Sanitary Engineering

Definition

A branch of civil engineering concerned primarily with the maintenance of

environmental conditions (as pure water supply, waste disposal, insect control,
nuisance abatement) conducive to public health.

The branch of civil engineering associated with the supply of water, disposal of
sewage, and other public health services.

Sanitary engineering is the application of engineering methods to improve

sanitation of human communities, primarily by providing the removal and
disposal of human waste, and in addition to the supply of safe potable water. It
includes traffic management, concerns about noise pollution or light pollution,
aesthetic concerns such as landscaping, and environmental conversation as it
pertains to plants and animals. This field usually employed for the primary goal of
disease prevention within human beings by assuring a supply of healthy drinking
water, treatment of waste water, removing garbage from inhabited areas.

Environmental engineers use their scientific knowledge to design systems that

control pollution and protect public health. For example, they design systems,
processes, and equipment to control waste and pollution, such as stack scrubbers
and wastewater management systems. This includes industrial wastewater.
Environmental engineers coordinate waste management and recycling activities
at manufacturing sites and mines. They make sure it's treated and disposed of in
accordance with all environmental and health regulations. In fact, they're often
appointed to ensure that all of their companies' projects, including building and
development projects, are compliant with regulations. They advise on the
environmental effects of construction projects, fill out permit paperwork,
incorporate regulations into project planning, and conduct inspections to ensure
compliance. They write environmental investigation reports detailing their
findings. Environmental engineers also frequently serve as a company's liaison
with federal, state, or local agencies on issues related to waste program
requirements.

In addition to controlling pollution, environmental engineers also design systems,

processes, and equipment to help clean it up. The systems they create restore air,
soil, and water quality at sites that have already been contaminated. Some
environmental engineers work at the front lines of the clean energy economy,
developing systems that convert waste into electric power.

Environmental engineers are often tasked with coordinating their companies'

environmental management system (EMS). An EMS is a voluntary management
technique that ensures systematic implementation and review of customized
environmental and safety best practices.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS OF URBANIZATION

Urbanization refers to general increase in population and the amount of
industrialization of a settlement. It includes increase in the number and extent of
cities. It symbolizes the movement of people from rural to urban areas.

It is clear that the world is becoming more and more urban. It has been predicted
that by the year 2050, 70% of the human population on Earth will live in cities.
There are many environmental problems that are associated with so much
urbanization on the landscape. These are issues that humanity is going to have to
find solutions to if we are to both dwell in cities, yet have a livable planet for
future generations.

Heavy natural resource use

The human population that lives in urban areas around the world consumes a lot
of resources and energy to keep everything up and running. This means that cities
exhibit a net drain on natural resources and ecosystems, and also produce a very
large carbon footprint. In addition, most resources must ultimately be
transported large distances to reach consumers in cities, requiring lots of energy.
The loss of natural ecosystems

Like the loss of valuable farmland, as urban areas continue to grow and sprawl
across the landscape, this development process often leads to the development
of previously pristine ecosystems.

Pollution

Cities can be large sources of air pollution, water pollution, land pollution, and soil
pollution, waste that is littering the landscape, and are also often associated with
challenging issues of sanitation that can lead to the pollution of land and water.

Waste
Cities are a large source of waste. This waste must be managed somehow, and
can end up polluting the landscape and waterways. Industrial and toxic waste that
is produced in cities can lead to large amounts of pollution of the urban
landscape, causing many environmental and human health issues.

Urban runoff

Cities contain large amounts of impervious surfaces that do not allow water to
infiltrate the ground. Much of the rainwater that does fall on the urban landscape
quickly runs off into rivers and streams, bringing all of the pollutants and
chemicals that were present on these surfaces with them into waterways.

Noise pollution

With increased global urbanization, there is also an increased level of noise, both
in volume and in consistency that humans and other organisms are constantly
exposed to. Because wildlife are highly dependent on sound, they can become
disoriented and their behavior and communication abilities can be hampered due
to the excessive noise levels that they are exposed to in and around urban areas³.
Fragmentation of habitat and isolation of wildlife and plant populations

As urban development continues across the landscape, wildlife habitat is

becoming increasingly fragmented and wildlife and plant populations are
becoming increasingly isolated from one another. This habitat fragmentation
impacts these organisms’ capacity to reproduce, and reduces the genetic diversity
that is present within the remaining populations. It also reduces the suitable
habitat that is needed for their survival.

An increase in human-wildlife conflicts

As human development fragments habitat, and leaves wildlife with no place to go,
there has been an increase in human-wildlife conflict. Wildlife are hit by vehicles,
birds and insects hit windows on cars and buildings and are killed, and sometimes
wildlife come into human communities looking for food and other resources that
they need to survive.

Sometimes, wildlife may be killed if they exhibit aggression or prey on pets or

livestock. Sadly, only a few select hardy species can ultimately adapt and survive
in an urban area and in such constant proximity to humans.

Loss of connectedness to nature

As more people are living in urban areas than ever before, many of them have
begun to lose the intimate connection that they once had to the land they depend
on, how all living things are connected, and how nature actually works.

This global disconnection from nature has led to many unsustainable public
policies and a lack of concern about nature by the public.

Increase in Crime Rate

There is always increase in crime rate as more people are living in urban areas. In
some instances many become jobless; hence they turn to crime and other social
vices.

Hydrological Cycle

Simply, the water cycle describes how water moves through the environment and
identifies the links among groundwater, surface water, and the atmosphere. As
illustrated, water is taken from the earth’s surface to the atmosphere by
evaporation from the surface of lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans. This
evaporation process occurs when the sun heats water. The sun’s heat energizes
surface molecules, allowing them to break free of the attractive force binding
them together, and then evaporate and rise as invisible vapor in the atmosphere.
Water vapor is also emitted from plant leaves by a process called transpiration. As
water vapor rises, it cools and eventually condenses, usually on tiny particles of
dust in the air. When it condenses, it becomes a liquid again or turns directly into
a solid (ice, hail, or snow). These water particles then collect and form clouds. The
atmospheric water formed in clouds eventually falls to earth as precipitation. The
precipitation can contain contaminants from air pollution. The precipitation may
fall directly onto surface waters, be intercepted by plants or structures, or fall
onto the ground. Most precipitation falls in coastal areas or in high elevations.
Some of the water that falls in high elevations becomes runoff water, the water
that runs over the ground (sometimes collecting nutrients from the soil) to lower
elevations to form streams, lakes, and fertile valleys. The water we see is known
as surface water. Surface water can be broken down into five categories:
1. Oceans
2. Lakes
3. Rivers and streams
4. Estuaries
5. Wetlands: Wetlands are areas of land which have permanent, seasonal or
intermittent inundation by water. The water may be fresh or saline. Typically,
they have permanent surface water depths of between 0.1 and 0.6 m and a
substantial covering of aquatic plants (macrophytes).

Other water will flow into the ground rather than over it and will percolate down
to the water table. This groundwater may reappear on the surface at springs or
wells or move horizontally to a river or sea. Such movement may be very slow,
and water held deep in the ground may have been there for many thousands of
years. Rain, snow or hail can also fall over permafrost and remain for a very long
time as ice or snow. Glaciers and polar ice contain 35% of the world’s fresh water,
compared with 0.03% in the atmosphere and 0.003% in the rivers.
Because the amount of rain and snow remains almost constant, and population
and usage per person are both increasing rapidly, water is in short supply.

Evapotranspiration The combined loss of water vapour to the air that results
from evaporation and transpiration in the hydrological cycle.

Evaporation In the hydrological cycle, loss of water to the air as vapour.

Transpiration Evaporation through the leaves of plants, of water brought up from

the soil through roots. It increases with increasing wind, sunshine and
temperature and as the plant gets more foliage. Transpiration varies from plant to
plant.

WATER SOURCES
Water source simply refers to water in its natural environment that is used by
people to meet their need for water. Common water sources include:
1. Surface sources* such as:
a. Streams and rivers
b. Ponds and lakes
c. Storage resources (dams)

* These can also be classified in hydrological terms as being lotic or lentic. Lotic
being swift-flowing water e.g. 1(a). Lentic being still or slow-moving water e.g.
1(b). Artificially impounded sources like 1(c) are an intermediate category
between these two.
2. Subsurface or ground- (or underground-) sources such as:
a. Springs
b. Wells (open and tube-wells)

3. Rainwater

Water sources can be described as protected or unprotected. Unprotected

sources are those where there is no barrier or other structure to protect the
water from contamination. Protected sources, on the other hand, are covered by
stonework, cement or other material that prevents the entry of any physical,
chemical or biological contaminant. Water from a protected source is likely to be
safe to drink but water from unprotected sources cannot be considered safe.
The terms improved and unimproved sources may also be used. These terms are
broadly equivalent to protected and unprotected. Improved drinking water
sources include household connections, public standpipes and water points,
boreholes, protected dug wells, protected springs and rainwater collections.
Unimproved water sources include rivers, lakes, unprotected wells and
unprotected springs.
Nearly all freshwater supplies come from precipitation which falls onto a
catchment area. Also known as a watershed or river basin, the catchment is the
area of land, often bounded by mountains, from which any water that falls into it
will drain into a particular river system. When precipitation falls into a catchment
one of three major fates befalls it:
1. It may remain on the ground as surface moisture and be eventually returned to
the atmosphere by evaporation. Alternatively, it may be stored as snow on the
surface until the temperature rises sufficiently to melt it.
2. Precipitation flows over the surface into small channels becoming surface run-
off into streams and lakes. This forms one of the bases of surface water supplies
with the water eventually evaporating into the atmosphere, percolating into the
soil to become groundwater, or continuing as surface flow in rivers back to the
sea.
3. The third route is for precipitation to infiltrate the soil and slowly percolate into
the ground to become groundwater that is stored in porous sediments and rocks.
Groundwater may remain in these porous layers for periods ranging from just a
few days to possibly millions of years. Eventually groundwater is removed by
natural upward capillary movement to the soil surface, plant uptake, groundwater
seepage into surface rivers, lakes or directly to the sea, or artificially by pumping
from wells and boreholes.

The hydrological cycle will be increasingly affected by climate change through

rising surface temperatures increasing the rates of precipitation, evaporation and
evapotranspiration. This will result in some regions becoming wetter and some
subtropical areas in particular becoming even drier, increasing the incidence of
droughts. At higher latitudes changes in snowfall patterns may lead to springtime
flooding with the proportion of water stored in the cycle as ice slowly declining
with sea levels rising to accommodate the extra free water.
WATER QUALITY

Water supplies are not pure in the sense that they are not devoid of all dissolved
chemical compounds like distilled–deionised water, but are contaminated by a
wide range of trace elements and compounds. An obvious example is the rain! As
it falls through the atmosphere, flows over and through the Earth’s surface, it is
constantly dissolving material, forming a chemical record of its passage from the
clouds. Therefore, water supplies have a natural variety in quality, which depends
largely on their source.
A major river catchment will be made up of many smaller sub-catchments each
draining into a tributary of the major river. Each sub-catchment will have different
rock and soil types, and each will have different land use activities (e.g. industrial,
residential, landfill) which also affect water quality. So the water draining from
each sub-catchment may be different in terms of chemical quality. As the
tributaries enter the main river they mix with water from other sub-catchments
upstream, constantly altering the chemical composition of the water. Therefore,
water from different areas will have a unique chemical composition. The same
scenario also applies to the microbial composition of water especially with
regards to anthropogenic activities
CRITERIA FOR SATISFACTORY WATER
There are generally four main criteria for ‘satisfactory’ water supply. These ensure
that water is available in adequate quantity, is acceptable and safe to drink, is
accessible, and is affordable. These criteria are discussed below.

1. Sufficient quantity
The quantity of water available in each household should be 50–100 litres per
person per day, or an absolute minimum of 20 litres. In practice, the amount of
water collected every day by households is considerably less than this and is
largely determined by the distance of the source of water from the home. For
water sources outside the home, but within 1 kilometre (or 30 minutes total
collection time), about 20 litres per person per day will typically be collected.
Where water is supplied through a single tap within the confines of the
household’s living area, the water used is typically about 50 litres per person per
day. At this level it is much easier to ensure good hygiene. For example,
households may use 30 times more water for child hygiene compared with those
who have to collect water from a communal source. Households that do not have
to travel to collect water have more time for economic activity, food preparation,
child care and education. Having access to a greater volume of water potentially
encourages hand-washing, general physical cleanliness and improved living
conditions.
2. Safe and acceptable
Water must be safe for drinking and other household uses. Drinking water must
be free from microbes and parasites, and free from chemical and physical
contaminants that constitute a danger to a person’s health. It must also be
acceptable in terms of colour and odour.
3. Physically accessible
Water must be within safe physical reach, in or near the house, school or health
facility. Accessibility to safe water can be classified as follows:
No access. You would say people do not have access to safe water when:
1. The distance to the water source is more than one kilometre or more than
a 30-minute round trip.
2. The amount of water collected is very low (often below 5 litres per capita
per day).

Basic access. You would say people have a basic level of access to safe water
when:
 1. The water source is within one kilometre/30-minute round trip.
2. The amount of water to be collected on average is unlikely to exceed 20
litres per capita per day.

Intermediate access. You would say people have an intermediate level of access
to safe water when:
1. Water is provided onsite through at least one tap (at yard level).
2. Average volume of water collected is approximately 50 litres per capita per
day.

Optimal access. You would say people have optimal access to safe water when:
1. Supply of water is through multiple taps within the house.
2. Approximately 100–200 litres per capita per day or more is available.

Important point:
The average consumption figures quoted above refer to water used for all
household purposes including washing, cooking and cleaning as well as drinking
and eating.
However, the daily minimum water requirement is 2 to 4.5 litres per person per
day, which is the volume of water that must be consumed by a person to survive.
4.Affordable
As well as being physically accessible, water should also be reasonably priced and
affordable for everyone. Buying water should not reduce a person’s capacity to
buy other essential goods. This means that essential amounts of water must
sometimes be provided free according to the socioeconomic strength of the
communities. Ensuring the affordability of water requires that services match
what people can pay. For example, in most rural communities protected water
sources should be freely provided by the government and other organisations.

Quality of water is an important aspect. There are international and national

standards for the quality of water to be supplied for human consumption. The
state governments may have a slight relaxation (or strictness) in the standards
depending upon the local conditions but in general they are the same throughout
the country.
The main aim in terms of environmental health is to ensure water supplied to the
population is safe and palatable (good in taste). In order to achieve an ideal
condition, the minimum standards of quality are to be established. The evolution
of standards for the control of quality of public water supplies has to consider the
limitations imposed by the local factors in the different regions of the country.
The main objective of standards should be to make water absolutely free from
risks of transmitting disease. This means safety is compulsory, whereas the other
qualities are to be maintained within a specified range. For example water may
have dissolved solids up to 500 mg/l but cannot have any bacteria or other
microorganism.
However, water is a very good carrier of many disease-producing organisms
(pathogens) as there are chances of it getting contaminated (infected by
pathogens). If a small drop of urine or faecal matter is mixed in a body of water
(canal, pond etc.) and the person contributing it has some disease like cholera,
gastroenteritis, infectious hepatitis jaundice, typhoid, etc., it will infect the
stream. Anybody using that water without treatment (disinfection) is liable to
catch the same disease. Sometimes the foul waste water (from latrines, toilets
etc.) goes down the earth and gets mixed (at a shallow depth) with the
groundwater and pollutes it. If this ground water lifted by a hand pump or a tube-
well is used, again without disinfection, it shall cause disease in the person using
it. Sometimes the dissolved salts may produce some other diseases like fluorosis
(due to excessive fluoride) methaemoglobinaemia (blue baby disease) due to
excessive nitrates in, infants) etc. So water must not have the physical, chemical
and bacteriological parameters beyond limits.

CHARACTERISTICS OF WATER
To ensure the quality of safe drinking water (potable water) the water is to be
tested for its physical, chemical and microbiological characteristics.
1. Physical Characteristics
i. Temperature: It can be measured by a thermometer. The temperature should
be suitable to the human beings depending upon the climatic and weather
conditions. An average temperature of 15°C is generally suitable.

ii. Turbidity: The muddy or cloudy appearance of clay or such other particles that
presents hindrance to the path of light is known as turbidity. It may not be
harmful, but even then from aesthetical point of view it should not exceed the
allowable value. The turbidity is measured by a turbidity rod or a turbidity-meter
with physical observations and is expressed as the suspended matter in mg/l or
ppm (part per million). The standard unit of turbidity is that which is produced by
1 mg of finely divided silica in one litre of distilled water. The turbidity in excess of
5 mg/l is detectable by the consumer and is hence objectionable. It is measured in
the laboratory by Jackson, Baylis or such other turbidity-meters.

iii. Colour: The colour is imparted by dissolved organic matters from decaying
vegetation or some inorganic materials such as coloured soils (red soil) etc. The
algae or other aquatic plants may also impart colour. Again it is more
objectionable from aesthetics point of view than the health. The standard unit of
colour is that which is produced by one milligram of platinum cobalt dissolved in
one litre of distilled water. Colour is measured in the labs by Nessler’s tubes by
comparing the sample with the known colour intensities. More precisely
tintometer measures it.

iv. Taste and odour: The dissolved inorganic salts or organic matter or the
dissolved gases may impart taste and odour to the water. The water must not
contain any undesirable or objectionable taste or odour. The extent of taste or
odour is measured by a term called odour intensity which is related with
threshold odour, which represents the dilution ratio at which the odour is hardly
detectible. The water to be tested is gradually diluted with odour free water and
the mixture at which the detection of taste and odour is just lost is determined.
The number of times the sample is diluted is known as the threshold number.
Thus, if 20 ml of water is added to 100 ml of the sample (until it just loses its taste
or odour) then the threshold number is 5. For domestic water supplies the water
should be free from any taste and odour so the threshold number should be 1
and should not exceed 3.

v. Specific conductivity of water: The specific conductivity of water is determined

by means of a portable dionic water tester and is expressed as micromhos per cm
(μΩ/cm) at 25°C. The Siemens, S (SI unit mho) is the unit of conductivity, is the
reciprocal of resistance, R (SI unit ohm or Ω), and is equal to 1 ampere/1 volt).
Therefore, S = Ω-1 = ⁄ . The specific conductivity is multiplied by a co-efficient
(generally 0.65) so as to directly obtain the dissolved salt content in ppm.

2. Chemical Characteristics
Chemical analysis of water is done to determine the chemical characteristics of
water. This involves the determination of total solids, suspended solids, pH value,
hardness, chlorides, nitrogen content, iron, dissolved gases, manganese and other
heavy metal contents, etc.
i. Total solids and suspended solids: The total amount of solids (TS) can be
determined by evaporating a measured sample of water and weighing the dry
residue left. The total suspended solids (TSS) can be determined by filtering the
water sample and weighing the residue left on the filter paper. The difference
between the TS and the TSS will be the dissolved solids (TDS).

ii. pH of water: pH is the negative logarithm of hydrogen ion concentration

present in water. The higher values of pH mean lower hydrogen ion
concentrations and thus represent alkaline water and vice versa. The neutral
water has same number of H+ and OH– ions. The concentration of both ions in
neutral water is 10–7 moles per litre. The neutral water will therefore possess a
pH equal to log10 (1/H+) = log10 (1/10–7) = log10 107 = 7. Generally, the alkalinity in
water is caused by the presence of bicarbonates of calcium and magnesium, or by
the carbonates or hydroxides of sodium potassium calcium and magnesium. Some
of the compounds which cause alkalinity also cause hardness. Acidity is caused by
the presence of mineral acids, free carbon dioxide, sulphates of iron and
aluminium etc.

The pH value can be measured by a digital pH meter. It can also be measured with
the help of colour indicators. The indicators are added to sample of water and the
colour produced is compared with the standard colours of known pH values.
For municipal water supplies the pH should be as close to 7 as possible. The lower
pH water (acidic) may harm the pipe lines etc. by reacting with them
(tuberculation and corrosion). The alkaline water may produce sedimentation,
(scaling) in pipes, difficulties in chlorination (for disinfection) and adverse effect
on human physiological system.
iii. Hardness of water: Hardness in water prevents the formation of sufficient
lather (foam) when used with soap. It is caused by certain dissolved salts of
calcium and magnesium which form scum with soap and reduce the formation of
foam which helps in removing the dirt from clothes. These salts keep on
depositing on the surface of boilers and thus form a layer known as scale which
reduces the efficiency of the boilers. The hardness is known as temporary
hardness if it is due to the bicarbonates of calcium and magnesium as this can be
easily removed by boiling water or adding lime to it. By boiling the carbon dioxide
gas escapes and the insoluble carbonates are deposited (which cause scaling). If
sulphates, chlorides and nitrates are present they cannot be easily removed by
boiling and so such water requires water softening methods and this type of
hardness is known as permanent hardness. Hardness is measured by titration
method (E.D.T.A. method) and is expressed in ppm or mg/l. Generally the
groundwater has more hardness as it dissolves the salts in its journey from
surface to the ground water table. For boiler feed waters and for efficient washing
of clothes the water must be soft i.e. hardness should be less than 75 ppm (mg/l).

iv. Chlorides: Chlorides are generally present in water in the form of sodium
chloride and their concentration above 250 mg/l produces a salty taste in drinking
water. The chlorides can be measured in water by titrating the water with
standard silver nitrate solution using potassium chromate as indicator.

v. Nitrogen content: The nitrogen in water may occur in one or more forms of the
following:
a. Free ammonia
b. Albuminoidal nitrogen
c. Nitrites
d. Nitrates

The free ammonia indicates very fast stage of decomposition of organic matter
(thus indicating fresh pollution); albuminoidal nitrogen represents the quantity of
nitrogen present in water before the decomposition of organic matter has
started; the nitrites indicate the partly decomposed organic matter (the
continuation of decomposition); and the nitrates indicate the presence of fully
oxidised organic matter (means the prior pollution condition).
In potable water the free ammonia (un-decomposed organic matter should not be
more than 0.15 ppm. The albuminoidal nitrogen should not be more than 0.3
ppm. The nitrogen may remain in the form of nitrates but that too should not be
more than 45 ppm as a higher concentration causes blue baby disease in the
infants. Actually the nitrates act with the haemoglobin in the blood (which imparts
red colour) and reduce it thus converting the colour of skin to blue (impure blood)
and thus making them ill and in extreme cases they can die. Nitrate is measured
either by reduction to ammonia or by matching the colours produced with
phenoldisulphonic acid.
vi. Metals and other chemical substances: Various metals and minerals may be
present in water like iron, manganese, copper, lead, cadmium, arsenic, barium,
selenium, etc. The allowable limits for them are available in relevant standards. If
the concentration of these metals and minerals exceeds the permissible limits
they have certain harmful effects on the human health. Higher concentrations of
iron and manganese may cause discoloration of clothes washed in such waters.
They may cause incrustation in water supply pipe lines due to deposition of ferric
hydroxide and manganese oxide. Lead and barium salts are toxic and thus very
low concentration of these salts is permissible. Arsenic is a well-known poison and
as such extremely low concentration (e.g. 0.05 ppm) is permitted. Industrial
wastewater pollution may cause arsenic concentrations to be more than
permissible limits. High quantities of copper may badly affect human lungs and
other respiratory organs.

vii. Dissolved gases: Various gases like CO2, O2, N2, H2S and CH4 etc. may be
present in dissolved form in water. H 2S, even in small concentration, gives bad
taste and odour. CO2 indicates biological activity. Oxygen is generally absorbed by
water from the atmosphere. Its saturation concentration depends upon
temperature. The organic matter may be present in water due to the disposal of
wastewater in it. Organic matter is instable and has a tendency to become stable
i.e. to be inorganic matter. This conversion is known as decomposition of organic
matter and the process is biochemical. As it takes place by bacteria and the
conversion is extra cellular enzymatic reaction so it is known as a biochemical
reaction. The demand of oxygen imposed by the aerobic bacteria is known as the
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). This BOD reduces the dissolved oxygen
content of the water. So if the DO of water is found to be less than the initial
concentration DO it indicates the water pollution. The BOD of treated water
should be nil.

3 Microbiological Characteristics
This subsection provides a general discussion on bacteriological and virological
characteristics, although viruses are said to be intermediate between life and
non-life. Disease-causing helminthes (parasitic worms e.g. fluke, nematode,
tapeworm, guinea worm, etc.) may also be important here. It is typically advised
that safe water should be free of these parasites and their eggs.
1 Bacteriological Standards
i. Water entering the distribution system: Coliform (with bacteria, as the
indicator organism) count in any sample of 100 ml water should be zero. A sample
of the water entering the distribution system that does not conform to this
standard calls for an immediate investigation into both the efficacy of the
purification process and the method of sampling.
ii. Water in the distribution system shall satisfy all the three criteria indicated
below:
a. Escherichia coli (bacteria found in the colon of human beings as a natural
habitant) count in 100 ml of any sample should be zero.
b. Coliform organisms (bacteria coli and E. coli), not more than 10 per 100 ml shall
be present in any sample.
c. Coliform organisms should not be detectable in 100 ml of any two consecutive
sample or more than 5% of the samples collected for the year.

If coliform organisms are found, re-sampling should be done. The repeated

findings of 1 to 10 coliform organisms in 100 ml or the appearance of higher
numbers in any sample should necessitate the investigation and removal of the
source of pollution.
iii. Individual or small community supplies: E. coli count should be zero in any
sample of 100 ml and coliform organisms should not be more than 3 per 100 ml.
(If repeated samples show the presence of coliform organisms, steps should be
taken to discover and remove the source of pollution. If coliform exceeds 3 per
100 ml, the supply should be disinfected).

2 Virological Aspects
0.5 mg/l of free chlorine residual for one hour is sufficient to inactivate virus, even
in water that was originally polluted. This free chlorine residual is to be insisted in
all disinfected supplies in areas suspected to be endemic of infectious hepatitis
Jaundice to take care of the safety of the supply from virus point of view which
incidentally takes care of the safety from the bacteriological point of view as well.
For other areas 0.2 mg/l of free chlorine residual for half an hour should be
insisted.
After knowing the standards of potable water one should know the ways and
means to make the water fit for drinking, i.e. the treatment of water.
CENTRALISED WATER TREATMENT
This is also known as the “conventional” treatment process as it represents an
ideal system of a central plant/facility for the treatment water. The various
methods of purification of water are:
i. Screening
ii. Plain sedimentation
iii. Sedimentation aided with coagulation
iv. Filtration
v. Disinfection
vi. Aeration
vii. Softening
viii. Miscellaneous treatments like defluoridation, recarbonation desalination etc.
1 Screening
Screens are provided before the intake works so as to prevent the entry of big
objects like debris, branches of trees, part of animals etc. Screens may be of two
types, coarse screen and fine screens. Coarse screens are parallel iron rods placed
vertically or at a small slope at about 2.5 cm to 10 cm apart. The fine screens are
made up of fine wire or perforated metal with small openings less than 1 cm size.
The finer the screen, the more the chances of clogging! So, only coarse screens
are generally used. The screens may be manually cleaned or mechanically cleaned
depending upon the requirement i.e. the size of the treatment plant.
2 Plain Sedimentation
Sedimentation is done to remove the impurities which have specific gravity more
than that of water and are settleable. When water is moving, these impurities
remain in suspension due to the turbulence and as the velocity is reduced they
settle down. It is not necessary to stop the motion of water completely as it will
require more volume of the sedimentation tanks. As per the theory of
sedimentation: the settlement of a particle depend upon the velocity of flow, the
viscosity of water, the size shape and specific gravity of particle.
3 Sedimentation Aided with Coagulation
The fine suspended particles like mud particles and the colloidal matter present in
water cannot settle down by plain sedimentation with ordinary (lesser) detention
periods. Some of the colloidal impurities will not settle even if the water is
detained for long periods in the sedimentation tanks as the same charge (usually
negative charge) on the clay particles repel each other and do not allow them to
settle down. So the sedimentation is aided with coagulation. Coagulation is a
process in which some chemical like alum or ferrous sulphate is mixed in water
resulting in particle destabilisation (neutralisation). Operationally, this is achieved
by the addition of appropriate chemical like alum and intense mixing for achieving
uniform dispersion of the chemical. These chemicals are more effective when the
water is slightly alkaline. Sometimes sodium carbonate or lime is to be added to
achieve the suitable pH of water. Flocculation is the second stage of the
formation of settleable particles (or flocs) from destabilised (neutral) colloidal
particles and is achieved by gentle (slow) mixing. So in flocculation the alum is
first mixed rapidly for dispersion and then slow mixing produces flocs. Both these
stages of flocculation are greatly influenced by physical and chemical forces such
as electrical charge on particles, exchange capacity, particle size and
concentration, pH, water temperature and electrolyte concentration.
4 Filtration
Filtration is a physical and chemical process for separating suspended and
colloidal impurities from water by passage through a porous bed made up of
gravel and sand etc. Actually the sedimentation even aided with coagulation and
flocculation cannot remove all the suspended and colloidal impurities and to
make water (especially surface water) fit for drinking, filtration is a must. The
theory of filtration includes the following actions:
• Mechanical straining, the suspended particles present in water that are of
bigger size than the voids in the sand layers are retained therein and the water
becomes free of them. The sand layer may get choked after some time and then it
is to be cleaned for further action by washing it back.
• Sedimentation, the small voids in the sand act as tiny sedimentation tanks and
the colloidal matter arrested in these voids is a gelatinous mass and thus attracts
other finer particles. These finer particles are thus removed by the sedimentation.
• Biological metabolism, certain micro-organisms are present in the sand voids.
They decompose the organic matter like the algae etc. and thus remove some of
the impurity.
• Electrolytic change, according to the theory of ionisation a filter helps in
purifying the water by changing the chemical characteristics of water. The sand
grains of the filter media and the impurities in water carry electrical charge of
opposite nature which neutralise each other and force the particles to settle now
by gravity.
 Disinfection
The filtration of water removes the suspended impurities and removes a large
percentage of bacteria but still some of the bacteria remain there in the filtered
water. This bacteria may be harmful bacteria (disease producing bacteria) known
as pathogenic bacteria. The process of killing these bacteria is known as
disinfection. There are many diseases like cholera, gastroenteritis, infectious
hepatitis (jaundice), typhoid etc., the bacteria or virus of which transmits through
water. It is necessary to make water free from any micro-organism before human
consumption. Contamination (mixing of pathogenic micro-organism) may take
place in the water supply at any time (because of leakage etc.) so proper
measures must be taken to stop it at all levels. Generally the disinfection is done
by adding chlorine to water. There should be a residual amount of chlorine after
the disinfection to fight with any probable contamination in the route of water to
the consumer. Following are some of the methods of disinfection
• Boiling of water
• Treatment with excess lime
• Use of ozone
• Treatment with ultraviolet rays
• Use of potassium permanganate
• Treatment with silver
• Use of bromine, iodine and chlorine

Out of the above, treatment with chlorine is the most popular and economically
effective. Actually the criteria for a good disinfectant include the following:
• It should be capable of destroying the pathogenic organisms present, within the
contact time available and not unduly influenced by the range of physical and
chemical properties of water encountered particularly temperature, pH and
mineral constituents.
• It should not leave products of reaction which render the water toxic or impart
colour or otherwise make it non-potable.
• It should have ready and dependable availability at reasonable cost permitting
convenient, safe and accurate application to water.
• It should possess the property of leaving residual concentrations to deal with
small possible recontamination.
• It should be amenable to detection by practical, rapid and simple analytical
techniques in the small concentration ranges to permit the control of efficiency of
the disinfection process.

The factors affecting the efficiency of disinfection are:

• Type, condition and concentration of organisms to be destroyed
• Type and concentration of disinfectant
• Contact time and concentration of disinfectants in water and
• Chemical and physical characteristics of water to be treated particularly the
temperature, pH and mineral constituents.

Potable water should always have some amount of residual chlorine, as there are
all chances of contamination at all levels. This may be 0.2 ppm. to 0.3 ppm.
Depending upon the requirement (rainy season or enhanced chances, more Cl2
required). To make sure the presence of chlorine some tests are done out of
which Orthotolidine test is the most common one.
Orthotolidine Test: In this test 10 ml of chlorinated sample of water is taken after
the required contact period (say 30 minutes) in a glass tube. 0.1 ml of
Orthotolidine solution is added to it. The colour formed is noted after 5 minutes
and compared with the standard coloured glasses. The darker the yellow colour
formed, the more the residual chlorine. The test is very simple and even a semi-
skilled employee can perform it satisfactorily and it can be done at the site itself
and accordingly corrective measures can be taken. For example, if there is a
complaint from a community. Test is performed for the tank water and if no
residual chlorine is found, bleaching powder or household bleach (good sources
of chlorine) is mixed with some water and added to the tank water in paste form
and stirred. The test is again performed after half an hour till it shows the
required residual chlorine.
6 Aeration
Taste and odour, both are undesirable in water. Aeration is done to remove taste
and odour. Aeration is done to promote the exchange of gases between the water
and the atmosphere. In the water treatment, aeration is performed for the
following purposes:
• To add oxygen to water for imparting freshness, for example water from
underground sources may have lesser oxygen.
• For expulsion of carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and other volatile
substances causing taste and odour.
• To precipitate impurities like iron and manganese especially from underground
water.

In aeration gases are dissolved in or liberated from water until the concentration
of the gas in the water has reached its saturation value. The concentration of
gases in a liquid generally obeys Henery’s law which states that the concentration
of each gas in water is directly proportional to the partial pressure (product of the
volume percentage of the gas and the total pressure of the atmosphere.) or
concentration of gas in the atmosphere in contact with water. The saturation
concentration of a gas decreases with temperature and dissolved salts in water.
Aeration accelerates the exchange of gas. To ensure proper aeration it is
necessary to,
• Increase the area of water in contact with the air. The smaller are the droplets
produced the larger will be the area available.
• Keep the surface of the liquid constantly agitated so as to reduce the thickness
of the liquid film which would govern the resistance offered to the rate of
exchange of the gas.
• Increase the time of contact of water droplets with air or increase the time of
flow which can be achieved by increasing the height of jet in spray aerators and
increasing the height of tower in case of packed media.

Where oxygen is to be dissolved in water, the concentration or partial pressure of

the oxygen may be increased by increasing the total pressure of the gas in contact
with water. For this purpose, air injected into the mains under pressure is a
reasonably efficient method of increasing the amount of dissolved oxygen.
7 Water Softening
The reduction or removal of hardness from water is known as water softening.
For domestic water supplies, the softening is done to reduce the soap
consumption, to ensure longer life to washed fabric, to lower the cost of
maintaining plumbing fixtures and to improve the taste of food preparations and
improve palatability (good taste). For industrial supplies, softening is done for
reducing scaling problems in boilers and the interference in the working of dyeing
systems. Usually a total hardness of 75 to 100 mg/l (as CaCO 3) would meet these
requirements. The magnesium hardness should not exceed 40 mg/l to minimise
the possibility of magnesium hydroxide scale in domestic water heaters.
Calcium and magnesium associated with bicarbonates are responsible for
carbonate hardness and that with the sulphates, chlorides and nitrates contribute
to non-carbonate hardness. Normally the alkalinity measures the carbonate
hardness unless it contains sodium alkalinity. The non-carbonate hardness is
measured by the difference between the total hardness and the carbonate
hardness. Carbonates and bicarbonates of sodium are described as negative non-
carbonate hardness.
The temporary hardness or bicarbonate hardness can be removed by boiling or by
adding lime. The following reactions take place by boiling:
Ca(HCO3)2 + Heat = CaCO3 ↓ + H2O + CO2 ↑
Mg(HCO3)2 + Heat = MgCO3 ↓ + H2O + CO2 ↑
As it is difficult to boil the water at large scale the addition of lime is done. The
following reaction takes place when lime is added to water:
Ca(HCO3)2 + Ca(OH)2 = CaCO3 ↓ + 2H2O
Mg(HCO3)2 + Ca(OH)2 = CaCO3 ↓ + MgCO3 ↓ + 2H2O
The carbonates of calcium and magnesium (permanent hardness) are removed by
sedimentation being insoluble in water. They are removed by:
i. Lime-soda process
ii. Zeolite process
iii. Demineralization or deionization process.

Lime-soda process
In the lime soda process, lime and soda ash (Na 2CO3) are added to remove both
the temporary and permanent hardness. The additional reactions with soda are as
follows:
MgSO4 + Ca(OH)2 = CaSO4 + Mg(OH)2 ↓
CaSO4 + Na2CO3 = CaCO3 ↓ + Na2SO4
CaCl2 + Na2CO3 = CaCO3 ↓ + 2NaCl
MgCl2 + Ca(OH)2 = CaCl2 + Mg(OH)2 ↓
Using the above reactions, the hardness is removed in the lime soda plants.
Zeolite process
The lime soda method is a precipitation method in which some chemicals or
reagents are added to the water. In the zeolite process no such chemical is added
and the hard water is passed through a bed of special material called as the
zeolite. The zeolite has the property of removing calcium and magnesium from
the water and substituting sodium in their place by ion exchange phenomenon.
Zeolites are complex compounds of aluminum, silica and soda, sometimes
synthetic and otherwise natural. Natural zeolites are mainly processed from green
sand (glauconite). It has an exchange value of about 8000 gm of hardness per m3
of zeolite. The common artificial zeolite is permutit. It has larger grains with white
colour. Permutit (SiO2 Al2O3 Na2O) has a high exchange value of 35000 to 40000
gm of hardness per m3 of zeolite. When hard water passes through a bed of
permutit, the following reactions take place:
2SiO2Al2O3 Na2O + Ca(HCO3)2 = 2SiO2 Al2O3CaO + 2NaHCO3
2SiO2Al2O3 Na2O + CaSO4 = 2SiO2 Al2O3CaO + Na2SO4
2SiO2Al2O3 Na2O + CaCl2 = 2SiO2 Al2O3CaO + 2NaCl
Similar reactions take place with compounds of magnesium hardness where they
can be reduced to almost zero by this method. Due to continuous use of the
zeolite, the sodium gets exhausted and then the zeolite has to be regenerated by
passing a solution of salt through it. The sodium in the brine (salt water) replaces
the calcium and magnesium in the exhausted zeolite which is thus restored and
the calcium and magnesium are discharged to waste with the wash water.
Demineralization or deionisation process
The conventional zeolites exchange the sodium cations (positive in electric
charge) for the cations of calcium magnesium and iron in water and the softening
is essentially a cation exchange process. In the demineralization or deionisation
process, some other zeolite is used which exchanges all the cations (including
sodium) for hydrogen. Some of the zeolites are patented as zeo-karbs, catex
organolites etc. are carbonaceous zeolites since they are made from materials like
coal and lignite. They are also known as hydrogen exchangers. The water treated
with hydrogen zeolite has the sulphates, chlorides and bicarbonates transformed
into sulphuric, hydrochloric and carbonic acids. Actually the demineralisation is
done mainly to make the brackish water (as sea water) useful for drinking. It is a
costly process.
Requirement / pressure of water to be supplied
After treatment, the water is supplied to the consumers through the distribution
system. This includes the collection of treated water in the clear water reservoir,
pumping it to the overhead reservoirs (overhead tanks) and then distribution
through the pipeline network.
The supply from the street main to the individual buildings is made through a
house service connection. The water is used in the house premises for many
purposes like drinking, cooking, bathing, cleaning of utensils, floors and clothes
etc., gardening and flushing. The water is also used for commercial and industrial
purposes. The total per capita water demand of a city depends on many factors
like the size of the city, climatic conditions, living standards, mode of supply,
mode of assessment etc. In general, the following rates per capita per day are
considered minimum for domestic and non-domestic needs:
i. for communities with population up to 10000 70 to 100 litres
ii. for communities with population up to 10000 to 50000 100 to 125 litres
iii. for communities with population above 50000 125 to 200 litres