Disinfection of Drinking Water

It is a fact that although the protection of water against microbial contamination is extremely important, it is also important to ensure that water systems are also protected against disinfection byproducts. These are normally chemical elements which are produced when chlorine and other decontaminators respond with natural organic substances in water. Scientists have come to determine the fact that the chlorination of water for consumption, for example, has a high possibility of forming a set of derivatives known as trihalomethanes (THMs). Among these said byproducts of the chlorination process include what has been identified as chloroform. While regulations against these byproducts have been put in place by the European Union government, it has also been recognized that a large quantity of the said products have no direct effect on the health of human beings. However, it has been determined that the presence of these byproducts in drinking water in large amounts is not desirable. It has been recognized that cost effective methods in the reduction of disinfection byproducts have to be applied within the EU to ensure that the risk to human health is reduced to insignificant proportions. It has been found that while these byproducts may be harmful, the health risks associated to them are significantly smaller when compared to those that occur if water is not disinfected. Thus, it is important to ensure that disinfection of water is not compromised during attempts to ensure that such byproducts are brought under control. It has now become a reality within the EU that water systems are meeting the standards that have been put in place for the prevention of byproducts through controlling the amount of natural organic material preceding disinfection.

One of the most used water disinfection methods in the European Union is the ozone water disinfection method which utilizes the use of Ozone. Because of its unstable quality, it has been found to be ideal as a purifier since it is a powerful oxidant that is toxic for those harmful organisms living in water. Ozone has been found to offer a wide spectrum sterilization ability since it can only be produced at the site of the purification and its production can be done using oxygen as well as ultra violet light. Because of the unique qualities that it has, ozone has been found to produce byproducts that are less harmful to humans than those produced in other treatment processes such as chlorination. As a result, this process has come to be widely adopted by the European Union within many water treatment plants, thus guaranteeing that those who consume the water are protected from any harmful byproducts that are prevalent in other methods of water purification.

It has been found that the use of ultraviolet light is also a highly effective means of water purification as it has the ability to deactivate cysts as well as other harmful contaminants that might be found in drinking water. Ultraviolet light, when used for the purpose of water purification is non residual and this means that whenever it is used, it does not leave behind and disinfectants or harmful byproducts in the water. While this might be considered to be an advantage, in some cases, it can also be considered to be a disadvantage because of the fact that it also does not leave behind any of the minerals that are useful to the human body. It can therefore be said that while the use of ultraviolet light for water disinfection has an important advantage over chlorination and the use of ozone, because of its non residual nature, it makes the water less useful to the human body.

In conclusion, it is suggested that the best means of water purification that can be employed in Edinburgh is the use of the ozone treatment method. This is because of its extreme effectiveness in the destruction of those harmful microbes while at the same time not leaving behind any byproducts that may be detrimental to human health. The use of this method is likely to result in the effective purification of water while at the same time retaining those mineral elements which are useful for the human body. When compared to chlorination as well as the use of the ultraviolet method, one will find that ozone treatment is the most effective because unlike the former, it does not leave behind any harmful byproducts while unlike the latter, it leaves behind those minerals which are of use in the human body.