In this day and age, people turn on the faucet and crystal-clear water comes rushing out. Very few people give any thought at all as to where that water comes from. If your water comes from your municipal system, it will have gone through a number of steps, which include processing, purifying, storing and transporting through the labyrinth of pipes laid beneath the city streets.
Pueblo water treatment is not a single task; it is made up of a number of factors, all of which are independent, but they come together at your tap. The first element is the watershed; this is the area over which the water is initially collected. Once the water is collected it is stored in an untreated condition in a reservoir which can either be above or below ground. From the reservoir, the water must be transported to the treatment facility; this is done by tunnels, pipes or aqueducts. Finally, the water reaches the point where Pueblo water treatment takes place.
Once the water is treated it is then sent to treated water storage which once again, can be either below ground or on the surface. The final part of the puzzle is the actual distribution to homes, businesses and for public need such as fire hydrants.
The treatment facility will vary from city to city and state to state as there are different regulations imposed upon the water companies. The one common denominator is the EPA which regulates the federal standards that must be met. There has been a law in effect since the mid 70s that sets down the standards that must be met by municipal and private water companies.
Research into health and health-related issues is on-going and as new research shows up a better way to treat water, the regulations are amended to reflect the results from the research. Since the law was first enacted, there have been two major revisions.
The EPA sets maximum limits on the hundreds of organisms, toxins, compounds, metals and chemicals that are found in water. When the water at the treatment plant is tested, it must meet or be lower than the limits set by the EPA. If there is an issue and a spike occurs, the water company is obligated to advise its customers and recommend they boil their water until advised otherwise.
There are other issues with water that may have a cosmetic effect but are not harmful; therefore there are no limits set. These contaminates can include certain metals, such as copper or chloride. These contaminates can be taken out when the homeowner installs additional Pueblo water treatment at his home.
You can see that getting safe, clean and refreshing water to the home is not as simple as turning on the tap, a great deal of time, effort and money has to be first expended.
For those who wish to go further with their Pueblo water treatment, Patterson Plumbing & Heating, Inc. have a number of filtration systems and softeners that can be installed in your home.
