Interdisciplinary approach for public health chemistry. Chlorination and water bacteriology works are discussed

1. THE NEED OF THE HOUR
WATER ANALYSIS –
A PUBLIC HEALTH VIEW
Dr. R. VALLIAPPAN
PROFESSOR
Department of Chemistry,
Annamalai University,
Annamalai nagar 608 002.
Email: rmvs1962@yahoo.com. Cell: 98420 87465

2. OBJECTIVES OF THE PRESENTATION
Introduction
• “Water sustains life, but safe clean drinking
water defines civilization”
Need of the hour ….
• What ? When? Why? Where ?

3. Definition for public health Chemistry
Water availability refers to both sufficient quantities and reliability of
service provisions.
Adequacy refers to both the quality and quantity of water
Reliability refers to continuity of the service provision for the current
and future generation, which is covered under the principle of
sustainability, system robustness and resilience.
Acceptability refers to esthetic value of water – the acceptable
appearance, taste and odor of water – Physical standard of water
Accessibility to water refers to the accessibility to a reliable supply of
water on a continuous basis close to the point of demand: within
everyone’s reach: home, school, work, public places

4. Factors challenging the sustainable Water
Supply System
Some of the factors are related to infrastructures (aging),
Clean water issues (quality, scarcity),
Natural factors (climate change, flood and drought),
Human factors (population growth, migration, demographic
change, economic development, willingness to pay for water
supply services, overuse),
Water management and delivery problems (pressure,
leakages, lack of smart water meters, cost recovery,
operation costs, etc.).

5. Water …
Everywhere…..
Which one is
suitable for drinking?
Potable water
Mineral water
Distilled water
Sterilized water
Deionized water
Wholesome water

7. POTABLE OR WHOLESOME WATER
• Water intended for human consumption should not only safe but
also wholesome.
Wholesome water is defined as that
• Free from pathogenic agents
• Free from harmful chemical substances
• Pleasant to taste
• Usable for domestic purpose

8. Water is never pure in the true chemical sense. It is
always found to contain unwanted impurities in it.
The impurities may be dissolved and suspended.
Another more important and serious impurity is brought
into the water source by human activity namely
urbanization and industrialization.
Because of these pollution and contamination of water
happens.

9. INTRODUCTION
• Water plays a significant role in maintaining the human health and welfare.
Clean drinking water is now recognized as a fundamental right of human
beings. Around 780 million people do not have access to clean and safe
water and around 2.5 billion people do not have proper sanitation. As a
result, around 6–8 million people die each year due to water related
diseases and disasters
• Therefore, water quality control is a top-priority policy agenda in many
parts of the world.
• In the today world, the water use in household supplies is commonly defined
as domestic water. This water is processed to be safely consumed as
drinking water and other purposes. Water quality and suitability for use are
determined by its taste, odor, colour, and concentration of organic and
inorganic matters.
• Contaminants in the water can affect the water quality and consequently the
human health. The potential sources of water contamination are geological
conditions, industrial and agricultural activities, and water treatment plants.
These contaminants are further categorized as microorganisms,
inorganics, organics, radionuclides, and disinfectants.

10. • Till the 19th century pollution of water assessed from
the results of physical and chemical analysis.
• The discovery of bacteria and the viruses as the
causative agents of many enteric disorders, a
delegate indication of pollution has evolved.
• Assessments have to be made of physicochemical
and bacteriological characteristics to establish
pollution and suitability of water for use either in
industries or potable purposes.

11. HAZARDS OF POLLUTIONAND CONTAMINATIONS
• Man’s health may be affected either directly or indirectly
by the polluted and contaminated water.
• The hazards may be chemical or biological
• Chemical - indirect way of affecting both human and
environment – Nitrites/Nitrates
• Biological – direct – water borne diseases

12. WATER MAY BE FREE FROM
• Physical qualities – Turbidity, colour, odour and Taste
• Chemical qualities – Chlorides, hardness, Free from
Saline ammonia, Albuminoid ammonia, nitrites,
nitrates, pH, oxygen absorbed and free from hazardous
chemicals,
• Biological qualities – Free from coliform organisms,
microscopic organisms - Plankton

13. WATER AND SANITATION-RELATED DISEASES

14. Pollution Act - 1974
• In India water Prevention and Control pollution
Act of 1974 was passed.
• This act provides for the prevention and control of
water pollution and maintaining and restoring of
wholesomeness of water.
• For the establishment with a view to carrying out
the purposes aforesaid of boards for the
prevention and control of water pollution.

15. WHY WATER ANALYSIS?
• Contaminants that may be in untreated water include
microorganisms such as viruses and bacteria
• Inorganic contaminants such as salts and metals; organic chemical
contaminants from industrial processes and petroleum use
• Pesticides and herbicides; and radioactive contaminants. Water
quality depends on the local geology and ecosystem.
• As well as, human uses such as sewage dispersion, industrial
pollution, use of water bodies as a heat sink, and overuse

16. For routine test the following
may be done
• The measurement of the BOD
• Bacteriological test for human intestinal bacteria known
as “Coliform count”
• A biological check known as the algal plant count
which measures the microscopical plants, animal
life, as distinct from bacteria and viruses present in

17. PURIFICATION OF WATER
• Filtration
• Chlorination
• Reverse Osmosis (RO) – cost effect
• UV radiation
• Ultrafiltration
• Demineralization
• Mineralization

18. CHLORINATION
• Chlorination is one of the important advances in water
purification.
• It is a “Supplement” and not a substitute to sand filtration
filtration
• Capable of killing bacteria and taste and odour producing
producing constituents
• Horrock’s Test is used for this purpose
• A minimum of 4 mg/l to 25 mg/l (4ppm)

19. WHO standard of distribution system
• Throughout any year 95% of samples should not contain
any coliform organisms in 100 ml of water.
• No sample should contain E. coli in 100 ml
• No sample should contain more than 3 coliform
organisms in 100 ml and
• Coliform organisms should not be detectable in 100 ml
of any consecutive samples

20. Most Probable Number (MPN) is a method used to estimate
the concentration of viable microorganisms in a sample by means
of replicate liquid broth growth in ten-fold dilutions. It is commonly
used in estimating microbial populations in soils, waters, agricultural
products and is particularly useful with samples that contain
particulate material that interferes with plate count enumeration
methods.
MPN is most commonly applied for quality testing of water
i.e to ensure whether the water is safe or not in terms of bacteria
present in it. A group of bacteria commonly referred as fecal coliforms
act as an indicator for fecal contamination of water. The presence of
very few fecal coliform bacteria would indicate that a water probably
contains no disease-causing organisms, while the presence of large
numbers of fecal coliform bacteria would indicate a very high
probability that the water could contain disease-producing organisms
making the water unsafe for consumption.

25. GRAM NEGATIVE BACTERIA
Escherichia coli Klebsiella pneumonia

26. Who is authorized?
• Usually the water testing must be done only in the
District Water Testing laboratory only for the
results. But for research purposes the results may be
published.
• The Department of Sanitary Engineering and Health
authorities are responsible for any outbreak of water
diseases and their quality.

27. AREA OF WATER RESEARCH
• Usually anybody can do the water analysis which may be
superficial regarding the physical and chemical
qualities of water.
• Potable water research is relevant and its purification
are recommended by various ways like Alum treatment,
chlorination, plant materials used as adsorbent
• Adsorption studies are high level in the
• Colour removal, Turbidity, odour, Taste are
method of research

28. Area of Research with “Water”
• Drinking water quality related to removal of unwanted
impurities from water.
• Colour removal – Adsorption studies
• Purification methods – natural and chemical
• - Physical Chemistry – kinetics of reaction
• - Inorganic Chemistry – Quality & Quantity
• - Organic Chemistry – pollution and contamination
• Microbiological analysis - Bacterial quality of water ,
microorganisms, plankton

29. • When monitoring a water body or system, it is
important to sample every quarter or seasonally to
achieve an annual prospective of changes.
• The more samples gathered, the more data can be
given about a particular site.
• Drinking water should also be tested in the same
manner to monitor contamination levels and health
risks.
• Water samples should be given to a laboratory within
four days and kept cold to limit microbial influence on
the sample.

30. Conclusion
 For every action there will be equal and opposite reaction
 Make the environment and your own personally keep neat
and clean
 Make sure the water may be clean – physically chemically
and biologically free from matter.
 The disinfectant that may be used for purification of
anything should be in ppm level, if it exceeds it is harmful to
human and nature

31. Water Resources Research Areas that Should Be
Emphasized in the Next 10–15 Years

33. WaterUse
 Understand determinants of water use in the agricultural, domestic,
commercial, public, and industrial sectors
 Understand relationships between agricultural water use and climate, crop
type, and water application rates
 In all sectors, develop more efficient water use and optimize the economic
return for the water used
 Develop improved crop varieties for use in dryland agriculture
 Understand water-related aspects of the sustainability of irrigated agriculture
 Understand behavior of aquatic ecosystems in a broad, systematic context,
including their water requirements
 Enhance and restore of species diversity in aquatic ecosystems
 Improve manipulation of water quality and quantity parameters to maintain and
enhance aquatic habitats
 Understand interrelationship between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems to
support watershed management

34. Thanks to the authorities of
Annamalai University

36.  My sincere thanks to The organizers of this webinar
series
 Special thanks to Dr. C. RAMALINGAN,
Dean, School of Advanced Sciences
Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education
for the opportunity given
 My eventual thanks to Authorities of Annamalai University
as well as my well wishers, participants of this webinar .