Students learn about the differences between types of water (surface and ground), as well as the differences between streams, rivers and lakes. Then, they learn about dissolved organic matter (DOM), and the role it plays in identifying drinking water sources. Finally, students are introduced to conventional drinking water treatment processes.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Drinking water is essential for life, but drinking water distribution systems can contain hidden ecosystems. Complex microbial communities reside in water and the systems used for water storage and distribution. To manage these microbes and keep drinking water safe, water treatment plants often use disinfectants like chlorine. Unfortunately, disinfectants may affect the safety of drinking water by potentially boosting the formation of harmful disinfection byproducts. A recent study assessed the effect of disinfection treatment on microbial communities in drinking water. Using metagenomics, researchers compared the microbiomes of disinfected and non-disinfected drinking water distribution systems. The results suggested that disinfected drinking water contains a less diverse microbiome than non-disinfected water, and disinfection may select for microorganisms that can feed off of decaying microbes..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

In this activity, students will use a tutorial on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's website to learn about how surface water is treated to make it safe to drink.

Here you find 9 different INTERACTIVE VIDEO-QUIZZES that will help students with training laboratory safety.

Student teams practice water quality analysis through turbidity measurement and coliform bacteria counts. They use information about water treatment processes to design prototype small-scale water treatment systems and test the influent (incoming) and effluent (outgoing) water to assess how well their prototypes produce safe water to prevent water-borne illnesses.

Students learn about water quality testing and basic water treatment processes and technology options. Biological, physical and chemical treatment processes are addressed, as well as physical and biological water quality testing, including testing for bacteria such as E. coli.

Presents the basic operating principles and techniques of the conventional surface water treatment processes of coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, and filtration, plus those of disinfection processes.

Contamination in drinking water sources or watersheds can negatively affect the organisms that come in contact with it. The affects can be severe causing illness or, in some cases, even death. It is important for people to understand how they can contribute to the contaminants in drinking water and what treatment can be done to counter these harmful effects. Students will learn about the various methods developed by environmental engineers for treating drinking water in the United States.