Water’s Path to Your Faucet

It’s easy to flip on the faucet in your home and get some water. But that water has taken quite a journey before it becomes available to you. Tri-Florida Water Treatment of Auburndale, FL, would like to tell you a little about water’s path.

For most of us, the water we drink and use for cooking and cleaning is supplied by a municipal water authority that’s usually overseen by a city or county government. But where does the water authority get the water?

All the water on our planet travels through a cycle. If we start the cycle with rain, it looks like this:

• Rain falls and collects in oceans, lakes, and streams
• Some rain freezes and then melts and moves into the bodies of water 
• Water on the ground evaporates and rises to form rain clouds
• Water that is used by vegetation also rises to the clouds through “transpiration”
• Once again it rains, and the cycle starts all over

That’s the simple, unscientific version of water’s journey. It’s our job, then, to get the water while it’s accessible and make it available to everyone.

How we get our water

Here are some of the places local water suppliers get their water:

Surface water

Municipal water often starts as surface water in freshwater lakes and rivers. Water in this natural state might contain many impurities, so it is treated and basically “cleaned” before being sent to customers’ homes via pipes and pumps.

Underground water

Some regions rely on water sourced from underground aquifers, using wells to collect the water and then move it to the surface. Rock and soil layers do a decent job of cleaning groundwater before it’s sent to a municipal water supplier. Still, further cleaning and purification is needed to ensure that the water is safe to drink and meets EPA standards.

Sea water

In some coastal communities, water is taken from the abundant supply in the sea and undergoes a desalination process. This removes many impurities in the water, including salt, which is a primary reason humans can’t drink water from the ocean.

Water reclamation

Another way municipalities get water is through reclamation. Reclaimed or recycled water is wastewater from which bacteria, pathogens and other contaminants have been removed.

Rain

For smaller communities, particularly those that exist in areas with heavy rainfall, rainwater harvesting is a viable way to collect water for people’s daily needs. But even this water requires some treatment to ensure that it’s safe to drink.

The very best water

Every municipal water supplier must meet rigid EPA guidelines that govern the treatment, storage, and distribution of public water. However, making the water “perfect” would be too expensive and time-consuming. The water suppliers, therefore, focus on making the water “safe.”

Water that’s treated properly in your home is a lot more than safe. Whole-house water treatment systems remove a large number of impurities that municipal water suppliers are allowed to let remain in their water. In-home water purification targets:

• Chlorine and chloramine
• Nitrates
• Pharmaceuticals
• Fluoride
• Lead and other heavy metals
• Pesticides
• Arsenic

and a long list of other contaminants often found in municipal water.

Tri-Florida Water Treatment has served the greater Auburndale area for more than 30 years. Let us show you how your home can have the very best water for all your drinking, cooking, cleaning, and bathing needs.

Speak with a water treatment expert today at (863) 965-1439 or get in touch through our handy contact form.