Water

Water is a liquid, colourless, transparent, odourless, no taste which falls from sky and in the seas, lakes, rivers and ices, and it is a vital necessary for the people life as well as animal and plant life.

Water Cycle is a water movement from the oceans to the atmosphere and to the Earth and return to the atmosphere through various stages or processes such as precipitation, interception, runoff, infiltration, percolation, storage, evaporation, and transportation.

Water Management is the control and movement of water resources to maximise efficient beneficial use and to minimize damage to life and property that includes various activities like proper planning, efficient distribution, and optimal use of water resources to meet current and future needs. The efficient Water Management is crucial for sustainable development, ensuring water availability for future generations, protecting ecosystems, and mitigating the impacts of water-related challenges. (e.g., Water treatment of drinking water, industrial water, sewage, or wastewater; Water resources, Flood protection, Irrigation, and management of the water table, etc.)

Water Purification is a process of removing undesirable chemicals, bacteria, algae, viruses, fungi, minerals including toxic metals such as Lead, Copper etc., from contaminated water. The methods used include physical processes such as Filtration, Sedimentation, and Distillation; biological processes such as slow Sand filters or Biological active carbon; chemical processes such as Flocculation and Chlorination and the use of electromagnetic radiation such as Ultraviolet light.

Water Quality is the specific levels of water quality desired for identified uses that describes the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water, usually in respect to its suitability for a particular purpose.

Water Resources are sources of water that are potentially useful and they consist of aquifers and other groundwater resources to the extent that their scarcity leads to the enforcement of ownership and/or use rights, market valuation and some measure of economic control. Only 2.5% of water on the Earth is fresh water, and over two thirds of this is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps. Water demand already exceeds supply in many parts of the world, and many more areas are expected to experience this imbalance in the near future.

Water Softening is a technique to remove the ions, in most cases calcium and magnesium ions which are caused the hard water as well as iron ions. A natural water contains calcium and magnesium ions which form salts and less soluble strontium and barium cations that causes pipe clogging, and soap and detergent dissolving them in the water. The best way to soften water is to use a water softener unit which is usually achieved using lime softening or ion-exchange resins.

Water Stress is means deterioration in both the quantity of available water and the quality of available water due to factors affecting available water.

Water Treatment is a process of making water suitable for applications or returning to natural states that depends on the applications to meet the water quality criteria for the intended use such as water source and usage. The Water Treatment involves science, engineering, and business with mechanical, physical, biological, and chemical methods that removes contaminants or reduces their concentration so that the water becomes fit for its desired end use. (Refer to the Water Purification; Waste Water Treatment)

Clean Water Act (CWA) is the authority of EPA to set limits on water quality basis that ensures the protection of receiving water. A CWA establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and regulating quality standards for surface waters.

Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the federal law that protects public drinking water supplies throughout the nation. Under the SDWA, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets standards for drinking water quality and with its partners implements various technical and financial programs to ensure drinking water safety.

The Earth is a watery place. But just how much water exists on, in, and above our planet? About 71 percent of the Earth's surface is water-covered, and the oceans hold about 96.5 percent of all Earth's water. Water also exists in the air as water vapour, in rivers and lakes, in icecaps and glaciers, in the ground as soil moisture and in aquifers, and even in you and your dog.

Water covers about 71% of the earth's surface.

1.385 billion km3 of water on the planet

97% of the earth's water is found in the oceans (too salty for drinking, growing crops, and most industrial uses except cooling).

3% of the earth's water is fresh.

2.5% of the earth's fresh water is unavailable: locked up in glaciers, polar ice caps, atmosphere, and soil; highly polluted; or lies too far under the earth's surface to be extracted at an affordable cost.

0.5% of the earth's water is available fresh water.

Artesian Water is a ground water under positive pressure that is able to rise above the level at which it is first encountered.

Brackish Water is the water that is saltier than fresh water, but not as salty as sea water.

Cooling Water is the utility water removing heat from a system or machine.

Demineralised (or Demi) Water is water completely free of dissolved minerals, any process used to remove minerals from water. The common term of Demineralised Water is restricted to ion exchange processed water.

Desalination Water is removed salt and other minerals from the seawater for human and industrial uses.

Distilled Water is the water that has been made purer by being heated until it becomes a gas and then cooled, and many of its impurities removed through distillation.

Drinking Water is water that is safe to drink or to use for food preparation. (Refer to the Potable Water).

Feed Water is the water that is purified to prevent scale deposit or corrosion and supplied to the facility or system, such as a boiler for hot water and steam production.

Fire Water is the industrial utility water used in fire fighting.

Freshwater (or Fresh Water) is any naturally occurring water from the earth surface found in lakes, streams, and rivers, but except seawater and brackish water that is not salty when considered as a natural resource.

Greywater is the waste water from washing machines, baths, sinks, etc., other than a toilet that can be used for landscape irrigation.

Ground Water is the water found underground in the saturates soil or rock that is stored in and moves slowly through geologic formations of soil, sand and rocks called aquifers.

Hard Water is the water that has high mineral content of calcium and magnesium compounds which comes into contact with limestone and other rocks. Hardness in water is caused by dissolved magnesium ions and calcium ions.

Heavy Water (or Deuterium Oxide, D2O) is a form of water that contains a larger than normal amount of the hydrogen isotope deuterium (D). Heavy Water is used as a moderator in some nuclear reactors. (Refer to the Light Water)

Industrial Water is the large amount of water from a processed surface, industrial wastewater recycling, reclaimed water discharge, and well water used as plants cleaning, make-up water for power generation systems, fine paper production, and numerous other industrial applications. Some industries that use large amounts of water produce such commodities as food, paper, chemicals, refined petroleum, or primary metals.

Light Water is an ordinary water (H20) that has the normal proportion of hydrogen of deuterium atoms (D, less than 0.02%), as distinct from the Heavy Water (D2O).

Lotic Water is living in flowing water, as in streams and rivers.

Oily Water is a waste water contaminated by oil that is oil and water mixture.

Potable Water is a drinking water.

Purified Water is the water from any source that is mechanically filtered or processed to remove impurities and make it suitable for use.

Quarry Water is the moisture content of freshly quarried stone.

Raw Sewage is mainly water containing excrement that is untreated domestic or commercial waste water.

Raw Water is natural water found in the environment, such as rainwater, ground water, and water from bodies like lakes and rivers.

Recycled Water is water that is used more than one time, the reclamation of water from wastewater for drinking (potable).

Reclaimed Wastewater is the treated wastewater that is the process of converting wastewater into water that can be reused for beneficial purposes, such as irrigating certain plants.

Saline Water is a salt water, contains significant amounts of dissolved salts (Sodium Chloride (NaCl)).

Sea Ice is frozen ocean water forms, grows, and melts in both the Arctic and Antarctic and can cover large extents of water. The freezing temperature of salt water is lower than fresh water; ocean temperatures must reach -1.8 °C to freeze. 

Seawater is water from a sea or ocean, usually contains a higher salt content, about 35,000 ppm. (Refer to the Saline Water).

Service Water is mainly used in resource intensive industries that does not meet drinking water quality standards. The service water must be treated according to the requirements, depending on the application, such as: Commercial, Industrial, Agricultural, Domestic.

Soft Water is the surface water that contains the low concentration of ions of calcium and magnesium. (Refer to the Hard water)

Storm Sewer is a sewer that carries away excess water in times of heavy rain, street wash, and snow melt from the land.

Storm Water is a surface water in abnormal quantity resulting from heavy falls of rain or snow. Storm Water can soak into the soil (infiltrate), be held on the surface and evaporate, or runoff and end up in nearby streams, rivers, etc.

Surface Water is all water naturally open to the atmosphere that is on the Earth surface including rivers, lakes, reservoirs, streams, ponds, springs, seas and so on.

Waste Water is any water used and discharged from home, farm, or industrial manufacturing process that has been affected in quality.

Advanced Treatment Technology uses the State of the Art and research-backed technologies to design with qualities specific to each application across multiple industries: 1) for water treatment, the technology includes the membrane filtration, membrane bioreactors (MBR) and membrane distillation are discussed including case study references; 2) for waste water, the process capable of reducing specific constituents in waste water not normally achieved by other treatment options that may be used in conjunction with mechanical and biological treatment operations.

Body of Water is a large area of water such as a lake that is any significant accumulation of water, generally on a planet's surface.

Drinking Water Standard is the standards determining the quality of drinking water in regulations including: micro-organisms; chemicals such as nitrate and pesticides; metals such as lead and copper; the way water looks and how it tastes.

Forward Osmosis (FO) is an osmotic process that is the natural phenomenon of the transport of water molecules across a semi-permeable membrane in response to a difference in solute concentrations (osmotic pressures) on either side of the semi-permeable membrane. The RO (Reverse Osmosis) process uses hydraulic pressure as the driving force for separation, which serves to counteract the osmotic pressure gradient that would otherwise favour water flux from the permeate to the feed. Hence significantly more energy is required for reverse osmosis compared to forward osmosis.

Hydrologic Cycle is the continuous movement of water in its passage from the atmosphere to the earth and its return to the atmosphere.

Irrigation Water Management is the controlling and managing the irrigation water for agriculture to supply water requirements not satisfied by rainfall for efficient and the protection of water resources.

Limnology is the study of inland waters of lakes and other bodies of fresh water such as biological, chemical, physical, geological, fresh water, etc.

Moisture is a small amount of liquid such as water that is in the form of vapour or condensed on a surface.

Reverse Osmosis (RO) is a water purification technology that is used to remove a large majority of contaminants from water by pushing the water under pressure through a semi-permeable membrane.

Steam is a two-phase mixture of liquid water that is formed when water boils at the nominal 100 °C (212 °F) at standard temperature and pressure. Steam is invisible however, steam often refers to wet steam, the visible mist or aerosol of water droplets formed as this water vapour condenses.

Universal Solvent is water that is capable of dissolving a variety of different substances because it dissolves more substances than any other liquid and for its invaluable medicinal property, either through the ground or through our bodies, it takes along valuable chemicals, minerals, and nutrients. The polar solvents dissolve polar molecules, and nonpolar solvents dissolve nonpolar molecules. (Refer to the Alkahest)

Water Conservation is the activities to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water that is the preservation, control and development of water resources, both surface and groundwater, and prevention of pollution.

World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. (UNESCO) World Water Day celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis. (UN) As climate change gets worse, groundwater will become more and more critical. We need to work together to sustainably manage this precious resource. Groundwater may be out of sight, but it must not be out of mind. (worldwaterday.org)

The USGS (United States Geological Survey) is created by an act of Congress in 1879, the USGS provides science for a changing world, which reflects and responds to society’s continuously evolving needs. As the science arm of the Department of the Interior, the USGS brings an array of earth, water, biological, and mapping data and expertise to bear in support of decision-making on environmental, resource, and public safety issues. (Source: www.usgs.gov)