Drinking water, also known as potable water, is water that is safe to drink or to use for food preparation. The quality of drinking water is crucial for public health. Access to safe drinking water has improved over the decades, yet billions of people still lack this basic necessity. The sources of drinking water can include groundwater, surface water (lakes and rivers), or rainwater, which are treated to remove impurities and contaminants such as bacteria, algae, viruses, fungi, and chemical pollutants. Treatment processes might involve filtration, sedimentation, and disinfection with chlorine or ultraviolet light.
Researchers have developed a compact device that harvests water from atmospheric humidity using absorbent-coated fins. This device, detailed in ACS Energy Letters, efficiently traps moisture…
Recent research indicates that sunlight-exposed plastic water bottles release harmful VOCs, necessitating safer materials and stricter regulations. A recent study explores the health hazards associated…
Nearly a million people in incarceration may suffer lifelong health consequences. Amid growing demands for enhanced water quality monitoring and improvement in rural and economically…
The contamination is causing disproportionate harm to low-income communities. Scientists have discovered that the water in California’s Central Valley contains excessive amounts of manganese, which…
A comprehensive study from Karolinska Institute, published in The Lancet Planetary Health, warns that the presence of antibiotic residue in wastewater and treatment plants in…
Numerous residential wells need improved drinking water treatment and monitoring, according to the study. Private wells are the main source of drinking water for 182,000…
The future of desalination: Using a Teflon-like membrane to purify water Water scarcity is a growing problem around the globe. In Africa alone, it is…
Even today, clean water is a privilege for many people across the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 1.8 billion people…
Plastics in our waste streams are breaking down into tiny particles, causing potentially catastrophic consequences for human health and our aquatic systems, finds research from…
Himalaya. Karakoram. Hindu Kush. The names of Asia’s high mountain ranges conjure up adventure to those living far away, but for more than a billion…
Technology captures water evaporating from cooling towers; prototype to be installed on MIT’s Central Utility Plant. A new system devised by MIT engineers could provide…
Using solar energy and nanoparticles to make saltwater drinkable, researchers from Yale and Rice University have developed a system that could potentially be used off-grid…
Researchers make considerable progress toward a device that directly converts sunlight into ionic electricity, which has implications for direct solar desalination. Modern solar cells, which…
New research from the Yale School of Public Health analyzed more than 1,000 chemicals in fluids used in and created by hydraulic fracturing (fracking), finding…
Chemical engineers from MIT have developed an efficient shockwave-based process to treat salty, brackish, or contaminated water to make it usable. As the availability of…
Engineers at Yale University reveal that the presence of organic compounds in groundwater aquifers in Pennsylvania is likely the result of surface releases from hydraulic…
Natasha Wright, an MIT Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering, has designed a solar-powered system that makes water safe to drink for rural, off-grid Indian villages….
Impoverished agricultural communities in Central Valley, California have been plagued for decades by contaminated drinking water. This is the result of more than five decades…