The Role of UV Purification in Modern Water Treatment Systems

Now and then, a natural remedy for something comes to prominence, and a certain section of society is delighted because they know nature is best. For another group, though, they can take some convincing because we are all so accustomed to effective treatments emerging not from nature but from laboratories.

A case in point is the role of UV purification in modern water treatment systems. On the face of it, this is a wonderful development because it uses something that is all around us and absolutely free, to fix another fundamental resource by purifying water. Ultraviolet (UV) is a component of light and takes its place from the colors of the spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. These are graded in wavelengths, so infrared light has a wavelength longer than red, and UV has a wavelength shorter than violet. Trust the scientists to take the romance out of the rainbow by analyzing it and explaining it.

Incidentally, the UV water purification system has been rigorously tested in laboratories and in practice, because you can’t make unsubstantiated, wild claims about this sort of thing: the government insists on checking it out properly before it is allowed to be sold to the public.

Anyhow, UV has had a lot of bad publicity in recent years, since it was discovered that it is harmful to the skin and eyes. Sunburn, premature ageing of the skin, skin cancer, cataracts… all are blamed on ultraviolet, which used to sound like such a nice, innocent character.

But here it is, back in our good books because it can help with water purification.

How, though? If the sun is beating down on an expanse of water and ultraviolet is a purifier, why isn’t the water automatically cleaned up? Because that is outdoors and random, unfocused, that’s why. The great outdoors is full of potential hazards. For ultraviolet light to purify water, it has to be done in controlled conditions.

UV purification takes place in a stainless steel chamber where UV lights are put to work, protected inside a quartz tube. Unlike water filters, which physically remove impurities, UV purification uses the power of ultraviolet light to interfere with the DNA of harmful things such as bacteria, rendering them harmless and preventing them from growing and multiplying. So, you could say it uses its troublesome powers, the ones that pose health problems for the skin and eyes, to destroy bacteria, so good comes out of bad.

Benefits of UV Purification Over Other Methods

There are no chemicals involved. Even those people who will happily splash bleach around the house to kill germs will draw the line at having their drinking water taste and smell of chlorine. It’s one of the things that makes swimming in a lake, a river, or the sea preferable to a pool full of chlorinated water: that natural feeling disappears under the onslaught of effective but harsh chemicals.

Environmentally Friendly

With no chemical involvement, UV purification does its job with no knock-on effects. A UV purification filter is cost-effective, too, and quite easy to install. The units are good-looking and unobtrusive, so there’s another reason to choose one.

If this all sounds like a great idea, all you have to do is find a good, professional water company that can do the job for you. They will probably have all the other options available too, but make sure you get them to give you their version of why UV water purification is an excellent idea.