5.6 Filtration In filtration, the partially treated water is passed through a medium such as sand or anthracite, which acts as a ‘strainer’, retaining the fine organic and inorganic material and allowing clean water through. The action of filters is complex and in some types of filter biological action also takes place. Sand filters are used in water treatment to remove the fine particles which cannot be economically removed by sedimentation. They have been effective in removing Cryptosporidium,
3.3.1 Turbidity, colour and suspended solids As water runs off the land, there are some substances which do not dissolve but are taken along as
suspended solids. Then, depending on their sizes and the velocity of the river, the solid particles may settle out at a certain point or be carried on further. Quantities are affected by seasonal changes and tend to be higher in winter because of increased storm
runoff
due to higher rainfall and melting snow. The quantity of suspended solids (measured in g m<
3.1 Water, the medium of life The list of necessities for the provision of life includes various nutrients and water: water is one of the basic resources needed for the process of photosynthesis. Since it is an excellent solvent, water, even in its ‘natural’ state, is never pure H2O but contains a variety of soluble inorganic and organic compounds. Water can also carry large amounts of insoluble material in suspension. The amounts and types of impurities vary with location and time of year, and determine so
2.5 Air circulation At this stage, air circulation enters and plays a dual role. Firstly, winds transmit moisture horizontally from one location to another. In this way, moisture derived from oceanic evaporation can be transported many miles to a land mass. Secondly, convective or vertical currents arising from unequal heating or cooling can transmit moisture upwards. When it cools, some of the water vapour condenses. It is from these currents that most precipitation develops.
2.4 Condensation As air rises it expands, owing to the decrease in pressure with height, and as it expands, in theory it cools at an average rate of 1°C for every 100 m of altitude. As the air cools, it becomes saturated with water vapour which condenses around small particles in the air. These particles may occur naturally, such as soil particles or salt particles residual to evaporation of sea spray, or they may be produced artificially during combustion. A measure of the necessary cooling to produce conde
2.3 Transpiration If there were no vegetation, the rate of evaporation from land surfaces after rain would diminish rapidly to a very low value. Plants increase this rate by transpiration. In this process, water is transferred from the soil through the roots to the leaves by osmosis and capillary action. Water evaporates from the surface of the leaves and the resulting vapour diffuses into the atmosphere. For hydrological measurements, this phenomenon is frequently lumped with evaporation because the two proce
1 Some facts about water