Why is it difficult to turn seawater into drinking water?

Discussion in 'General Science & Technology' started by Saint, May 31, 2012.

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  1. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    Because its expensive, because in metro areas rain water can be polluted and because you have the same problems with rain water you do with RO water. It is compleatly lacking in essential minerals
     
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  3. KilljoyKlown Whatever Valued Senior Member

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    I've often wondered that same thing. But when you talk of a reservoir, are you thinking an open system or some kind of underground tank. Just asking because an open reservoir would evaporate and also provide a haven for local bugs, like mosquitoes. Also, stagnant water is not very appetizing even when sanitized. Next there would be some cost associated with and underground tank, so if you were a poor person you couldn't afford it. Also, what about the places where there is not much rain?

    All this talk about feeding the world is ridiculous, our farms are using the majority of our fresh water and I'm not happy about being on water rationing if I know farmers are growing food for the rest of the world.

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  5. Saint Valued Senior Member

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    So, what is the best way to solve water shortage problem, it is impending to threaten our survival.
     
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  7. KilljoyKlown Whatever Valued Senior Member

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    Do you live somewhere where your personal survival is threatened?

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  8. Trippy ALEA IACTA EST Staff Member

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    And yet, in developed countries all over the world, people living in rural environments with no usable aquifer use tanked rainwater on a daily basis.
     
  9. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    Trippy read the WHO report I posted
     
  10. Trippy ALEA IACTA EST Staff Member

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    From whence the assumption I haven't?
     
  11. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    The assertion without supporting evidence "refuting" it? Sure my grandparents used rain water because they weren't on town supply but the salts were added in. Apart from the problems pure ware causes for humans and animals it's also destroys pipes if some mineral salts aren't added so in order to prevent THIS salts are added. If the tanks are metal its quite likely that these would leach into the water.
     
  12. Trippy ALEA IACTA EST Staff Member

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    Are you seriously suggesting that people in rural environments in the developed world are not dependent on rainwater?

    Because that's the only assertion I recall making.

    Are you really asking me to prove that there are people in the developed world reliant on rain for potable water?

    There are a couple of things in all of this that you have missed.

    1. Drinking enough of any fluid in a day for an extended period of time will kill you.

    2. Take a moment to think about how rainwater is collected.
     
  13. Trippy ALEA IACTA EST Staff Member

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    I'll spell it out for you.

    Obviously you're struggling with this passage:
    If I have a community of 100 individuals - a rural village, and that rural village is decentralized, it has no centralized supply of drinking water, and no centralized sewer system.

    Because there is no community supply of water the statement "Although rainwater [is] not used as [a] community drinking water source in industrialized countries" is still true - if there's no centralized supply, there's no community supply.

    And the statement "[rainwater is] used by individuals in some locations", and so my statement that "And yet, in developed countries all over the world, people living in rural environments with no usable aquifer use tanked rainwater on a daily basis" does not contradict what the report says. The two situations being posited are completely different. I was referring to a group of individuals whom rely individually on tanked rainwater, but live as a community in a rural or rural-urban environment. The WHO report, however appears to be referring to the scenario where a community relies on a centralized water supply collected exclusively from rainwater.

    Do you understand the difference?
     
  14. Trippy ALEA IACTA EST Staff Member

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  15. billvon Valued Senior Member

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    Lots of people use rainwater for drinking without adding anything. Cisterns are pretty common in off-grid homes.
     
  16. Saint Valued Senior Member

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    What is the statistics of people die of unclean water annually?
    In Malaysia, almost every house in urban area has its own water filter installed outdoor.
    And there is one more RO or 6-filter system installed in the kitchen.

    WE JUST DON'T TRUST OUR PIPE WATER IS SAFE TO DRINK FROM.
     
  17. KilljoyKlown Whatever Valued Senior Member

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    We may not be all that bad here in the U.S., but I really don't trust the piped in water either. I either use purified or bottled water for drinking.
     
  18. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    Why do you trust bottled water?
    More to the point, why do you trust it more than city water?
     
  19. KilljoyKlown Whatever Valued Senior Member

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    I'm using the Kirkland brand. It's purified water by reverse osmosis, with Potassium Bicarbonate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Calcium Chloride and Magnesium Chloride added for taste. I do expect city water to meet all the minimum requirements, but shit happens and I prefer not to worry about it.
     
  20. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    Ah. I thought you were talking about bottled water as separate from purified water.

    I think people overestimate the cleanliness of bottled water and underestimate the cleanliness of city water.
     
  21. KilljoyKlown Whatever Valued Senior Member

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    For the most part I think city water is safe to drink. But there are many reasons why it might have a problem by the time it gets to your residence, and sometimes it just doesn't taste very good. If for some reason the city water gets contaminated just once in 20 years, the health of millions of people could be in question. There are many contaminates that don't get tested for because they aren't very common. I've read about some really bad contamination accidents in the U.S., so it can and does happen from time to time. Even one of those simple filters that hook on to your faucet would be a big improvement.
     
  22. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    Yes. Leaving the remaining point that people often overestimate the cleanliness of bottled water. Though RO water is pretty clean.
     
  23. KilljoyKlown Whatever Valued Senior Member

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    At Costco I get 35 16.9oz bottles for about $4. Sure beats buying that many cokes. Where I live now I have well water to the faucet, and it does have a hard taste to it.

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