RES 217 BUILDING

SERVICES
CHAPTER 1
TYPES OF WATER &
WATER TREATMENT PROCESS

INTRODUCTION
A plentiful supply of wholesome water is essential for
the occupants of the buildings intended for human
habitation.
Most buildings can obtain their supply of water from
Water Authorities mains, but in rural areas it is
sometimes necessary to obtain water from private
sources such as streams, rivers, lakes, wells, springs
or from catchment areas from roofs and paved
surfaces.
The water used must be colourless, odourless, free
from suspended matter and harmful bacteria, pleasant
to the taste and for health reasons, moderately hard.

 Water is essential for the continuation of human

life. Water is important to enable humans to
drink, cook, water their crops, irrigate their
agricultural plots, feed their livestock, maintain
their air-conditioning systems or for their fire
fighting purposes, etc.

WATER CYCLE

What is WATER?
The fluid which descends from the clouds in rain
and which forms rivers, lakes, seas, etc.
A clear, colourless, odourless, and tasteless liquid,
essential for most plant and animal life and the
most widely used of all solvents.
Pure water is an almost non-existent entity. Most
water contains varying amounts of dissolved
minerals and salts, plus an abundance of
suspended particles such as silt and microscopic
organic material.

97% of water on Earth

is salt water, leaving
only 3% as fresh water.
Fresh
water
is
a
renewable resource, yet
the world's supply of
clean, fresh water is
steadily decreasing.
Water demand already
exceeds supply in many
parts of the world and
as the world population
continues to rise, so too
does
the
water
demand.

Characteristics of Good Water

The characteristics of good water may be
summed up as follows:
i.
Clear,
ii. Transparent,
iii. Bright,
iv. Free from living organisms, vegetable and
animal, and
from all dead, decomposing organic
matter,

Types of Water

Types of Water
Soft water

Hard water

Temporary hard water

Permanent hard
water

WATER HARDNESS
Hardness means difficult to
obtain lather with soap

Hard Water
Generally,
surface
waters
are
soft
and
subterranean waters hard; however this depends
upon the type of earth strata with which the water
comes into contact-amount of minerals.
The term hardness means it is difficult to obtain a
lather with soap. Water is an excellent solvent and
the presence of dissolved carbon dioxide increases
this solvent power.
The minerals include carbonates, bicarbonates and
sulphates.
Two types of hardness; temporary and permanent.

TEMPORARY HARDNESS
Water passes through strata containing a
carbonate of calcium or magnesium

These salts taken into solution , depending on

the amount of CO2 present in the water

Upon being dissolved, the carbonate becomes

bicarbonate due to presence of carbon dioxide

Temporary hardness
How to remove :
i) Boiling
hardness can be removed by boiling the water
whereby the CO2 escapes, but will cause scaling or
furring in the
boiling containers and hot water
pipes.
ii) Clarks process
Adding small quantities of lime water or cream of
lime.
This will take up the carbon dioxide from
the
bicarbonate present and soften the water.

Effects of hard water

PERMANENT HARDNESS

If the water passes through soil strata

containing calcium sulphate, calcium chloride
or magnesium chloride, the salts are readily
dissolved in the water without the presence of
carbon dioxide.

Permanent hardness

Cannot be removed by boiling

How to remove :
i)
Base exchange process
Passing the water through zeolites contained in steel
cylinder Zeolites have the property of exchanging
their
sodium base for the magnesium or calcium
base
ii)
Lime soda process
Add lime and soda in the correct proportions

Soft Water
Soft water can be found in surface water eg: river,
lakes.
Easier to obtain lather in soap.
Soft water contains very low or no carbonate and
bicarbonate salts.
This is due to the low presence of CO (ie: high O)
High O encourages microorganism growth
including bacteria
This water is not healthy to be used as drinking
water. It is good for cooking as it improves the
taste of food.

Simple test to differentiate

hard and soft water:
Soap will not dissolve and give much lather in
hard water while in soft water soap dissolves
more easily.
This is determined by the percentage of
carbon dioxide present in the water.

Hard water Vs Soft Water

Pipes

TREATMENT AND SUPPLY

OF WATER
Water for public consumption must first be
treated before being piped to the consumers.
The WHO (World Health Organization) has set
minimum standards for water treatment.
The Malaysian water treatment bodies has either
met or exceed these standards.

 Nowadays, most of these bodies are privatized

to enhance their services; such as SYABAS, SAJ
and Lembaga Air Perak.
There are more than 477 water treatment plants
in Malaysia with a total production capacity of
about nine million cubic metres per day.

WATER CLASSIFICATION
MALAYSIA
CLASS

USES

Class I

Conservation of natural environment.

Water Supply I - Practically no treatment
necessary.
Fishery I - Very sensitive aquatic species.

Class IIA

Water Supply II - Conventional treatment.

Fishery II - Sensitive aquatic species.

Class IIB

Recreational use body contact.

Class III

Water Supply III - Extensive treatment

required.
Fishery III - Common,of economic value and
tolerant species;livestock drinking.

Class IV

Irrigation

Class V

None of the above.

SouRCe : EQR2006

10 STAGES OF WATER
TREATMENT
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Screening
Aeration
Chlorination
Coagulation
Flocculation
Sedimentation
Filtration
Second chlorination
2nd Conditioning
Fluoridation

1. Screening Process
Process: Rubbish such as rags, tins, and bits of wood are screened out
Method: using vicinity iron bars
Purpose: to prevent pumps being damaged by the debris

2. Aeration Process
Process: Oxygen (0) will be dissolved in the water

by putting the air in the water so that the carbon

dioxide (CO) will be decreased
Method: cascading, fountains, mechanical
turbines
Purpose: To reduce odours and unpleasant taste

3. Chlorinating Process
This stage is used for highly turbid water
Process: chlorine is mixed at a certain dosage
Purpose: at this stage, chlorine is used mainly as
a bleaching agent

4. Coagulation Process
Process: Alum or aluminum sulphate is added to

coagulate with solid particles in water to form

flocs which will become unstable
Purpose: To ease the flocculation process

5. Flocculation Process
Process: water is passed through flocculation tanks
Method: the tank contains rows of obstruction planks
designed to slow down the water velocity
Purpose: the tiny particles (flocs) will be gathered up
and sink to the bottom of the tank

6. Sedimentation Process
Process: water is passed through sedimentation

tanks. The number of tanks depends on the

turbidity of the raw water
Method: in the sedimentation tanks, water will be
allowed to be still for at least 24 hours
Purpose: When the water is still, heavy particles
will sink to the bottom of the tanks, leaving clear
water on top

7. Filtration Process
Process: tiny particles in the water that cant be isolated
by the screening and sedimentation processes is filtered
to ensure water is clear and free from fine particles
Method: using beds of sand of different sizes or using
quick gravity (mechanical) method
Purpose: to obtain clear water

8. Second Chlorinating Process

Process: a specific dose of chlorine is added to

clear water
Purpose: To eliminate and kill germs to provide
safer water for human consumption

9. Conditioning Process
Process: Slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) will be
added
Method: mixing channel
Purpose: to neutralise acidic characteristics of water
due to various chemicals added; makes the water
pleasant to the palate

10. Fluoridation Process

Process: Fluoride will be mixed in specific dosage
Purpose: to prevent tooth caries among children.

Why Do We Need Water

Treatment?
Providing cleaner water to users
Free from bacteria
Generally, lakes, rivers, streams or any fresh
sources of water are exposed to pollution, so
water needs treatment before it can be distributed
for human consumption
Extinguish all the germs and microorganisms
contained in the water
Making for a very quality, satisfying, and
comfortable life for the users

Negative Effects

Even though fluoride

teeth for the most
excess it can be
mottling/caries of
depletion.

is considered good for

part, if consumed in
the root cause for
teeth and calcium

Conclusion
All the water treatment process is strictly
regulated and supervised by experienced
personnel.
The quantity of chemicals used in water
treatment are estimated amount required for
effective cleaning of water with minimal residual
deposits.
Fully treated water is produced and distributed
via a network of ground reservoir, water towers
and booster stations.