What's that in your water?

Abstract

Water quality is essential for healthy living, as recent outbreaks of water-related diseases in Mpumalanga and Gauteng illustrate. Every day more innovative chemical blends are found to disinfect drinking water. “With the right blend of quality chemicals, correctly dosed, even the smallest water treatment plant can produce good potable water from almost any source,” reports Dr Gerhard Offringa, research manager at the Water Research Commission (WRC). However, quite the opposite can be said from substandard products. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), chemical contaminants in drinking water originate from a variety of sources, including treatment chemicals used in the production of drinking water. Processes used for manufacturing of water treatment chemicals may result in the presence of impurities that are of potential health concern. Some of the trace impurities that may end up in drinking water include formaldehyde, ethylene dichloride, ammonia, carbon tetrachloride, mercury, and aluminium, to name a few.

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