The basic purpose of employing a water treatment facility or water purification instruments is to get rid of existing contaminants in the water and reduce the concentration of these pollutants.
Water treatment refers to the kind of process employed in making water more potable and acceptable for human use, which could include purposes of drinking, for medical or industrial usage. The basic purpose of employing a water treatment facility or water purification instruments is to get rid of existing contaminants in the water and reduce the concentration of these pollutants to such a degree that the water becomes fit for either consumption or for its desired use.
Primarily, contaminants in the water that are removed during the process of water purification or drinking water treatment include bacteria, chemical substances, suspended solids, algae, harmful minerals such as sulphur, iron, manganese and other irritants, also viruses and fungi.
The benchmarks for water quality for human consumption are typically set down by international standards or by governing bodies in a particular country or area. These touchstones or benchmarks typically lay down the maximum or minimum concentration of pollutants in the water that is acceptable for usage or drinking. It is almost impossible to say whether drinking water is of the right quality just buy observing it through the naked eyes. In some cases even basic processes such as boiling or employing the use of activated carbon filters for residential purposes might not be enough to treat all the possible pollutants existing in water from a source unknown to an individual.
Some applied methods of water purification and water treatment include distillation, reverse osmosis, direct contact membrane distillation, desalination, in situ chemical oxidation etc. All kinds of commercial and packaged drinking water are tested before determining whether it is safe for consumption, even natural spring water.