MAJOR WATER POLLUTANTS

BIOLOGICAL IMPURITIES:
Bacteria, Virus, and Parasites: Effects of waterborne microorganisms can be immediate and devastating. Therefore, microorganisms are the first and most important consideration in making water acceptable for human consumption.

INORGANIC IMPURITIES:
Dirt and Sediment or Turbidity: Most waters contain some suspended particles which may consist of fine sand, clay, soil, and precipitated salts. Turbidity is unpleasant to look at, can be a source of food and lodging for bacteria, and can interfere with effective disinfection

,Toxic Metals or Heavy Metals: Among the greatest threats to health are the presence of high levels of toxic metals in drinking water - Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, Mercury, and Silver.

Asbestos -- Asbestos exists as microscopic suspended mineral fibers in water. Its primary source is asbestos-cement pipe which was commonly used after World War II for city water supplies

Radioactivity -- Even though trace amounts of radioactive elements can be found in almost all drinking water, levels that pose serious health hazards are fairly rare--for now.

ORGANIC IMPURITIES:
Tastes and Odors -- If your water has a disagreeable taste or odor, chances are it is due to one or more of many organic substances ranging from decaying vegetation to algae; hydrocarbons to phenols. It could also be TDS and a host of other items.

Pesticides and Herbicides -- The increasing use of pesticides and herbicides in agriculture shows up in the water we drink. Rain and irrigation carry these deadly chemicals down into the groundwater as well as into surface waters.

Toxic Organic Chemicals -- The most pressing and widespread water contamination problem is a result of the organic chemicals created by industry.

Chlorine -- Trihalomethanes (THM's) are formed when chlorine, used to disinfect water supplies, interacts with natural organic materials (e.g. by-products of decayed vegetation, algae, etc.).