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 WATER
A clear, colorless, odorless, and tasteless liquid, H
2
O, essential for most plant andanimal life and the most widely used of all solvents. Freezing point 0°C (32°F); boiling point 100°C (212°F); specific gravity (4°C) 1.0000; weight per gallon (15°C)8.338 pounds (3.782 kilograms).1.a.Any of various forms of water:
waste water.
 b.Naturally occurring mineral water, as at a spa. Often used in the plural.2.a.A body of water such as a sea, lake, river, or stream. b.waters A particular stretch of sea or ocean, especially that of a state or country:
escorted out of British waters.
3.a.A supply of water:
had to turn off the water while repairing the brokendrain.
 b.A water supply system.
 
4.a.Any of the fluids normally secreted from the body, such as urine, perspiration, tears, or saliva. b.A fluid present in a body part in abnormal quantities as a result of injury or disease:
water on the knee.
c.The fluid surrounding a fetus in the uterus; amniotic fluid.5.An aqueous solution of a substance, especially a gas:
ammonia water.
6.A wavy finish or sheen, as of a fabric or metal.7.a.The valuation of the assets of a business firm beyond their real value. b.Stock issued in excess of paid-in capital.8.a.The transparency and luster of a gem.A level of excellence. Water is a chemical compound needed by most plants and animalson Earth in order to sustain life. Pure water is atasteless,odorless, transparent liquid. Insmall amounts it iscolorless, but it takes on a bluishtintin larger amounts. Water is an excellentsolventand as a result it usually contains a wide variety of dissolved mineralsand other chemicals. It can also carry and support bacteria. Most of the water distributedthrough municipal water systems is treated to remove harmful substances. Some bottledwaters undergo even further treatment to remove almost all impurities. The English wordwater is derived from the German word
wasser,
which in turn is derived from an ancientIndo-European word meaning to wet or wash.The controlled use of water dates to at least 8,000
B.C.
when farmers in Egypt and partsof Asia trapped floodwaters for cropirrigation. The concept of using irrigation canals to bring water to crops, rather than waiting for a flood, was first developed about 2,000
B.C.
in Egypt and Peru. By about 1,000
B.C.
, the city of Karcho, in what is now Jordan, builttwo aqueducts to bring an adequate supply of water for the city's population. This is thefirst recorded instance of a planned municipal water supply.Early water treatment was surprisingly advanced, although rarely practiced. An ancientSanskrit manuscript, from what is now India, advises that drinking water should be keptin copper vessels, exposed to sunlight, and filtered throughcharcoal.Ancient Egyptianinscriptions give similar advice. Many of these methods are still used today. In about 400
B.C.
, the Greek medical practitioner Hippocratessuggested that water should be boiledand strained through a piece of cloth. Despite these early references, most people drank untreatedwater from flowing streams or subterraneanwells. As long as there were no sources of contaminationnearby, this was asatisfactorysolution. As the population of Europe and other parts of the civilized world grew, their sources of water became increasinglycontaminated. In many cities, the rivers that served as the primary sources of drinking water were so badly contaminated withsewagethat theyresembled open cesspools. Cholera, typhoid, and many other water-borne diseases took their toll. In 1800, William Cruikshank of England demonstrated that small doses of chlorinewould killgermsin water. By the 1890s, several municipalities found that
 
slowly filtering water through beds of sand could also significantly reduce the incidenceof disease. The publicoutcryfor safe drinking water reached such acrescendothat by the early 1900s most major cities in the United States had installed some sort of water treatment system.Even with water treatment, water contamination remained a serious concern as anincreasing amount of industrial wastes poured into the nation's rivers and lakes. As theadverse health effects of lead, arsenic, pesticides, and other chemicals became known, theUnited States federal government was obliged to pass the Water Pollution Control Act of 1948. This was the first comprehensive legislation to define and regulate water quality. Itwas followed by a series of increasingly tougher requirements, culminating in the currentEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA) water quality standards. In addition to thefederal standards, most states have their own water quality laws, and some state laws aremorestringentthan those specified by the EPA.
Types of Water
Pure water is an almost non-existent entity. Most water contains varying amounts of dissolved minerals and salts, plus an abundance of suspended particles such assiltandmicroscopicorganic material. Different types of water are classified by the presence or absence of these impurities.Tap water, or municipal water, has under-gone a series of treatments to kill harmful bacteria, remove sediments, and eliminateobjectionableodors. It may also have had oneor more chemicals added for a variety of reasons.Hard water contains high amounts of calcium andmagnesiumsalts. This causes soap toform curds. Hard water is further divided into temporarily hard water and permanentlyhard water. Temporarily hard water contains bicarbonates of calcium and/or magnesium,which react to form a hard substance called scale when the water is heated. Scale cancloghot water heaters and pipes and leave deposits on cooking utensils. Permanentlyhard water contains sulphates, chlorides, or nitratesof calcium and/or magnesium, whichare not affected by heating. Soft water contains relatively low amounts of calcium andmagnesium salts, although the definition of "low" varies. The term "softened water"refers to hard water that has had enough salts chemically removed to avoid forming soapcurds. It is high insodium chloride.If water contains a large quantity of dissolved minerals, it is called mineral water. Mineralwaters can be divided into five main classes:saline,alkaline, ferrunginous, sulphurous,andpotable. Saline water has a high level of sodium or magnesiumsulphateor sodium chloride.Alkaline water has a high concentration of salts which give it a pH in the rangeof about 7.2-9.5, where a pH of 7 is neutral and a pH of 14 is highlyalkaline.Ferrungiouswater is rich in iron, which gives it a rusty color. Sulphurous water is rich in sulphur compounds and is distinguished by its rotten egg smell. Potable water has a mineralcontent of less than 500 parts per million and is most commonly bottled and sold as aspecialty drinking water.
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