Treating water for drinking

In most countries, the drinking water available is subject to strict limits as to its quality. The UK’s drinking water regulations can be found in The Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2016.

These water quality standards are typically achieved by taking water out of the environment and treating it in large treatment plants where it reaches a standard appropriate for the drinking water network. This is a very energy- and chemical-intensive process.

Defra provides an introduction to water treatment.

More accessible summaries are presented:

• Thames Water
• Southern Water

Activity: Pollution of drinking water

On occasion, the water that comes out of customers’ taps is not of the normal standard. A particularly controversial example of this is related to the effects of fracking in the USA.

This is illustrated by the video below:

Research the academic and popular literature around fracking in the USA and other contexts.

• Draw conclusions on the impact of fracking on drinking water, and what methods, if any, can be employed to ensure that the drinking water provided is of the required quality
• Make extensive notes about your research in your Personal Journal
• Form your recommendations into an advice note for the water company in this area and present this appropriately on one side of A4

Examples of advice notes can be found on the The Planning Inspectorate website.

• PDF this and attach it to a post on the Discussion Board. Engage in a discussion with others about the notes that have been posted.