Concept about Water | CHAPTER 5 | Community Health Nursing

Concept about Water – This book covers the entire syllabus of “Community Health Nursing” prescribed by the Universities of Bangladesh- for Basic and diploma nursing students. We tried to accommodate latest information and topics.

This book is examination friendly setup according to the teachers’ lectures and examination’s questions. At the end of the book previous university questions are given. We hope in touch with the book students’ knowledge will be upgraded and flourished. The unique way of presentation may make your reading of the book a pleasurable experience.

Concept about Water

Water

Safe water

Safe water is ‘one that cannot harm the consumer, even when ingested over prolonged periods.” It may not be pleasant in taste, smell and appearance. Safe and wholesome water is defined as one that is :

• Colourless, odourless.
• Pleasant to taste.
• Free from harmful pathogenic agents
• Free from harmful chemical substances
• Free from sedimentations, and
• Potable or fit for domestic use.

Pure water:

Pure water is any water that does not endanger human life from sanitary point of view. Chemically, it is that water which contains only hydrogen and oxygen.

Impure water:

Impure water is one that is either polluted or contaninated.

Polluted water:

Polluted water is defined as ‘one that is deteriorated physical quality due to addition of substances causing turbidity and there is change in colour, odor and taste’. It may or may not be harmful.

Contaminated water: Contaminated water is defined as “one that is deteriorated in chemical and bacteriological quality due to addition of organic or inorganic substance, or parasite and bacteria. “It is unsafe and potentially harmful.

Physical Characters of water:

Pure water has the following physical characteristics:

1. Colorless and odorless
2. Sparkling
3. Has no sediment
4. Pleasant to taste and soft to touch
5. Can be decomposed by electrolytes to hydrogen and oxygen
6. Specific gravity: 1
7. Has maximum density at 4°C
8. Expands before freezing at 0°C (32°F)
9. Boiling point is 100-degree Celsius at atmospheric pressure, boiling point is raised if pressure is raised.
10. A very good solvent
11. Dissolves all gases.

Uses of water:

1. Domestic use:

• Drinking and cooking
• Personal hygiene for washing the body and clothes.
• Environmental sanitation for washing utensils, floors, and for the disposal of wastes.
• Temperature control for heating and cooling.
• Gardening.

2. Public purposes: Public cleansing, firefighting, maintenance of public gardens and swimming pools, street washing and numerous other civic purposes.

Functions of water:

Without water there would have been no life. Water constitutes nearly two thirds of the total weight of the body, 79% of blood, 80% of brain and muscles, and 10% even of bones.

Physiological functions of water are:

1. Maintains homeostasis
2. Maintains fluidity of blood and lymph
3. Replaces loss of fluid from tissues
4. Helps in elimination of waste materials from the body
5. Helps in digestion, absorption and distribution of food and nutrients
6. Forms the main constituent of all body juices
7. Regulates body temperature and acts as a distributor of body heat, thus maintains thermal balance.
8. Helps in maintaining acid base balance.

Requirement of water:

1. Daily requirement of water depends on climate, season, habits of people, standard of living, rate of wastage, domestic animal etc.
2. Daily water consumption per head is 150 to 200 litre.

Classification of water

A. According to source:

1. Rain water
2. Surface water
3. Underground water

B. According to its effect on health

1. Safe water
2. Wholesome potable water/
3. Polluted water Contaminated water

C. According to chemical impurities:

1. Hard water
2. Soft water

Common sources of water:

1. Rain water

2. Surface water-

(i) Artificial lakes (impounding reservoirs)

(II) Rivers and streams

(iii) Tanks, ponds and lakes

(iv) Sea.

3. Ground water –

(i) Shallow wells

(ii) Deep wells

(iii) Springs

Impurities of water

Impurities of water

Impurities of water is the contamination of water bodies (e.g. lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater). This form of environmental degradation occurs when pollutants are directly or indirectly discharged into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds.

Or

Impurities of water occur when pollutants (particles, chemicals or substances that make water contaminated) are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without enough treatment to get rid of harmful compounds.

Causes of impurities of water:

1. Natural impurities (derived from atmosphere, catchment area and soil):

1. Dissolved impurities

• Solids

Inorganic salts: Salts of calcium, magnesium, sodium, iron, lead, zine, magnesium

Organic:

• ecomposed vegetable matter: Algae and weeds
• Decomposed animal matter:
• Worms and bacteria etc.

Gases: H2S, CO2, NH3, N2, O2, C12

1. Suspended impurities

Organic: Clay, silt, silica, sand, mud etc.

Inorganic:

• Plant origin:
• Dead leaves, algae, peat
• Animalorigin: Bacteria, virus, ova of parasites cyst, insects

2. Impurities due to human activity (e.g., urbanization, industrialization and agricultural) :

Sources of impurities of water:

1. Substances received at the source: The character of the water depends upon the geological structures through which it has travelled. Water of chalky soil contains excess of calcium, water in a densely populated country contains calcium, sodium, nitrates, nitrites, phosphates etc. Both tank and well water may become contaminated by soakage and surface washings.
2. Impurities derived during transit from sources of reservoirs: Rivers, canals etc. are liable to be polluted by

(1) sewage,

(II) storm and waste water

(III) community refuse

(IV) trade and industrial wash,

(V) agricultural waste etc.

3. Impurities from storage: water stored in underground reservoir or overhead tank may be contaminated from dust, dirt, cockroaches etc.
4. Impurities during distribution: From distribution pipe through leaky joints and cracks, lead from lead pipe, or from distributors.

Purification of water

1. Purification of water on a large scale:
2. a) Storage – sedimentation, oxidation, biological action (natural methods)
3. b) Filtration

• Biological or slow sand filter
• Mechanical or rapid sand filter
• Chlorination

2. Purification of water on a small scale (Household purification of water):

(i) Boiling

(ii) Chemical disinfection

• Bleaching powder
• Chlorine solution
• High test hypochlorite
• Chlorine tablets
• iodine
• Potassium permanganate

(iii) Filtration:

• Pasteur’s Chamberland filter
• Berkefeld filter
• Ketadyn filter

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