Daily water supply.
It’s not out of the ordinary to turn on the faucet every day and have water come out, but have you ever wondered how you manage to have this service every day? Drinking water supply involves a process that goes from water collection to water consumption.
This process begins with the selection of sources from which water is to be extracted, including the sea, springs, lakes, rivers and groundwater.
Once the water is stored in a container, it is transported by land transport and goes to the most important part of this whole procedure, which is precisely the moment of making it drinkable. It is important to highlight that water has 3 important qualities to be considered of good quality, it must be:
- Flavorless: It is true that it comes from different sources, which makes its flavor vary, whether it is fresh water or salt water, but when we say that the liquid should not have any flavor, we mean that after the cleaning process, it is tasteless, without any particle that gives it a sweet, sour or even bitter flavor.
- Colorless: The molecules by which this element is formed have no color, so the sum of these will result in a colorless liquid. However, we have all seen that the fountains (mentioned above) are of different colors, not only in Guatemala City but throughout the planet earth, this is due to the contamination of natural resources.
- Odorless: It is more normal that we have become accustomed to feel certain aromas, which are very peculiar to rivers, seas, lakes and even rain, however this means that the liquid we smell is contaminated, mostly by garbage or chemical waste, this is what gives the smell to this element.
This treatment will depend on the quality with which the water was found, which means that it will not be the same cleaning process, since there will be one that will be in better condition and another that will need more treatment. At the end of this purification cycle, it is stored in tanks so that it can be distributed through a distribution network, which usually consists of main and secondary pipelines, valves and pumping stations.
This is how, day after day, you can turn on the faucet and be sure that water will come out. It is important that all utilities comply with Sustainable Development Goal 6, which states that by 2030, the availability of water and equitable sanitation must be guaranteed for all people, covering all the needs of each person and the household.
It also mentions that since it is a basic need for human consumption, its price should be fully accessible to all people.
