Water Treatment

Water treatment brings naturally available water to a standard suitable for supply to the public. The supply of water is controlled by legislation, including the general obligation to supply wholesome water to the public, and a range of recommended and maximum limits for constituent of the water. These include nitrate (which is mainly harmful to small babies) and pesticide residues, which can be very difficult to remove.

Treatment is very site specific, and is governed by the source and variability of the raw water. A ground water source may have dissolved iron and manganese, and possible nitrate contamination but virtually no suspended material, whilst a plant treating river water will be concerned with silt, pesticides and biological contamination, particularly cryptosporidium, which is again very difficult to remove. Upland surface water may contain colour from moorland peat , which is in the form of a very stable and finely divided colloid which poses its own problems.

We have been involved in the design and installation of water treatment plants both in the UK and overseas. In Sudan, the main concern was preventing snails entering the treatment process as they are part of the transmission cycle of Bilharzia, a debilitating parasitic illness common across that part of Africa. Fortunately, this is not a major concern in Northamptonshire, but the provision of clean drinking water can have a major impact on the health of an entire region.

Industrial water may require treatment to standards much higher than anything required for drinking, but the water would be unpalatable for normal uses.