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According to a 2007 World Health Organization report, 1.1 billion people lack access to an improved drinking water supply, 88% of the 4 billion annual cases of diarrheal diseaseare attributed to unsafe water and inadequate sanitation and hygiene, and 1.8 million people die from diarrheal diseases each year. The WHO estimates that 94% of these diarrheal cases are preventable through modifications to the environment, including access to safe water.
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Water supply
Service quality is highly variable and data is sketchy. Monitoring of service quality by the government's Department of Water Affairs is only starting, with the "blue drop green drop" Water Quality Regulation Strategy. Thus 63% of municipalities could not say if they met drinking water quality standards or not. Water supply to 37% of households was interrupted for at least one day in 2003.
Sanitation
A survey by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) showed that wastewater treatment plants in the Gauteng area are working well and meet effluent standards. However, many other wastewater treatment plants do not meet effluent standards and some do not even measure effluent quality. According to Bluewater Bio, an international firm specialized in wastewater treatment, out of 1,600 wastewater treatment plants in South Africa at least 60% are not meeting regulatory compliance requirements.
Service quality is highly variable and data is sketchy. Monitoring of service quality by the government's Department of Water Affairs is only starting, with the "blue drop green drop" Water Quality Regulation Strategy. Thus 63% of municipalities could not say if they met drinking water quality standards or not. Water supply to 37% of households was interrupted for at least one day in 2003.
Sanitation
A survey by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) showed that wastewater treatment plants in the Gauteng area are working well and meet effluent standards. However, many other wastewater treatment plants do not meet effluent standards and some do not even measure effluent quality. According to Bluewater Bio, an international firm specialized in wastewater treatment, out of 1,600 wastewater treatment plants in South Africa at least 60% are not meeting regulatory compliance requirements.
Water treatment describes those processes used to make water more acceptable for a desired end-use. These can include use as drinking water, industrial processes, medical and many other uses. The goal of all water treatment process is to remove existing contaminants in the water, or reduce the concentration of such contaminants so the water becomes fit for its desired end-use. One such use is returning water that has been used back into the natural environment without adverse ecological impact.
Water purification is the removal of contaminants from untreated water to produce drinking water that is pure enough for its intended use, most commonly human consumption. Substances that are removed during the process of drinking water treatment include suspended solids, bacteria, algae, viruses, fungi, minerals such as iron, manganese and sulphur, and man-made chemical pollutants including fertilisers.
Water purification is the removal of contaminants from untreated water to produce drinking water that is pure enough for its intended use, most commonly human consumption. Substances that are removed during the process of drinking water treatment include suspended solids, bacteria, algae, viruses, fungi, minerals such as iron, manganese and sulphur, and man-made chemical pollutants including fertilisers.
