Why Water Filtration and Purification are so Important
Life on Earth began in water and evolved from it. You have experienced this dependence each time you seek water fluids to quench your thirst and replenish your body’s water content. The cells inside your body are surrounded by a fluid that is mostly water and your cells themselves range from 70% to 80% in water content. Water is the biological medium here on Earth and the supporter of all life forms.
Water circulates through our body without rest and causes the macromolecules (proteins, enzymes, and genes) and cells in the body to function properly. When information is passed from tissues to tissue, it is water that delivers this information. Water performs a variety of particular tasks, all which are either life supporting or life-saving. In a living body, if the circulation of water slows down too much, life begins to cease. Equally as important to both lower and higher organisms, water is the vital generator of life and its supporting force.
Our natural water resources are under a great deal of stress, as we battle with an everchanging climate, pollution and the needs of a rapidly growing population. Demand for quality drinking water has never been greater!
Given the importance of water to our wellbeing & every bodily function, we owe it to ourselves to ensure that the water we drink is as pure & fresh as possible!
Some contaminants do more than pose a health risk. They can also affect the flavour of drinking water, such as giving it a metallic taste or another unpleasant taste. Purifying water helps get rid of these contaminants, which can improve the flavour of drinking water without having to boil it.
What Exactly is Water Filtration?
Water filtration is the process of removing or reducing the concentration of particulate matter, including suspended particles, parasites, bacteria, algae, viruses, and fungi, as well as other undesirable chemical and biological contaminants from contaminated water to produce safe and clean water for a specific purpose, such as drinking, medical, and pharmaceutical applications. The filtration systems for drinking water usually incorporate a five-stage filtration process: sediment, mechanical, chemical, mineral, and bacterial.
“Water filtration” refers to any methods that are used to filter your water before you drink it. The primary goal of this is to remove various contaminants and sediments from your water before you ingest them into your body. It further protects pipe lines, modern sink & bathroom mixers, and appliances such as water dispensing fridges, and coffee machines, etc.
Many people drink water every day without using a water filtration device. That is why it’s important to understand why clean drinking water is crucial to your body.
Essentially water filtration protects the water system more than the consumer.
What Exactly is Water Purification?
Water purification is the process of removing unwanted chemicals that are unhealthy for human consumption, such as chlorine, to provide best quality water for human consumption. UV protection units are added to protect from microbiological contamination such as E Coli and salmonella.
Unlike filtration, water purification protects the consumer more than the water system.
What is in Your Tap Water?
Tap water is safe in many places, but that doesn’t mean you’re not ingesting impurities.
Indeed, depending on where you live, you might be drinking bacteria, chemicals, and debris floating around in your municipality’s water system.
- Chlorine
Chlorine is added to water to make it safe because its toxicity kills bacteria and microbes that might otherwise make you sick.
We need chlorine in our water to prevent the spread of illnesses through drinking water.
But that doesn’t mean you want to drink the chlorine.
A study published in Epidemiology examined 141,000 births in Norway. The researchers found that
children who lived in places where chlorine was added to the tap water experienced a 14% higher risk of having birth defects. Urinary tract abnormalities doubled.
So while chlorination is the widely accepted way of cleaning water, it should still be filtered out before you drink it, particularly if you live in an area where trihalomethanes (THMs), developed by the combination of chlorine and organic matter, tend to fluctuate.
- Fluoride
Many cities add fluoride to their water as a public health measure. But not everyone needs the extra fluoride.
While the fluoride added to your water won’t hurt you in the short term, you can still choose to filter it out.
- Lead
Lead is another contaminant that can show up in your tap water. Old pipes, cost-saving measures, and disregard for public health can all lead to lead levels above the legal limit.
Lead-contaminated water can be devastating to community health.
- Nitrate
Nitrate forms naturally when nitrogen is combined with oxygen. All living things need nitrate, and it’s found in your drinking water. In fact, nitrate forms naturally at the surface, particularly in groundwater and well water.
However, when nitrate reaches high levels, it can be dangerous, particularly for pregnant women and children.
High levels of nitrate can be caused by fertilizers, industrial waste, septic systems, poor well construction, and the improper disposal of waste.
If you live in a rural area and get your water from a well, you should have your water tested at least once a year to make sure your water quality hasn’t changed. Continue to have it tested even when you’ve purchased a water filter system.
Nitrate can be removed through distillation and water filtration methods.
- Viruses
Water-transmitted viruses can carry infectious diseases. Hepatitis A, norovirus, and rotavirus can all be transmitted through water. In most cases, these viruses enter water through animal or human waste.
In most cases, you won’t find these in your drinking water in the city. Water is treated for viruses and it’s routinely monitored in urban areas.
Filtration provides an extra layer of protection for tap water drinkers. It’s certainly recommended for rural water protection.
However, it must be noted that boiling is the only treatment that is 100% effective in destroying pathogens.
These are the five most common types of water contamination. But what else can you find in your water?
- Arsenic
- Copper
- E. coli
- Enterovirus
- Radon
- Salmonella
- Shigella
Here are 8 reasons you should consider filtrating your tap water:
– Filtering water can result in not only better tasting, but also better smelling water by removing chemicals, pesticides, chlorine, bacterial contaminants and heavy metals.
– Point-of-use water treatment filters remove a wide range of contaminants from drinking water including chlorine, chemicals, and up to 240 other volatile organic compounds.
– Research has established that water filters reduce the risk of certain cancers including colon cancer, rectal cancer, and bladder cancer by ridding water of chlorine and chlorine by-products.
– Carbon water filters are designed to selectively remove toxic contaminants from drinking water and still retain healthy mineral deposits that help to balance the pH of drinking water.
– By removing giardia, e-coli and cryptosporidium, water purification systems like reverse osmosis technology have been shown to reduce the risk of gastrointestinal disease by more than 80%.
– Filtered water is vital for children as it provides, clean, healthy water that’s essential for their immune systems.
– Water filters act as the last line of defence against over 2,100 known toxins that may enter the body through drinking water.
– Drinking clean, filtered water leads to general overall wellbeing and also helps to prevent disease.
We Agree:
The technology exists to safeguard your water supply with proven European solutions for African problems.
German designed, engineered and manufactured products to actively prevent corrosion, scale and suspended solid build-up in your building’s entire water system.
An investment providing long term savings in energy efficiency, maintenance costs and replacement parts – giving you peace of mind.
Boulevard Collection International™ agrees that a good water filtration and purification system is imperative to a healthy home and lifestyle. With qualified and reputable specialists in our network, combined having the experience of assisting and supplying customers with their water filtration requirement in the main water supply to the premises, we feel confident that we can assist with professional diagnosis and implementation of the necessary.
Partnering with such specialists, once you have had your water tested and based on the results, we then assist by proposing and supplying the appropriate system, giving you a pleasurable water experience and an added sustainable, healthy lifestyle.
South Africa is catching up with the rest of the world’s trends and fashions – we all want and deserve them – so let technology work for you and don’t allow outdated systems become a millstone around your neck.
AUTHOR: Darius Du Plessis