"Waterworks" redirects here. For other uses, see Waterworks (disambiguation). For the novel by E. L. Doctorow see The Waterworks (novel)

Water supply is the process of self-provision or provision by third parties of water of various qualities to different users. Edgar Lawrence Doctorow (born January 6, 1931, New York New York) is an American Author whose critically acclaimed and award winning fiction Waterworks is an Novel by E L Doctorow, written in 1994 Content The setting of the novel is New York in the year 1871 Irrigation is covered separately. Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops

Contents 1 Global access to water 2 Technical overview 3 Service quality 3.1 Continuity of supply 3.2 Water quality 3.3 Water pressure 4 Comparing the performance of water and sanitation service providers 5 Institutional responsibility and governance 5.1 Policy and regulation 5.1.1 Regulatory agencies 5.2 Service provision 5.2.1 Geographical coverage 5.2.2 Sector coverage 5.2.3 Ownership and governance arrangements 5.2.3.1 Private sector participation 5.2.3.2 Governance arrangements 6 Tariffs 7 Metering 8 Costs and Financing 9 History 10 Standardization 11 Outbreaks due to water supply 12 Footnotes 13 See also 14 External links

Global access to water

In 2004 about 3. 5 billion people worldwide (54% of the global population) had access to piped water supply through house connections. Another 1. 3 billion (20%) had access to safe water through other means than house connections, including standpipes, "water kiosks", protected springs and protected wells. A standpipe is a freestanding pipe fitted with a tap which is installed outdoors to dispense Water in areas which do not have a running water supply to the buildings Finally, more than 1 billion people (16%) did not have access to safe water, meaning that they have to revert to unprotected wells or springs, canals, lakes or rivers to fetch water.

Technical overview

For more details on this topic, see water supply network. A water supply network is a system of engineered Hydrologic and Hydraulic components including the watershed or geographic area that collects

Water supply systems get water from a variety of locations, including groundwater (aquifers), surface water (lakes and rivers), conservation and the sea through desalination. An aquifer is an underground layer of Water -bearing Permeable rock or unconsolidated materials ( Gravel, Sand, Silt, or Clay A lake (from Latin lacus) is a Terrain feature (or Physical feature) a body of Liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the "Riverine" redirects here For the use of that term in Maritime geography, see there Water conservation refers to reducing the use of water The goals of water conservation efforts include Sustainability - To ensure availability for Desalination, desalinization, or desalinisation refers to any of several processes that remove excess salt and other Minerals from Water The water is then, in most cases, purified, disinfected through chlorination and sometimes fluoridated. Water purification is the process of removing contaminants and other harmful microorganisms from a raw water source Chlorination is the process of adding the element Chlorine to Water as a method of Water purification to make it fit for human consumption as Water fluoridation is the addition of a chemical to increase the concentration of Fluoride Ions in Drinking water with the purpose of reducing the Treated water then either flows by gravity or is pumped to reservoirs, which can be elevated such as water towers or on the ground (for indicators related to the efficiency of drinking water distribution see non-revenue water). A reservoir is most broadly a place or hollow vessel where Fluid is kept in Reserve, for later use A water tower, watershed, or elevated water tower is a large elevated water storage container Non revenue water (NRW is water that has been produced and is “lost” before it reaches the customer Once water is used, wastewater is typically discharged in a sewer system and treated in a wastewater treatment plant before being discharged into a river, lake or the sea or reused for landscaping, irrigation or industrial use (see also sanitation). Wastewater treatment plant also called wastewater treatment works Sewage treatment – treatment and disposal of human waste Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land including but not limited to living elements, such as Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops Sanitation is the hygienic means of preventing human contact from the hazards of wastes to promote health

Service quality

Many of the 3. 5 billion people having access to piped water receive a poor or very poor quality of service, especially in developing countries where about 80% of the world population lives. Water supply service quality has many dimensions: continuity; water quality; pressure; and the degree of responsiveness of service providers to customer complaints. Water quality is the physical chemical and biological characteristics of Water in relationship to a set of standards

Continuity of supply

Continuity of water supply is taken for granted in most developed countries, but is a severe problem in many developing countries, where sometimes water is only provided for a few hours every day or a few days a week. It is estimated that about half of the population of developing countries receives water on an intermittent basis.

Water quality

Drinking water quality has a micro-biological and a physico-chemical dimension. Water quality is the physical chemical and biological characteristics of Water in relationship to a set of standards There are thousands of parameters of water quality. In public water supply systems water should, at a minimum, be disinfected - previously through chlorination, now using ultra violet light - or it may need to undergo treatment, especially in the case of surface water. Chlorination is the process of adding the element Chlorine to Water as a method of Water purification to make it fit for human consumption as Ultraviolet ( UV) light is Electromagnetic radiation with a Wavelength shorter than that of Visible light, but longer than X-rays For Water masses on the surface of the world ocean see Surface water (ocean. For more details please see the separate entries on water quality, water treatment and drinking water. Water quality is the physical chemical and biological characteristics of Water in relationship to a set of standards Water treatment describes those processes used to make water more acceptable for a desired end-use Water of sufficient quality to serve as drinking water is termed potable water whether it is used for drinking or not

Water pressure

Water pressures vary in different locations of a distribution system. Water mains below the street may operate at higher pressures, with a pressure reducer located at each point where the water enters a building or a house. In Automatic control, a regulator is a device which has the function of maintaining a designated characteristic In poorly managed systems, water pressure can be so low as to result only in a trickle of water or so high that it leads to damage to plumbing fixtures and waste of water. Pressure in an urban water system is typically maintained either by a pressurized water tank serving an urban area, by pumping the water up into a tower and relying on gravity to maintain a constant pressure in the system or solely by pumps at the water treatment plant and repeater pumping stations. Water treatment describes those processes used to make water more acceptable for a desired end-use

Typical UK pressures are 4-5 bar for an urban supply. However, some people can get over 8bars. A single iron main pipe may cross a deep valley, it will have the same nominal pressure, however each consumer will get a bit more or less because of the hydrostatic pressure (about 1 bar /10m height). So people at the bottom of a 100-foot hill will get about 3 bars more than those at the top.

The effective pressure also varies because of the supply resistance even for the same static pressure. An urban consumer may have 5 metres of 1/2" lead pipe running from the iron main, so the kitchen tap flow will be fairly unrestricted, so high flow. A rural consumer may have a kilometre of rusted and limed 3/4" iron pipe so their kitchen tap flow will be small.

For this reason the UK domestic water system has traditionally (prior to 1989) employed a "cistern feed" system, where the incoming supply is connected to the kitchen sink and also a header/storage tank in the attic. Water can dribble into this tank through a 1/2" lead pipe, plus ball valve, and then supply the house on 22 or 28 mm pipes. Gravity water has a small pressure (say 1/4 bar in the bathroom) but needs wide pipes allow higher flows. This is fine for baths and toilets but is frequently inadequate for showers. People install shower booster pumps to increase the pressure. For this reason urban houses are increasingly using mains pressure boilers (combies) which take a long time to fill a bath but suit the high back pressure of a shower.

Comparing the performance of water and sanitation service providers

Comparing the performance of water and sanitation service providers (utilities) is needed, because the sector offers limited scope for direct competition (natural monopoly). A public utility (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the Infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using Natural monopoly is a term used in Economics to refer to two different things Firms operating in competitive markets are under constant pressure to out perform each other. Water utilities are often sheltered from this pressure, and it frequently shows: some utilities are on a sustained improvement track, but many others keep falling further behind best practice. Benchmarking the performance of utilities allows to simulate competition, establish realistic targets for improvement and create pressure to catch up with better utilities. Benchmarking is the process of comparing the cost time or quality of what one organization does against what another organization does Information on benchmarks for water and sanitation utilities is provided by the International Benchmarking Network for Water and Sanitation Utilities. ^[1]

Institutional responsibility and governance

A great variety of institutions have responsibilities in water supply. Institutions are structures and mechanisms of Social order and Cooperation governing the Behavior of a Set of Individuals A basic distinction is between institutions responsible for policy and regulation on the one hand; and institutions in charge of providing services on the other hand.

Policy and regulation

Water supply policies and regulation are usually defined by one or several Ministries, in consultation with the legislative branch. In the United States the EPA, whose administrator reports directly to the President, is responsible for water and sanitation policy and standard setting within the executive branch. Access Water use According to a 1999 study by the AWWA Research Foundation residential end use of water in the United States is equivalent to In other countries responsibility for sector policy is entrusted to a Ministry of Environment (such as in Mexico and Colombia), to a Ministry of Health (such as in Panama, Honduras and Uruguay), a Ministry of Public Works (such as in Ecuador and Haiti), a Ministry of Economy (such as in German states) or a Ministry of Energy (such as in Iran). Access Service quality Quality of service also leaves much to be desired Overview A comprehensive sector policy introduced in 1994 aims at increasing water and sanitation investments through targeted transfers to municipalities improving service Panama, officially the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá) is the southernmost country of Central America. Access Data about access to water supply and sanitation in Honduras vary depending on the source of information Access Water and sanitation coverage in Uruguay (2004 Water use Per capita water production is high at 411 liter/capita/day (90 Access In 2004 water supply coverage (house connections stood at 82% in urban and 45% in rural areas while Sewer coverage in 2003 was 72% of urban and 53% of rural households Haiti ( English: ˈheɪ·tiː or haɪ·ˈjiː·tiː French Haïti a·i·ti Haitian Creole: For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. A few countries, such as Jordan and Bolivia, even have a Ministry of Water. Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern Access Quality of service The quality of service in the majority of the country’s water and sanitation systems is low Often several Ministries share responsibilities for water supply. In the European Union, important policy functions have been entrusted to the supranational level. Supranationalism is a method of decision-making in political communities wherein power is democratically entrusted to independent experienced appointed personalities or to representatives Policy and regulatory functions include the setting of tariff rules and the approval of tariff increases; setting, monitoring and enforcing norms for quality of service and environmental protection; benchmarking the performance of service providers; and reforms in the structure of institutions responsible for service provision. Benchmarking is the process of comparing the cost time or quality of what one organization does against what another organization does The distinction between policy functions and regulatory functions is not always clear-cut. In some countries they are both entrusted to Ministries, but in others regulatory functions are entrusted to agencies that are separate from Ministries.

Regulatory agencies

Dozens of countries around the world have established regulatory agencies for infrastructure services, including often water supply and sanitation, in order to better protect consumers and to improve efficiency. Regulatory agencies can be entrusted with a variety of responsibilities, including in particular the approval of tariff increases and the management of sector information systems, including benchmarking systems. Benchmarking is the process of comparing the cost time or quality of what one organization does against what another organization does Sometimes they also have a mandate to settle complaints by consumers that have not been dealt with satisfactorily by service providers. These specialized entities are expected to be more competent and objective in regulating service providers than departments of government Ministries. Regulatory agencies are supposed to be autonomous from the executive branch of government, but in many countries have often not been able to exercise a great degree of autonomy. In the United States regulatory agencies for utilities have existed for almost a century at the level of states, and in Canada at the level of provinces. Access Water use According to a 1999 study by the AWWA Research Foundation residential end use of water in the United States is equivalent to Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page In both countries they cover several infrastructure sectors. In many US states they are called Public Utility Commissions. A Utilities commission, Utility Regulatory Commission (URC Public Utilities Commission (PUC or Public Service Commission (PSC is a governing body that For England and Wales, a regulatory agency for water (OFWAT) was created as part of the privatization of the water industry in 1989. The Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat is the body responsible for economic regulation of the privatised Water and sewerage industry in England and Wales In many developing countries, water regulatory agencies were created during the 1990s in parallel with efforts at increasing private sector participation. (for more details on regulatory agencies in Latin America, for example, please see Water and sanitation in Latin America and the regional association of water regulatory agencies ADERASA [http:/www. Water supply and sanitation in Latin America is characterized by insufficient access and in many cases by poor service quality with detrimental impacts on Public health. aderasa. org])

Many countries do not have regulatory agencies for water. In these countries service providers are regulated directly by local government, or the national government. This is, for example, the case in the countries of continental Europe, in China and India.

For more information on utility regulation in the water sector see the body of knowledge on utility regulation [6] and the World Bank's knowledge base on the same topic at [7]

Service provision

Water supply service providers, which are often utilities, differ from each other in terms of their geographical coverage relative to administrative boundaries; their sectoral coverage; their ownership structure; and their governance arrangements. A public utility (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the Infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using

Geographical coverage

Many water utilities provide services in a single city, town or municipality. A municipality is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly denotes a City, Town, or Village, or However, in many countries municipalities have associated in regional or inter-municipal or multi-jurisdictional utilities to benefit from economies of scale. In the United States these can take the form of special-purpose districts which may have independent taxing authority. There are two types of special-purpose districts in the United States school districts and special districts An example of a multi-jurisdictional water utility in the United States is WASA, a utility serving Washington, DC and various localities in the state of Maryland. The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority, or WASA was created in 1996 when the District of Columbia Government and the U Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D Multi-jurisdictional utilities are also common in Germany, where they are known as "Zweckverbaende", in France and in Italy.

In some federal countries there are water service providers covering most or all cities and towns in an entire state, such as in all states of Brazil and some states in Mexico (see Water supply and sanitation in Mexico). |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Access Service quality Quality of service also leaves much to be desired In England and Wales water supply and sewerage is supplied almost entirely through ten regional companies. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Some smaller countries, especially developed countries, have established service providers that cover the entire country or at least most of its cities and major towns. Such national service providers are especially prevalent in West Africa and Central America, but also exist, for example, in Tunisia, Jordan and Uruguay (see also water supply and sanitation in Uruguay). Tunisia (تونس Tūnis officially the Tunisian Republic ( is a country located in North Africa. Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern Uruguay.(official full name in República Oriental del Uruguay;, Oriental Republic of Uruguay) is a country located in the southeastern part of South America Access Water and sanitation coverage in Uruguay (2004 Water use Per capita water production is high at 411 liter/capita/day (90 In rural areas, where about half the world population lives, water services are often not provided by utilities, but by community-based organizations which usually cover one or sometimes several villages.

Sector coverage

Some water utilities provide only water supply services, while sewerage is under the responsibility of a different entity. This is for example the case in Tunisia. Tunisia (تونس Tūnis officially the Tunisian Republic ( is a country located in North Africa. However, in most cases water utilities also provide sewer and wastewater treatment services. Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing Contaminants from Wastewater, both Runoff ( Effluents In some cities or countries utilities also distribute electricity. In a few cases such multi-utilities also collect solid waste and provide local telephone services. An example of such an integrated utility can be found in the Colombian city of Medellín. Medellín, officially the Municipio de Medellín (Spanish or Municipality of Medellín (English pronunciation mɛdəˈjiːn or, Spanish: or) is the second Utilities that provide water, sanitation and electricity can be found in Frankfurt, Germany (Mainova), in Casablanca, Morocco and in Gabon in West Africa. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Casablanca (in Standard Arabic: الدار البيضاء ad-Dār al-Bayḍāʼ; Moroccan Arabic: dar beïda الدار البيضا Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa Gabon (gəˈbɒn or /gaˈbõ/ in French) is a country in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Republic Multi-utilities provide certain benefits such as common billing and the option to cross-subsidize water services with revenues from electricity sales, if permitted by law.

Ownership and governance arrangements

Water supply providers can be either public, private, mixed or cooperative. Most urban water supply services around the world are provided by public entities.

Private sector participation

An estimated 10 percent of urban water supply is provided by private or mixed public-private companies, usually under concessions, leases or management contracts. See also Leasing, Renting A lease is a Legal document, but can be an oral arrangement which confers a right on one person (called A management contract is an arrangement under which operational control of an enterprise is vested by contract in a separate enterprise which performs the necessary managerial Under these arrangements the public entity that is legally responsible for service provision delegates certain or all aspects of service provision to the private service provider for a period typically ranging from 4 to 30 years. The public entity continues to own the assets. These arrangements are common in France and in Spain. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Only in few parts of the world water supply systems have been completely sold to the private sector (privatization), such as in England and Wales as well as in Chile. Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of business from the Public sector (government to the Private sector (business England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the The largest private water companies in the world are Suez and Veolia Environnement from France; Aguas de Barcelona from Spain; and Thames Water from the UK, all of which are engaged internationally (see links to website of these companies below). Suez SA was a leading French -based Multinational corporation, with operations primarily in Water, Electricity and Natural gas supply Veolia Environnement SA () is a multinational French company with activities in four main areas - Water, Waste management, Energy and Thames Water, known originally as the Thames Water Authority and after privatisation as Thames Water Utilities Limited, is the utility responsible

Governance arrangements

Governance arrangements for both public and private utilities can take many forms. Governance arrangements define the relationship between the service provider, its owners, its customers and regulatory entities. They determine the financial autonomy of the service provider and thus its ability to maintain its assets, expand services, attract and retain qualified staff, and ulitmately to provide high-quality services. Key aspects of governance arrangements are the extent to which the entity in charge of providing services is insulated from arbitrary political intervention; and whether there is an explicit mandate and political will to allow the service provider to recover all or at least most of its costs through tariffs and retain these revenues. If water supply is the responsibility of a department that is integrated in the administration of a city, town or municipality, there is a risk that tariff revenues are diverted for other purposes. In some cases, there is also a risk that staff are appointed mainly on political grounds rather than based on their professional credentials. These risks are particularly high in developing countries. Municipal or inter-municipal utilities with a separate legal personality and budget as well as a certain extent of managerial autonomy can mitigate these risks.

Tariffs

Almost all service providers in the world charge tariffs to recover part of their costs. According to estimates by the World Bank the average (mean) global water tariff is US$ 0. The World Bank is an internationally supported Bank that provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries for development programs (e In Statistics, mean has two related meanings the Arithmetic mean (and is distinguished from the Geometric mean or Harmonic mean 53 per cubic meter. In developed countries the average tariff is US$ 1. 04, while it is only U$ 0. 11 in the poorest developing countries. The lowest tariffs in developing countries are found in South Asia (mean of US$ 0. 09/m3), while the highest are found in Latin America (US$ 0. 41/m3). ^[2] Few utilities do recover all their costs. According to the same World Bank study only 30% of utilities globally, and only 50% of utilities in developed countries, generate sufficient revenue to cover operation, maintenance and partial capital costs.

According to another study undertaken in 2006 by NUS Consulting, the average water and sewerage tariff in 14 mainly OECD countries excluding VAT varied between US$ 0. Value added tax ( VAT) or goods and services tax ( GST) is a consumption Tax levied on value added. 66 per cubic meter in the United States and the equivalent of US$ 2. 25 per cubic meter in Denmark. ^[3] However, it should be noted that water consumption in the US is much higher than in Europe. Therefore, residential water bills may be very similar, even if the tariff per unit of consumption tends to be higher in Europe than in the US.

A typical family on the US East Coast paid between US$30 and US$70 per month for water and sewer services in 2005. ^[4]

In developing countries tariffs are usually much further from covering costs. Residential water bills for a typical consumption of 15 cubic meters per month vary between less than US$ 1 and US$ 12 per month. ^[5]

Water and sanitation tariffs, which are almost always billed together, can take many different forms. Where meters are installed, tariffs are typically volumetric (per usage), sometimes combined with a small monthly fixed charge. In the absence of meters, flat or fixed rates - which are independent of actual consumption - are being charged. In developed countries, tariffs are usually the same for different categories of users and for different levels of consumption.

In developing countries, are often characterized by cross-subsidies with the intent to make water more affordable for residential low-volume users that are assumed to be poor. For example, industrial and commercial users are often charged higher tariffs than public or residential users. Also, metered users are often charged higher tariffs for higher levels of consumption (increasing-block tariffs). However, cross-subsidies between residential users do not always reach their objective. Given the overall low level of water tariffs in developing countries even at higher levels of consumption, most consumption subsidies benefit the wealthier segments of society. ^[6] Also, high industrial and commercial tariffs can provide an incentive for these users to supply water from other sources than the utility (own wells, water tankers) and thus actually erode the utility's revenue base.

Metering

Main articles: Water metering and Water meter

Metering of water supply is usually motivated by one or several of four objectives: First, it provides an incentive to conserve water which protects water resources (environmental objective). Water metering is the process of measuring water use through Water meters Prevalence Water metering is common for residential and commercial drinking Water A water meter is a device used to measure the volume of water usage Second, it can postpone costly system expansion and saves energy and chemical costs (economic objective). Third, it allows a utility to better locate distribution losses (technical objective). Fourth, it allows to charge for water based on use, which is perceived by many as the fairest way to allocate the costs of water supply to users. Metering is considered good practice in water supply and is widespread in developed countries, except for the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located In developing countries it is estimated that half of all urban water supply systems are metered and the tendency is increasing.

Water meters are read by one of several methods:

• the water customer writes down the meter reading and mails in a postcard with this info to the water department;
• the water customer writes down the meter reading and uses a phone dial-in system to transfer this info to the water department;
• the water customer logs in to the website of the water supply company, enters the address, meter ID and meter readings [8]
• a meter reader comes to the premise and enters the meter reading into a handheld computer;
• the meter reading is echoed on a display unit mounted to the outside of the premise, where a meter reader records them;
• a small radio is hooked up to the meter to automatically transmit readings to corresponding receivers in handheld computers, utility vehicles or distributed collectors
• a small computer is hooked up to the meter that can either dial out or receive automated phone calls that give the reading to a central computer system. A water meter is a device used to measure the volume of water usage A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages

Most cities are increasingly installing Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) systems to prevent fraud, to lower ever-increasing labor and liability costs and to improve customer service and satisfaction. Automatic meter reading, or AMR, is the technology of automatically collecting data from Water meter or Energy metering devices (water gas electric and

Costs and Financing

The cost of supplying water consists to a very large extent of fixed costs (capital costs and personnel costs) and only to a small extent of variable costs that depend on the amount of water consumed (mainly energy and chemicals). The full cost of supplying water in urban areas in developed countries is about US$1-2 per cubic meter depending on local costs and local water consumption levels. The cost of sanitation (sewerage and wastewater treatment) is another US$1-2 per cubic meter. These costs are somewhat lower in developing countries. Throughout the world, only part of these costs is usually billed to consumers, the remainder being financed through direct or indirect subsidies from local, regional or national governments (see section on tariffs). In Economics, a subsidy (also known as a subvention is a form of financial assistance paid to a business or economic sector

Besides subsidies water supply investments are financed through internally generated revenues as well as through debt. Debt financing can take the form of credits from commercial Banks, credits from international financial institutions such as the World Bank and regional development banks (in the case of developing countries), and bonds (in the case of some developed countries and some upper middle-income countries). In Finance, a bond is a Debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and is obliged to repay the principal and Interest

History

Throughout history people have devised systems to make getting and using water more convenient. Early Rome had indoor plumbing, meaning a system of aqueducts and pipes that terminated in homes and at public wells and fountains for people to use. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial An aqueduct is an artificial channel that is constructed to convey water from one location to another

The technique of purification of drinking water by use of compressed liquefied chlorine gas was developed in 1910 by U.S. Army Major (later Brig. Gen.) Carl Rogers Darnall (1867-1941), Professor of Chemistry at the Army Medical School. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. Major is a Military rank the use of which varies according to country Brigadier General is the lowest ranking General Officer in some countries usually sitting between the ranks of Colonel and Major General. Brigadier General Carl Rogers Darnall ( December 25, 1867, Weston Texas, USA - January 18, 1941, Washington Founded by US Army Brigadier General George Miller Sternberg, MD in 1893 the Army Medical School (AMS was by some reckonings the world's Shortly thereafter, Major (later Col.) William J. Colonel ( RP ˈkɜnəl GA ˈkɜrnəl is a Military rank of a Commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country L. Lyster (1869-1947) of the Army Medical Department used a solution of calcium hypochlorite in a linen bag to treat water. The Army Medical Department of the US Army, known as the AMEDD, comprises the six medical Special Branches of the Army Calcium hypochlorite is a Chemical compound with formula (2 It is widely used for Water treatment and as a Bleaching agent (bleaching For many decades, Lyster's method remained the standard for U. S. ground forces in the field and in camps, implemented in the form of the familiar Lyster Bag (also spelled Lister Bag). Darnall's work became the basis for present day systems of municipal water 'purification'.

Standardization

International standards for water supply system are covered by ICS 91. 140. 60 ^[7].

Outbreaks due to water supply

• In 1854, a cholera outbreak in London's Soho district was identified by Dr. John Snow as originating from contaminated water from the Broad street pump. Year 1854 ( MDCCCLIV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year John Snow ( 15 March 1813 &ndash 16 June 1858) was a British physician and a leader in the adoption of Anaesthesia and medical This can be regarded as the founding event of the science of epidemiology. Epidemiology is the study of factors affecting the Health and Illness of populations and serves as the foundation and Logic of interventions made in the
• In 1980, a hepatitis A surge due to the consumption of water from a feces-contaminated well, in Pennsylvania ^[8]
• In 1987, a cryptosporidiosis outbreak is caused by the public water supply of which the filtration was contaminated, in western Georgia ^[9]
• Fluoride intoxication in a long-term hemodialysis unit of university hospital due to the failure of a water deionization system ^[10]
• In 1993, a fluoride poisoning outbreak resulting from overfeeding of fluoride, in Mississippi ^[11]
• In 1993, Milwaukee Cryptosporidium outbreak
• An outbreak of typhoid fever in northern Israel, which was associated with the contaminated municipal water supply ^[12]
• In 1997, 369 cases of cryptosporidiosis occurred, caused by a contaminated fountain in the Minnesota zoo. Cryptosporidiosis is a Parasitic disease caused by Cryptosporidium, a Protozoan Parasite in the phylum Apicomplexa. The 1993 Milwaukee Cryptosporidium outbreak was a significant distribution of the Cryptosporidium Protozoan in Milwaukee Wisconsin, and the Cryptosporidiosis is a Parasitic disease caused by Cryptosporidium, a Protozoan Parasite in the phylum Apicomplexa. Most of the sufferers were children ^[13]
• In 1998, a non-chlorinated municipal water supply was blamed for a campylobacteriosis outbreak in northern Finland ^[14]
• In 2000, a gastroenteritis outbreak that was brought by a non-chlorinated community water supply, in southern Finland ^[15]
• In 2004, contamination of the community water supply, serving the Bergen city centre of Norway, was later reported after the outbreak of waterborne giardiasis ^[16]
• In 2007, contaminated drinking water was pinpointed which had led to the outbreak of gastroenteritis with multiple aetiologies in Denmark ^[17]

Footnotes

See also

• ISO 15553 (draft release) - Water quality -- Isolation and identification of Cryptosporidium oocysts and Giardia cysts from water
• Aquifex (a genus of bacteria) ("its method of respiration creates water")
• Carl Rogers Darnall
• Catchwater
• Domestic water system
• Drinking water
• Food safety
• Global Water Foundation
• Meltwater
• Non-revenue water
• Safe water
• Sanitation
• Tap water
• Water crisis
• Water efficiency
• Water law
• Waterborne diseases
• Category:Water supply and sanitation by country

External links

• Water Resources at the Open Directory Project
• Appropedia:Water supply
• The WHO's site on water
• The OECD's site on water
• Water supply in Germany (picture story) „GEO“ 2/2000
• IEEE Spectrum: How Much Water Does It Take to Make Electricity? -- Natural gas requires the least water to produce energy, biofuels the most, according to a new study

Aquifex is a Genus of Bacteria, one of the few in the phylum Aquificae. Brigadier General Carl Rogers Darnall ( December 25, 1867, Weston Texas, USA - January 18, 1941, Washington A catchwater is a large-scale man-made device for catching Surface runoff from hills and channelling it to reservoirs for later usage as a part of the public Water supply Tap water ( running water) is part of indoor Plumbing, which became available in the late 19th century and common in the mid-20th century Water of sufficient quality to serve as drinking water is termed potable water whether it is used for drinking or not Food safety is a scientific discipline describing handling preparation, and storage of Food in ways that prevent Foodborne illness. The Global Water Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to delivering clean water and sanitation to the world's neediest communities Meltwater is the water released by the Melting of Snow or Ice, including glacial ice and Ice shelfs over oceans Non revenue water (NRW is water that has been produced and is “lost” before it reaches the customer Water of sufficient quality to serve as drinking water is termed potable water whether it is used for drinking or not Sanitation is the hygienic means of preventing human contact from the hazards of wastes to promote health Tap water ( running water) is part of indoor Plumbing, which became available in the late 19th century and common in the mid-20th century Water Crisis is a term that refers to the status of the world’s Water resources relative to human demand See also Water conservation Water efficiency can be defined as 1 the accomplishment of a function task process or result with the minimal amount of water This article has been tagged &mdash please see the bottom of the page for more information Waterborne diseases are caused by Pathogenic Microorganisms which are directly transmitted when contaminated Drinking water is consumed The Open Directory Project ( ODP) also known as dmoz (from directory

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