Introduction to Water Technology

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Water: The Basic Resource

Topics: Precipitation; Surface runoff; Groundwater; Municipal, industrial, and agricultural use; Waste disposal; Upgrading water quality

Learning Objectives:

• Name the continuing processes that make up the water or hydrologic cycle.
• Describe the atmospheric process that produces precipitation.
• Identify the users of municipal water supplies.
• Point out some of the important advances made in water treatment since 1900.
• List the benefits of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendment of 1972.

Chapter 2: Water Collection, Treatment, and Distribution

Topics: Collecting surface water and ground water; Transmission of water; Treatment types; Distribution; Primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the differences between a confined aquifer and an unconfined one.
• Tell why it is necessary to treat water for drinking and for manufacturing purposes.
• Describe the treatment processes of sedimentation and coagulation.
• Describe how a system for the distribution of treated water operates.
• Tell what takes place during the primary treatment of wastewater.

Chapter 3: Physical Properties of Water

Topics: Color, taste, odor, and temperature of water; Solids in the water; Turbidity; Suspended matter; Measuring electrical conductivity

Learning Objectives:

• Distinguish between the apparent color and the true color of water.
• Name the four basic tastes of water that a person can sense.
• Tell how a rise in temperature affects the various properties of water.
• Name the sources of organic and inorganic solids that pollute wastewater.
• Explain the differences between suspended solids and dissolved solids.

Chapter 4: Chemical Properties of Water

Topics: Atoms and molecules; Acids, bases, and salts; Ionization; Alkalinity and acidity; Hardness of water; Unwanted chemicals; Dissolved oxygen

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the particles in an atom, and tell how they fit together to form the atom.
• Describe the relationship between a pH number and the concentration of H+ ions.
• Name the two color tests for alkalinity of water and tell what colors they produce.
• Describe the ion exchange and lime-soda processes for removing hardness from water.
• Tell why a certain amount of dissolved oxygen (DO) is necessary in surface water.

Chapter 5: Biological Properties of Water

Topics: Pathogenicity; Disinfection; Stabilization of organic matter; Biochemical oxygen demand; Bacteria; Viruses; Algae; Protozoa

Learning Objectives:

• List the methods commonly used to disinfect water.
• Tell how temperature changes affect the rate at which living organisms grow in water.
• Tell how-and how rapidly-common bacteria reproduce.
• List the most effective methods used to inactivate viruses.
• Explain how the presence of algae speeds the process of eutrophication.

Request Exam Copies