The Basics of WaterMany things alter the quality of water. All of them happen in the natural cycle of water as it passes from liquid to vapor and back to liquid. This is called the hydrological, or water cycle.
Water evaporates from the Earth and rises into the atmosphere where it forms clouds. In nature this is where water is in its purest form. However, it does not stay that way for very long. Its stay in the air is short. Water droplets forming in clouds absorb particles and impurities found floating in the air.
Dust, smoke from industry, carbon dioxide, spores and smog may be absorbed by water droplets. Water is known as the universal solvent. It has a tendency to dissolve a little bit of everything it touches. For example, if it dissolves sulfur from industrial smokestacks, it can form acid rain. This increases its capacity to dissolve other substances. The water vapor in clouds eventually condenses and falls back to earth as rain, sleet, hail or snow. Then as the water runs across the earth it picks up and dissolves a portion of everything it comes in contact with such as, decaying vegetation animal and chemical waste as well as mineral salts.
After reaching the ground water continues to dissolve additional matter it contacts. As water runs over the surface it can become cloudy, even muddy. Then, as water seeps down through the ground, it may dissolve a little bit of the minerals and other substances that could be present.
By the time water returns to rivers, lakes or underground aquifers, it may have accumulated amounts of the elements it has contacted. Along the way bacteria, chemicals, agricultural byproducts, fertilizers, insecticides and other man-made wastes may also enter the water. Even after reaching a home, it can continue to dissolve materials such as lead from solder in plumbing pipes.
Water is generally classified as Surface Water and Ground Water. Surface water is water found in rivers, lakes or other surface impoundment. Surface water is typically not high in mineral content. Surface water may pick up and contain numerous contaminants. Animal wastes, pesticides, insecticides, industrial wastes, algae and organic matter may be found in surface waters. Surface water found in mountain lakes and streams could possibly contain bacteria from the feces of wild animals. That's why even this "pure mountain water" should be boiled or disinfected before drinking.
As water seeps down into the ground, it can become trapped beneath the surface. It is then called Ground Water. Rain, rivers, lakes and snow are some of the sources of water that supply underground water.
Because of the many sources, ground water can contain many of the same contaminants found in surface water as well as some of the minerals it dissolves during it's passage underground. If water contains dissolved minerals such as calcium and magnesium, at certain levels these minerals produce what is known as "hard water".
As was mentioned earlier, water is sometimes called the "Universal Solvent", it tends to dissolve a little bit of almost everything it comes in contact with. So, for example, where a mineral like limestone is common in the rock, well water from these areas may be very high in dissolved calcium, and therefore considered "hard".
Of all the water on earth, 97% of it is sea water, only about 3% of it is fresh water; and 2% of that is frozen and locked in the polar ice caps and glaciers. Only 1/2 of 1% of all fresh water is underground; about 1/50th of 1% of all water is found in lakes and streams.
Of all the water treated and processed by public water treatment plants, only one half of one percent is used in the home for drinking and cooking. The rest is used in agriculture and industry. The average human being is made up of about 70% water. And, a normal, healthy person can survive less than a week without water.
For further information about The Water Doctors Pure Water Systems
and what you can do to have fresh, clean water for your family.
Call 952-WATER-DRS
(952-928-3737)
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