How much do you know about water?

Pure water does not have an expiry date. However, you may come across instances where the expiry date is mentioned on bottled water. While a law passed in 1987, in New Jersey, mandated companies in the food and water sector to mention an expiry date of not more than two years on their products. This law was later changed but it is advisable not to drink water, which has been stored in plastic bottles, especially if it is more than 6 months past its date of packing. Infact experts, in this field also believe that it is safe to consume tap water, for six months, provided it has been stored properly.

Water in its purest form is odourless. If the water has any form of odour then chances are very high that its impure. The interesting fact however, is that even though water does not have any odour, elephants can smell it and locate it from a distance of five kilometres.

Water in its purest form is tasteless. But there would be instances where you may have noticed that water tastes sweet and in some cases sour. Water that we consume, which we get in the tap, is treated. This treated water could contain minerals, like calcium or iron, that can produce a sweet taste when found in larger quantities. On the other hand, when the pH value of water is more than 7 then that water will taste sour.

Pure water will have no colour. It’s a colourless liquid. If the water has any form of colour then most likely it is impure.

There is no definite answer to this but is dependant on a number of factors. These include your level of activity, temperature, humidity levels, and body type. However, experts believe that to maintain minimum hydration, one needs to drink atleast 6-7 glasses of water daily. These days there are applications too that create alerts when you should drink water.

Considering that bottled water passes through certain checks and balances, it is typically safe to consume bottled water, provided its not older than six months from the date of packing. It was generally seen that globally sale of bottled water went up during the lockdowns imposed due to Covid-19.

It is typically safe to eat fresh snow. However, if there arises a situation where you need to use water by melting snow, pls do collect snow that is a bit away from the road or pathway and if possible collect snow that has gathered on the leaves of trees and not from the ground.

Ideally you should not store water in plastic bottles, but if you do, make sure that its food grade plastic.

Yes, water is a universal solvent. Most salts, sugars, acids, alkalis and even some gases dissolve in water. Do not forget the chemical composition of water is H2O.

When heated ground water, either through molten rock or through circulation around cracks/faults deep in the earth’s crust juts out of the earth’s surface, it is called a hot spring. Typically, water from hot springs is loaded with minerals and hence bathing in it has numerous health benefits.

There are different ways in which we consume water. Water is consumed either by drinking it, straight up or through various foods and beverages that we consume.

Water is present in all three forms—solid (in the form of snow), liquid (the form that we use for our personal consumption) and in the form of gas (something we can’t see like water vapour).

If you do not drink the amount of water that is required, you could dehydrate yourself. The effects of which are continuous headaches, irregular bowel function, fatigue, dry mouth and so on.

The water that we typically see in lakes and rivers is water above the land surface. Apart from water that is available above the land surface, there is water under the surface too. Wells have been used in for a long time to withdraw water for self-use. Wells are dug, grilled into the earth/rock which explains that some wells recharge themselves and never go dry even in the driest of months.

Black water is alkaline water that reportedly has several health benefits like it helps in digestion, boosts metabolism and immunity.

Boiler water treatment is a type of industrial water treatment that focusses on removal or chemical modification of substances potentially damaging to the boiler.

The process of adding chlorine or hyper chlorine to water to kill certain bacteria and other microbes in water.

Cooling water treatment is a type of industrial water treatment that uses select filtration technologies and chemical products to remove toxic/ damaging impurities from the cooling tower system.

The process of adding disinfectants to kill micro-organisms in it, is called disinfection.

Water also known as H2O is a chemical substance where one molecule of water has two atoms of hydrogen and a single oxygen atom. The process of separating the hydrogen and oxygen atoms is called electrolysis.

Water that is largely clean but is not potable is called grey water. In simple words its waste water generated by humans. This water however, can be treated to make it potable again.

Water that has been treated with Ozone gas is called ozonated water. It is claimed that ozonated water offers benefits in both clinical and industrial spaces, from preventing cancer and fighting free radicals in the body to supporting dental health and preserving food safety.

Also referred to as ozonisation is a technique of chemically treating water by infusing ozone, into water.

Water that is fit for human consumption is called potable water or more commonly known as drinking water. In instances where water is not fit for human consumption, it is made potable by employing techniques like filtration or distillation or any other method that deems fit in the specific case.

Raw water is water that is found in its natural form, in lakes, rivers and rainwater.

More commonly called RO is a technology employed to purify water that makes use of semi- permeable membrane to remove larger particles from drinking water.

When water is applied to extreme heat, the transformation of water from liquid to gas happens at breakneck speed is called steam explosion. Steam explosion typically sprays boiling water and steam.

At sea level water typically boils at 100 degrees centigrade. However, it must be noted that as one moves higher up, this boiling point typically goes down. What this means that the boiling point of water is dependent on barometric pressure.

Water is considered hard or soft depending on the amount of mineral (mainly calcium and magnesium) content, in it. Water is considered soft when the presence of these minerals is less that 17 parts per million. Water is considered very hard when the mineral content is greater than 180 parts per million while water that is slightly hard water contains 17 to 60 parts per million of these minerals. To make things simpler soap will lather easily in soft water but will be extremely difficult to rinse. Similarly, if the water is hard, soap will not lather that easily and will be very easy to remove.

Snow and ice are both formed by water when it freezes. There are many instances when both terms are used interchangeably as if they mean the same thing but, there is a slight difference between the two. To put it simply, when atmospheric vapour freezes, in winters, and falls on the earth, it is called snow. Ice on the other hand is simply frozen water. To explain matters further what falls from the sky, in winters, is snow and what we freeze at home, in the freezer, is ice.

Water is one of the most important resources that mankind is dependent for his survival. Remember, the earliest human civilizations, in recorded history, were close to rivers. Hence, they were called river valley civilizations.

Roughly 55-70% of an adult human comprises of water.

The process of purifying water in which water is forced through a semipermeable membrane. This process can remove most organic molecules and viruses, as well as a range of salts.

The process of treating polluted waste water is called waste water treatment.

The medical condition is called hyponatremia, a life-threatening situation where sodium levels fall below 135 millimoles per litre due to over-hydration. In simple words it’s a medical condition that occurs when one drinks more water than what is necessary.

The process of removing minerals like calcium, magnesium and certain minerals from hard water is called water softening.

The process of treating raw water to make it potable is called water treatment.

Water also known as H2O is a chemical substance where one molecule of water has two atoms of hydrogen and a single oxygen atom.

Water is typically used to extinguish fires but in cases of fire involving oils and organic solvents, use of water to douse the fire should be avoided as many organic materials float on water. So if water is used then instead of dousing the fire, water will help spread the fire. Also when using water to douse fire in confined spaces, please be careful of steam explosion.

Seawater is salty because of the presence of salt in it. On an average seawater contains about 3.5% of salt. However, salinity level varies. To give you an idea, the Baltic Sea has about 0.7% salt while the Red Sea has 4%.

If you have any queries about water please write to us at editor@eawater.com