Groundwater and Surface Water

In order to understand drinking water contamination, it is necessary to first understand from

where our drinking water comes. For most urban residents, relying upon municipal water
systems, drinking water comes from two major sources: groundwater and surface water.
These two sources of drinking water will be referenced throughout this guide to water
contamination.

Groundwater refers to any subsurface water that occurs beneath the water table in soil and
other geologic forms (Rail, 2000). Scientists estimate that groundwater makes up 95% of all
freshwater available for drinking. Groundwater is a significant source of water for many
municipal water systems in the United States. Rural residents, withdrawing their water from
wells, also rely upon groundwater.

Surface water refers to water occurring in lakes, rivers, streams, or other fresh water
sources used for drinking water supplies. While most drinking water in the United States is
withdrawn from groundwater sources, surface water remains a significant water resource.

Each source of water has a unique set of contaminants; groundwater stores pesticide
chemicals and nitrate while surface water contains most bacteria and other microorganisms.
Because of the interconnectedness of groundwater and surface water, these contaminants
may be shared between the two sources. Neither water source can ever be entirely free
from water contaminants. Due to the cycle of water (hydrology), the two sources of drinking
water feed each other, sharing contaminants.

Groundwater is generally stored in aqueducts, underground layers of porous rocks that are
saturated with water. These aqueducts receive water as soil becomes saturated with
precipitation or through stream and river runoff. As the aqueducts exceed their capacity for
water storage, they will bleed water back into streams or rivers. The aqueducts maintain a
natural balance of water, alternately receiving or giving water as their saturation levels
oscillate. Throughout this process, water constantly moves between surface and
groundwater sources, sharing contaminants.

Herbicides and Insecticides - History & Occurrence

It is a fact of life that human beings must eat in order to survive. This need for food initiated
the development and spread of agriculture across the planet. As agricultural methods were
refined and sedentary societies began to flourish, humanity began to take more control over
the environment. Rather than retaining their previous standing as powerless pawns to
natural cycles, people could now modify the environment in both useful, and, in the last
century, potentially harmful ways.

As technology and agricultural methods have developed, the chemical industry has fed the
spiral of the ever increasing quantity and quality of agricultural goods by supplying the
chemical tools known as pesticides. The beneficial effects of using these chemicals (evident
in the bountiful supply of blemish-free fruits and vegetables) have led to high consumer
demand for quality agricultural products. This high demand necessitates the ever increasing
use of pesticides. Unfortunately, pesticides can often move into the air and water resources
where they can have detrimental effects on humans and other non-targets.

Pesticides include two classes of chemicals, insecticides and herbicides. Insecticides are
more commonly known and feared for adverse effects, but herbicides are the larger threat
due to their higher concentration in water supplies (Gustafson, 1993). The threat of
pesticides in drinking water varies, depending upon where one lives and upon what source
of drinking water one uses. Deep groundwater wells are at less risk than shallow wells. Also,
a large, actively growing crop is able to use most, if not all, of the water in the soil, thus
greatly reducing the level of pesticide chemicals in drinking water sources. In areas with
smaller crop distribution, pesticides will be more prevalent in the water.

The next page provides more information on the specific pesticide chemicals in water and
their specific adverse health effects.

Herbicides and Insecticides - Specific Chemicals and Health Effects

Pesticide use in the agricultural industry began in earnest in the early 1940s.
Although pesticide use had been quite popular for more than twenty years,
government officials first became aware of the potential danger of pesticide
runoff to humans in the early 1960s when Rachel Carson’s famous and influential
Silent Spring was published. Though this book warned mainly of the detrimental
effects of DDT (a popular insecticide developed in the early 1940s) for birds and
other non-human victims, Carson’s work inspired health officials to speculate
about the effects of pesticide runoff on humans. Recently, exposure to DDT was
linked to Parkinson’s disease. Because of concern over DDT’s adverse effects on
the environment and on people, this pesticide was banned in 1972. Despite the
ban of DDT, pesticide use continues, and the effects of some modern insecticides
and herbicides can be just as debilitating. Even through careful use, runoff from
pesticides continues to makes its way into drinking water sources. What follows is
a brief list of some of the more popular pesticides and their adverse health
effects when ingested:

- Alachlor: Alachlor is an herbicide that has been used to control mainly grassy
weeds in corn, soybean, and peanut crops since 1969. Intake of Alachlor can lead
to eye, liver, kidney or spleen problems, anemia, and increased risk of cancer
(Gustafson, 1993).
- Atrazine: Atrazine has been widely used as an herbicide on sorghum and field
corn for several decades. When ingested, Atrazine can lead to cardiovascular
and/or reproductive problems.
- Endothall: Endothall has been used since 1995 as an herbicide on sugar beets,
spinach, and potatoes. Intake of Endothall can cause stomach and intestinal
problems.
- Lindane: Lindane is an insecticide currently used on cattle, lumber, and
gardens. Ingestion of Lindane can cause liver or kidney problems.
 - Methoxychlor: Methoxychlor is a widely used insecticide for fruits, vegetables,
and livestock. Intake of Methoxychlor can lead to reproductive difficulties.

The EPA lists maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for the presence of each of these
pesticides in drinking water. Unfortunately, these MCLs are not zero, and even a small
amount of ingested pesticide runoff can have detrimental effects on the body.

Contaminants Resulting from Agriculture or Industry - Nitrate

Nitrate is a common contaminant of drinking water closely associated with

agricultural activities. Nitrate in groundwater results primarily from fertilizer use
(Gustafson, 1993). Fertilizer nitrogen that is not taken up by plants can leach its
way into the soil in the form of nitrate. Nitrate (NO3) is a chemical ion, formed of
one nitrogen atom and three oxygen atoms. Nitrate, in itself, is not normally
dangerous to the human body except when it loses an oxygen atom, reducing to
nitrite (NO2).

Nitrate in drinking water is particularly dangerous to infants and small children.

In proportion to their body weight, infants consume a much larger amount of
water than older children and adults. Also, a baby’s immature digestive system
facilitates the reduction of nitrate to nitrite much more easily than a mature,
adult digestive tract. Nitrate ingestion, at or exceeding the MCL of 10 milligrams
per liter, can lead to a disease called methemoglobinemia in infants. This disease
occurs when reduced nitrite ions react with hemoglobin to form methemoglobin.
This altered form of the blood protein is unable to carry oxygen to the body’s
systems, leading to asphyxia in severe cases (Gustafson, 1993). Though,
methemoglobinemia, as a result of nitrate-contaminated drinking water, usually
occurs only in infants, women who are pregnant can be vulnerable to the disease,
as well.

Nitrate, when contained in drinking water in extreme levels (100-200 mg/l), can
also cause cancer. Such high levels of nitrate can react with protein compounds in
the body to form nitrosamine, a well-documented, cancer-causing agent. The
main danger of nitrate is to infants less than six months old.

Water Treatment Alternatives - Reverse Osmosis

Reverse osmosis refers to a process of water purification that has been used
primarily for the desalination of seawater. To understand reverse osmosis, it is
first necessary to understand osmosis. Osmosis is the term for the phenomenon
whereby if a semi-permeable membrane separates two salt solutions of different
concentration, water will migrate from the weaker solution through the
membrane to the stronger solution, until the solutions are of the same salt
concentration. Reverse osmosis subverts this process. It involves applying
pressure to reverse the natural flow of water, forcing the water to move from the
more concentrated solution to the weaker. The semi-permeable membrane is
porous, allowing water to pass through, but blocking the passage of the bulkier
salt molecules (Binnie, Kimber, & Smethurst, 2002). The end result is water sans
salt on one side of the membrane.

The semi-permeable membranes for reverse osmosis treatment are generally

constructed from polyamide-based materials. These materials are resistant to
biological degradations, but are subject to chemical attacks from chlorine.

Reverse osmosis has been used as a method of purification for ground and
surface fresh water, in addition to its role as a desalinating agent. Working with
such water sources creates some problems for the reverse osmosis system.
Because of the very small pore sizes involved in the membrane, it is vital that
ground and surface water is adequately pre-treated prior to the reverse osmosis
process. Depending upon the hardness of the water involved, scaling of the
membrane is likely to occur. If the concentration of the calcium or magnesium in
the water (the chemicals that determine water’s hardness) is at a high enough
level where the chemicals are insoluble, it will create a hard mineral on the inside
of the membrane, rendering it impotent (Vigneswaran & Visvanathan, 1995).

Distillation - How does it work?

Distillation is a water purification process that uses a heat source to vaporize

water and separate it from contaminants and other undesirable elements
commonly found in ground and surface water. Distillation heats raw (untreated)
water until the water reaches its boiling point and begins to vaporize. The heat is
then kept at a constant temperature to maintain water vaporization while
prohibiting other undesirable elements from vaporizing. Water has a lower boiling
point than salt and other mineral sediments. This process also separates the
water molecules from microscopic, disease-causing organisms. Once all of the
water has vaporized, the vapor is led into a condenser, where, upon cooling, the
water reverts to the liquid form and runs into a receiving container. The
remaining elements, whose boiling point was too high to permit vaporization,
remain in the original container and constitute the sediment (Holland, Siqueiros,
Santoyo, Heard, & Santoyo, 1999). Because the distillation process can never
ensure a complete separation between water and other materials, it is often
repeated one or more times with the treated water. Many alcoholic beverages,
like brandy, gin, and whiskey, are distilled, using an apparatus similar in
constitution to the water distillation apparatus.

Throughout history, people have experiment with the use of solar power in
distillation (Holland et al, 1999). Because of the cost of a heating source to
initiate the distillation process, solar power seems an efficient and
environmentally friendly alternative to traditional power. Though solar power can
be effective for distillation purposes, it works only with relatively small amounts
of liquid. Also, the time required for multiple distillations is much greater when
relying on solar power than when using traditional power sources.
 Filtration - How does it work?

The process of filtration involves the flow of water through a granular bed, of
sand or another suitable media, at a low speed. The media retains most solid
matter while permitting the water to pass. The process of filtration is usually
repeated to ensure adequate removal of unwanted particles in the water
(Ramstorp, 2003). This type of slow filtration over a granular bed is generally
known as slow sand filtration. It is the oldest method of filtration but still widely
used in municipal water treatment plants today.

More modern filtration systems use carbon as the main constituent material of
the filter. This carbon is compressed into a solid block form, as opposed to the
more loosely structured, granular, sand filters. Such filters often include other
media substances, in addition to the compressed, solid carbon. This type of water
filter is known as a multimedia filter. These filters clean water through both
physical and chemical processes. Physically, they perform the same function as
slow sand filters, blocking the passage of unwanted materials with molecular
structures that are larger than water. Chemically, the carbon or multimedia filters
perform an added filtration function. Through the process of adsorption, the
atomic charge of the carbon and other media encourages unwanted particles to
abandon their bond with the water and chemically attach to the media (Ramstorp,
2003). The water then passes through the filter, cleansed of undesirable
materials. The addition of extra media to the standard filter constitution of sand
or carbon allows for more particles to chemically bond to the media, resulting in
greater filter performance and efficiency.

Water is generally directed through several stages carbon and multimedia filters
to ensure the removal of all unwanted materials. The first filtration stage will
remove the most concentrated chemicals, like chlorine, while subsequent stages
will remove smaller and more evasive chemicals, like pesticides.

Reverse Osmosis - Pros and Cons

The semi-permeable membrane used in reverse osmosis contains tiny pores

through which water can flow. The small pores of this membrane are restrictive to
such organic compounds as salt and other natural minerals, which generally have
a larger molecular composition than water. These pores are also restrictive to
bacteria and disease-causing pathogens. Thus, reverse osmosis is incredibly
effective at desalinating water and providing mineral-free water for use in photo
or print shops. It is also effective at providing pathogen-free water. In areas not
receiving municipally treated water or at particular risk of waterborne diseases,
reverse osmosis is an ideal process of contaminant removal.

The reverse osmosis process contains several downsides which make it an

 inefficient and ineffective means of purifying drinking water. The small pores in
the membrane block particles of large molecular structure like salt, but more
dangerous chemicals like pesticides, herbicides, and chlorine are molecularly
smaller than water (Binnie et al, 2002). These chemicals can freely pass through
the porous membrane. For this reason, a carbon filter must be used as a
complimentary measure to provide safe drinking water from the reverse osmosis
process. Such chemicals are the major contaminants of drinking water after
municipal treatment.

Another downside to reverse osmosis as a method of purifying drinking water is

the removal of healthy, naturally occurring minerals in water. The membrane of a
reverse osmosis system is impermeable to natural trace minerals. These minerals
not only provide a good taste to water, but they also serve a vital function in the
body’s system. Water, when stripped of these trace minerals, can actually be
unhealthy for the body.

Reverse osmosis also wastes a large portion of the water that runs through its
system. It generally wastes two to three gallons of water for every gallon of
purified water it produces. Reverse osmosis is also an incredibly slow process
when compared to other water treatment alternatives.

Distillation - Pros and Cons

Aside from desalinating water, the distillation process will reliably remove
bacteria and viruses and dangerous heavy metals like lead, arsenic, and mercury.
Distillation is ideal for recipients of non-municipally treated water, due to the
particular challenges and heavy contamination of raw, untreated water. For this
reason, distillation is often used as the preferred method of water treatment in
developing nations that must work with heavily contaminated, untreated drinking
water. Distillation is extremely effective at the removal of bacteria and often used
in areas at high risk of waterborne diseases. Distillation also removes soluble
minerals like calcium, magnesium, and phosphorous that may harden water and
increase the occurrence of scaling.

The distillation process contains several elements that make it undesirable for
purifying drinking water. First of all, while the vaporization process will strip
water of salt, metals, and bacteria, the boiling point of most synthetic chemicals,
including pesticides, herbicides, and chlorine solutions is lower than the boiling
point of water. Synthetic chemicals are the major contaminants remaining after
municipal treatment. Distillation does not remove these harmful chemicals.

Also, distillation is a very slow process and requires a heated energy source.
Though experiments in the use of solar power have been attempted, this form of
energy is only able to treat small quantities of water and difficult to maintain at a
constant temperature (Holland et al, 1999). The inefficiency of solar power
requires the use of more costly energy forms. Also, because this process must be
repeated several times to ensure significant water purity, it could take several
hours to provide one gallon of cleansed water. Generally, distillation requires five
gallons of tap water to generate one gallon of purified water.

Finally, distillation, like reverse osmosis, strips water of natural trace elements.
When these elements are removed from water, the hydrogen composition
becomes greater in proportion, making the water very acidic. Several studies
have proven that drinking distilled water, stripped of minerals, can actually be
harmful to the body system (Rona, 1995). Long-term consumption of such de-
mineralized water can result in mineral deficiencies in the body. Though the
removal of trace minerals creates water that is ideal for use in photo or print
shops, it creates tasteless and even unhealthy drinking water.

Filtration - Pros and Cons

Filtration is the most effective type of water treatment and purification currently
available. Carbon and multimedia filters build upon the treatment capabilities of
reverse osmosis and distillation. They retain all of the good filtration qualities of
these two systems while efficiently removing additional water contaminants. They
are able to rid water of the larger compound materials, like salt, while selectively
removing much smaller and dangerous chemicals, like chlorine and pesticides,
that reverse osmosis and distillation systems cannot remove.

Because carbon and multimedia filters utilize both chemical and physical filtration
processes, they are able to selectively remove a large number of drinking water
contaminants. Water filters can remove the small, but dangerous pesticide and
herbicide chemicals while allowing larger, trace minerals to safely pass through
the filter with the water. The retention of trace minerals in water provides a much
healthier source of drinking water. The chemical adsorption process, which
carbon and multimedia filters use, is the only filtration process that can
selectively filter unwanted materials from water.

Also, the slow filtration process of carbon and multimedia filters does not require
costly energy sources like reverse osmosis and distillation systems. Because
carbon and multimedia filtration systems do not require a heat or pressure
source, they are fairly cost-effective. Carbon and multimedia water filters waste
relatively little water in the filtration process.

Filtration, like reverse osmosis and distillation, is a fairly slow process as it

requires several stages of water purification. Although the process is slow, once
the water has been through the required stages, it is freer from contaminants
than the water product of any other purification technique.

Besides the relatively slow process, there are a few other aspects to filtration
that may make it less than ideal. Depending upon the type of filter used, water
may have limited contact time with the filter media, resulting in only partial
removal of drinking water contaminants. Also the type of filter media may affect
the number of contaminants that can pass through the filtration process. Rapid
 filters and granular filters are less effective than solid block carbon filters. Rapid
filters allow for only brief contact time with the filter media, limiting the amount
of contaminants that may be removed through the adsorption process. Granular
filters contain fairly large pores and allow several contaminants to pass through
the filter media. For the most reliable and efficient filtration, solid block carbon or
multimedia filters should be used.

Purifiers and Filters - How do they differ?

There is some confusion in the water industry about the meanings and differences
between water purifiers and water filters. Many industries use the two terms
interchangeably to describe the same process, i.e. filtration. A technical definition
of pure water would refer to water containing only hydrogen and oxygen
molecules. Such "pure" water does not occur naturally in the world. All water
contains some impurities, or elements of different chemical compounds than
merely hydrogen and water (Binnie et al, 2002). As water passes through streams
and rivers, it carries mineral sediments with it. Ground water, the source for most
municipal water systems, contains remnants of pesticides, herbicides, and
industrial waste. Water generally carries several bacteria and viruses, as well.

The accepted definition of "pure" water for most water industries is water that is
free of bacterial components. The definition does not include chemical
contaminants. The EPA, also, has defined pure water as water free from all types
of bacteria and viruses. A water purification system, then, would remove all
bacterial components from water without attending to undesirable chemicals and
minerals.

Such a system is significantly different from a water filtration system. A water

filtration system is designed to remove unwanted chemicals and minerals, but it
is not recommended for the removal of bacteria and viruses. Practically every
municipal water system in the world implements water chlorination for this
purpose. Water that reaches a home’s plumbing system will already have been
disinfected through chlorination. Water filters then remove the chlorine and
chlorine resistant parasites like cryptosporidium and giardia.

Reference: http://www.historyofwaterfilters.com/purifiers-filters.html