SCIENCE & MATERIAL
WATER SUPPLY
1
OBJECTIVES
THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS MODULE IS TO GAIN KNOWLEDGE AND
UNDERSTANDING OF:
Different sources of water supply
Properties of natural water supplies
Water treatment methods
Water distribution methods.
2
Introduction to water systems
■ Water systems today are finding themselves with ever increasing
responsibilities in the area of proper treatment and protection of
the water supply.
■ A secure water supply is of vital importance for the health of the
population and for the economy.
■ The basic responsibility of the system is to provide each individual
with an adequate supply of safe, potable water to meet their
needs/usage.
3
Water usage
■ DOMESTIC WATER USAGE: Domestic water usage is any water that
is used directly by people in their daily activities. These activities
include bathing, drinking, cooking, sanitation and other
miscellaneous activities like watering lawns, washing the car and
laundry.
■ INDUSTRIAL WATER USAGE: Industrial usage of water is considered
to be water used for production of goods for marketing.
■ AGRICULTURAL WATER USAGE: Agricultural usage of water is
considered to be water used in irrigation of crops, watering
livestock, and in cooling and cleanup of dairies and farm
equipment.
■ PUBLIC WATER USAGE: Public water usage may be defined as any
community service that requires potable water. Services may
include fire protection, recreation (swimming pools, golf courses,
etc.) and street maintenance. 4
Water Supply System
Source of
Treatment Distribution End users
water supply
• Quality • Coagulatio • Service • General
• Collection n Reservoirs Public
method • Clarificatio • Pipe • Commercia
and n Networks l
storage • Filtration • Tankers • Industrial
• Disinfection • Potable
(Chlorinatio water
n)
5
Sources of water supply
■ Finding enough water to satisfy the demand on the system is
certainly a major concern for the water suppliers.
■ Systems are faces with essentially two choices when selecting a
source of supply.
■ They can use ground water (springs, wells) or, if a suitable river,
stream or lake is present, they may choose to use a surface
water supply.
■ In some cases harvested rain water too is used as source of supply.
■ Water that obtained from the sources is not safe to drink. Quality
of water is determined based on the following properties.
■ They are minerals, turbidity, waterborne pathogens, tastes and
odors, and color. Temperature, pH, and hardness.
6
Water Treatment
AC voltage formula:
7
Water Treatment Process
Coagulation / Flocculation
During coagulation, liquid aluminium sulfate (alum) and/or polymer is added to untreated
(raw) water. When mixed with the water, this causes the tiny particles of dirt in the water
to stick together or coagulate. Next, groups of dirt particles stick together to form larger,
heavier particles called flocs which are easier to remove by settling or filtration.
Sedimentation
As the water and the floc particles progress through the treatment process, they move
into sedimentation basins where the water moves slowly, causing the heavy floc particles
to settle to the bottom.
Filtration
Water flows through a filter designed to remove particles in the water. The filters are
made of layers of sand and gravel, and in some cases, crushed anthracite. Filtration
collects the suspended impurities in water and enhances the effectiveness of disinfection.
The filters are routinely cleaned by backwashing.
Disinfection
Water is disinfected before it enters the distribution system to ensure that any disease-
causing bacteria, viruses, and parasites are destroyed. Chlorine is mostly used for this
purpose.
8
Water Distribution
■ Finished water storage or reservoirs: there are four type of
reservoirs
– Steel tank
– Concrete tank
– Wood tanks
– Hydropneumatic tank
These reservoirs can be constructed below ground, above
ground or at the ground level.
■ Piped network systems
■ Bulk supplies (aqueduct, channels, streams etc.)
■ Tankers or sealed containers
9
Water storage or reservoirs
10
Piped network
■ Piped distribution system can vary from simple to most
complicated.
■ Most piped system have same basic components such as pumping
stations, pipes, valves and service connections.
■ Several types of pipes are used within a same network. Types of
pipes include:
– Cast iron pipe
– Asbestos cement pipes
– Steel pipe
– Concrete pipe
– PVC pipes
– High-density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipe.
11
Tunnel, Channel and Aqueduct
■ These are distribution methods that have been used from ancient
time.
■ These methods are mostly man-made or sometime natural.
■ They carry water from a distance place to a city in a large quantity.
12
Water tankers
■ Water tankering (also known as water trucking) can be a rapid
means of transporting water to areas in need during the initial
phase of an emergency.
■ Tankering operations, however, are expensive and relatively
time-consuming to administer.
13
Assignment: Water supply system of
your city
Prepare a diagram showing water
supply system of your city based
the diagram given on the right.
In your diagram, You should
indicate:
1. What are the sources of supply
2. Type of treatment plant and its
capacity
3. Types of reservoirs used for
storage
4. Type of distribution system
5. Major types of end users.
14
