcity could Overwhelm the Next Generation”). As well the demand for freshwater has tripled over the past 50 years, and is continuing to rise as a result of population growth and economic development. 70% of this demand derives from agriculture which shows the influence of water on food supply globally as well not just drinking water (Sawin “Water Scarcity could overwhelm the Next Generation”). But increasing water use is not just a matter of the greater number of people needing it to drink and eat; it also comes from pollution and misuse of water supplies, by either dumping or runoff of bacteria or chemicals into water. This also “causes other pollutions as well such as soil and air pollution, accelerating wetland damage and human caused global warming” (Smith and Thomassey 25). According to UN report, recent estimates suggest that climate change will account for about 20 percent of the increase in global water scarcity in coming decades.
Water covers about seventy one percent of Earth’s surface. Earth is the only planet to have stable bodies of liquid water on its surface which is crucial for all known life forms. Water is a substance which acts as a solvent in which organic compounds can mix, and it is the substance which is thought to be necessary to facilitate the formation of life. There are many forms of water which include ice, liquid, and gas. Because water can exist as a gas, it can be stored in the atmosphere and be delivered as precipitate. Water also helps regulate the climat...