Water Quality

Why is management of water quality important?

 

At Portsmouth Water, 85% of our public water supply is derived from groundwater sources, such as aquifers. Aquifers are both porous and permeable rock formations thus allowing good yields of water for public supply. However, these qualities can also lead to other substances entering the aquifer as a result of human activity, rainfall, and tides, and can cause potential problems by interacting with the groundwater in turn rendering it unfit for human consumption. These pollution sources include agriculture, industrial processes, disposal of wastes, chemical storage and subsequent spillages and urbanisation.

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There are two different terms that are associated with these problems, contaminant, and pollutant. A contaminant is defined as a solute that has been introduced to the aquifer, while a pollutant is defined as any contaminant whose concentration levels have reached objectionable levels. Therefore, todays’ contaminant could become tomorrow’s pollutant.

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It is therefore very important that water suppliers manage and monitor the contaminants entering a water supply to ensure they do not reach levels that render the water unfit for human consumption.