Newsletter January 2010

Greetings to all! We are entering another New Year that promises to be very exciting and eventful. 2010 is finally here and we are gearing ourselves to welcome thousands of foreign visitors to our shores, as hosts of the 2010 World Soccer Games. Some 500,000 soccer lovers will follow the 37 teams from all corners of the world to see who will be the top soccer nation for 2010.

Are we ready? What with all the building of stadiums, upgrading of roads and infrastructure to accommodate these games, we seem to forget our most important natural source of life - our water resources. Not only during this auspicious occasion, but also for all the generations to follow, is it imperative that each and every one of us continues to look after our water resources.

Whilst the Government and its Agencies have the overall responsibility to ensure all citizens enjoy drinkable water, each and every one of us must also accept responsibility for our own use of water. Just by being aware of the fact that, our water may in future be more valuable than our electricity, if not preserved. This begs the question:

How is water treated?

The history of water treatment is still being written. In ancient times Egyptians treated water by letting it settle in huge jars to get rid of the muddy water from the Nile River.

Hipocrates, known as the father of medicine, advised the Greeks to boil and strain water before drinking it. Only as late as the 1870’s did doctors demonstrate that microorganisms existing in water cause disease, and by the start of the 20 th century use of sand filtration preceded by some form of chemically assisted sedimentation was established. This did not prevent outbreaks of typhoid and cholera, which is still found in some of our water resources today.

• Screening: Screens or sieves block large objects such as rubbish and leaves form entering the water!
• Flocculation: The water is treated with chemicals that entrap dirt particles.
• Rapid sand filters: This is the most common form of treating water. Flocculated water is passed through a sand filter which strains out the chemical floc and the particles trapped in it.
• Dis-infection: The filtered water is then disinfected with chlorine before being pumped into the distribution system.

The best method in today’s modern times is of course:

• Home Purification: With so many advanced and affordable filtration systems available it is no longer necessary to rely solely on our tap water for healthy purified water.A home purifier system with its latest technology ensures we drink the healthiest water possible.

Until next month! Have a healthy Glacier water- month!