Here is our handy glossary of water to help you with the various terms you may have come across when looking into water treatment solutions.
Activated Carbon
A type of filter that uses a bed of carbon to remove contaminants and impurities, using chemical adsorption
Aqueous
Something that is made up of water.
Brine
A high concentration of salt in water.
Boiling Point
The temperature at which water boils (100 degrees Celsius)
Chlorination
A water purification process in which chlorine is added to water to disinfect and control present microorganisms.
Clarity
The clearness of a liquid
Compounds
Two or more different elements held together in fixed proportions by attractive forces called chemical bonds.
Concentrate
The totality of different substances that are left behind in a filter medium after filtration.
Contamination
The presence of an undesirable substance which pollutes the water.
Conduit
A natural or artificial channel through which fluids may be transported.
Corrosivity
Ability of water to dissolve or break down certain substances, particularly metals.
Cross flow filtration
A process that uses opposite flows across a membrane surface to minimize particle build-up.
Defluoridation
The removal of fluoride from drinking water.
Demineralisation
Processes to remove minerals from water.
Detergent
A water-soluble cleansing agent.
Dissolve
The process during which solid particles mix molecule by molecule with a liquid and appear to become part of the liquid.
Distillation
Water treatment method where water is boiled to steam and condensed in a separate reservoir. Contaminants with higher boiling points than water do not vaporize and remain in the boiling flask.
Electrolyte
Substance that dissociates into ions when it dissolves in water.
Elements
The building blocks of matter that make up every material substance.
Erosion
The wearing away of the land surface by wind, water, ice or other geological agents.
Evaporation
The process of changing water from liquid to vapour.
Filter medium
The permeable material that separates solids from liquids passing through it.
Filtrate
A liquid that has passed through the filter medium.
Filtration
Separation of a solid and a liquid by using a porous substance that only lets the liquid pass through.
Flow
The discharge rate of a resource, as a volume over a certain period of time.
Freezing
The change of a liquid into a solid as temperature decreases (0 degrees Celsius for water)
Giardia
A microorganism that is commonly found in untreated surface water and can be removed by filtration.
Groundwater
Water that can be found in the saturated zone of the soil.
Hard water
Hard water is water that contains high levels of the minerals calcium and magnesium.
Heat exchanger
A component that is used to remove heat from or add heat to a liquid.
Heavy metals
Metals that have a density of 5.0 or higher and a high elemental weight. Most are toxic to humans, even in low concentrations.
Humidification
Adding water vapour to air.
Hydrologic cycle
The natural cycle of water passing through the environment, including evaporation, condensation, retention and run-off.
Ice
The solid form of water.
Impermeable
Not easily penetrated by water.
Impurities
Particles or other objects that cause water to be unclear.
Indicator organisms
Microorganisms, such as coliforms, whose presence is indicative for pollution or for the presence of more harmful microorganisms.
Ion
An atom in a solution that is charged, either positively (cations) or negatively (anions).
Ion exchange
The replacement of undesirable ions with a certain charge by desirable ions of the same charge in a solution, by an ion-permeable absorbent.
Kinetic Energy
Energy possessed by moving water.
Limescale
A chalky substance formed by combining calcium and magnesium with heat.
Liquid
A state of matter, neither gas nor solid, that flows and takes the shape of its container.
Melting
The change of a solid into a liquid.
Membrane
A semi-permeable skin that allows some compounds or liquids to pass through but not others.
Micron
A unit to describe a measure of length, equal to one millionth of a metre.
Microorganisms
Organisms that are so small that they can only be observed through a microscope, for instance bacteria, fungi or yeasts.
Mineral Water
Water containing large amounts of dissolved minerals such as calcium, sodium, magnesium, and iron.
Molecules
Combinations of two or more atoms of the same or different elements held together by chemical bonds.
Non-potable
Water that is unsafe or unpalatable to drink because it contains pollutants, contaminants, minerals or infective agents.
Osmosis
The process where water molecules pass through membranes naturally, to the side with the highest concentration of dissolved impurities.
Particle size
The sizes of a particle, determined by the smallest dimension, for instance a diameter. It is usually expressed in micron measurements.
Permeability
The ability of a medium to pass a fluid under pressure.
Pollutant
A contaminant at a concentration high enough to endanger the life of organisms.
Pre-treatment
Processes used to reduce or eliminate wastewater pollutants from before they are discharged.
Qualitative water assessment
Analyses of water used to describe the characteristics or water.
Quantitative water assessment
Analyses of water properties and concentrations of compounds and contaminants in order to define water quality.
Reservoir
A natural or artificial holding area used to store water.
Residue
The dry solids remaining after the evaporation of a sample of water or sludge.
Reverse Osmosis
Reverse Osmosis is a process which uses pressure across a semi-permeable membrane to separate and remove dissolved solids, organics, pyrogens, submicron colloidal matter, viruses, and bacteria from water.
Safe water
Water that does not contain harmful bacteria, toxic materials, or chemicals, and is considered safe for drinking.
Semipermeable
A medium that allows water to pass through, but rejects dissolved solids, so that it can be used to separate solids from water.
Sewage
Waste fluid in a sewer system.
Softening
The removal of calcium and magnesium from water to reduce hardness.
Soft water
Any water that does not contain large concentrations of the dissolved minerals calcium or magnesium.
Surface water
All water naturally open to the atmosphere, such as rivers, lakes, reservoirs, ponds, streams, impoundments, seas, estuaries and wetlands.
Vapour
The gaseous phase of substances such as water.
Vaporise
Conversion of a liquid into vapour.
Viruses
The smallest life forms known, that are not cellular in nature. They live inside the cells of animals, plants and bacteria and often cause disease.
Water pollution
The presence in water of enough harmful or objectionable material to damage water quality.
Water quality
The condition of water with respect to the amount of impurities in it.
Water supply system
The collection, treatment, storage, and distribution of water from source to consumer.