The EPA passed a Safe Drinking Water Act to set the standards of quality for drinking water throughout the nation. Under this act, contaminants are defined as any chemical, biological, physical or radiological type of substance in water.
Reasonably speaking, drinking water is expected to have some amount of contaminants. Some of these contaminants may be completely harmless; however, if consumed in higher volumes, they could pose some serious health risks.
The Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) is a much more comprehensive guide for identifying the contaminants found in drinking water. The CCL can be considered as the first level for evaluating water contaminants, which may be found in unregulated drinking water, the levels in which they are found and the health risks associated to them.
Here are the four main categories of water contaminants and some examples:
Physical Contaminants
Physical contaminants are the most common in drinking water. They comprise of minerals and sediments picked up from waterbeds across rivers and streams. Some commonly found physical contaminants are magnesium and calcium. Physical contaminants usually impact the physical appearance and properties of water.
For example, higher volumes of physical contaminants like magnesium and calcium may deem it ‘hard’. Although magnesium and calcium are required by the body, excess intake of these minerals through drinking water can cause serious health hazards.
Biological Contaminants
Any living organism in water is categorized as a biological contaminant. They are also known as microbiological and microbe contaminants. Some examples of biological contaminants include parasites, protozoan, bacteria and viruses.
The health risk posed by these biological contaminants mainly depends on their type. However, it is always a good idea to have water purified to remove any sort of biological contaminant.
Chemical Contaminants
Chemical contaminants are manmade or naturally occurring compounds or elements. Examples of chemical compounds are pesticides, metals, bleach, nitrogen and toxins from bacteria or drugs.
Radiological
Radiological contaminants are basically chemical elements that have an unbalanced ratio of neutrons and protons, and because of their unbalanced nature they emit ionizing radiation. Some of the examples of their examples include plutonium, uranium and cesium.
As one of the leading water treatment solution providers in Lindenhurst, we provide a complete range of water treatment systems to cater to all sorts of needs.
Explore our range of water treatment systems and get in touch to discuss your needs!
