We can thank President Gerald Ford for the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974. It was the first piece of legislation to provide comprehensive regulatory framework for overseeing the nations drinking water supply in the United States. The law has proven instrumental in settling standards to ensure that the US population can access safe drinking water.

Water treatment is any process that improves the quality of water to make it more acceptable for use or consumption. The end use of this treated water may be for human consumption, industrial water supply, irrigation, River flow maintenance, recreation or many other uses. Wastewater treatment is the process that removes the majority of the contaminants from waste water or sewage for disposal to the natural environment. Early water treatment methods still used today include sand filtration and chlorination.

The earth has been recycling water for 4 billion years. The water cycle has no beginning or end it is continuous. The sun heats up the water from the oceans, lakes and rivers. The water changes into water vapor by the process of evaporation. Plants also lose water in the form of water vapor from their leaves into the air by the process of transpiration. Water collects of water vapor in the sky and makes clouds. When the water in the clouds gets cold it becomes liquid again in a process called condensation. Then the water falls from the sky as rain, snow, sleet or hail called precipitation. The water sinks into the surface and collects into lakes, oceans and rivers. It evaporates all over again and continues the cycle.

Safe Water Treatment Games

Environmental Protection Agency EPA water treatment flash game

Water Treatment Games

Water Cycle

Water - A Never-ending Story

Clouds

Safe Drinking Water

Water Treatment games

Groundwater and Watersheds