Types Of Water

Water is the most essential element of life. It was present before the life began and has been there ever since the earth was made. Our life and the life of every living organism on this planet depends on water. Nearly the 75% of the earth is composed of water.

Generally water has the formula H₂O which means that each molecule of water consists of 2 atoms of hydrogen and one molecule of oxygen.

On the basis of its origin and the types of minerals present in it and also on the basis of the purpose for which it is used, water is divided into following types:

The Fresh Water

The fresh water is mostly the water of lakes, ponds or is the water of the springs sprouting from the ground. This water contains the salts of sodium, magnesium, calcium and some other minerals.

The sodium chloride salt is usually in the quantity of 1% but the composition of calcium and the magnesium salts may vary.

There are two types of fresh water:

• Hard fresh water which is rich in calcium and magnesium salts and usually is the water from the ground. This water if mixed with soap forms curds. This water goes through a lot of purification before being used.
• Soft fresh water which is usually the water of lakes and ponds. This water is rich in minerals but has a less quantity of calcium and magnesium salts.

This is the water of open seas and oceans. This water is extremely saline and is rich with minerals and salts.

It has a salt content of 3.5% with sodium chloride being in majority.

Due to the excess of carbonate and chloride salts, the sea water has a very corrosive nature and can corrode metals easily.

The sea water as compared to the fresh water is very heavy and saline and is also more difficult to demineralize than the fresh water.

The spring water is the water from deep below the earth. This water is clean, pure, fresh and deliciously cold.

This water has been used for the domestic use of humans for many centuries.

It is believed that the first pump to extract pure water from beneath the earth’s surface was made in India around 2000 BC.

Today many small towns and villages all over the world use spring water rather than the filtered waste water that is used in the suburbs.

The spring water has a low content of salts but is rich in other minerals. It also has a unique taste.

The distilled water is the purified form of the sea and the fresh water.

Both the saline waters undergo distillation or mixed bed ion exchange to get de mineralized.

The distilled water contains no minerals and is absolutely pure and free of any other reagent. Hence the distilled water is the true water.

Although it is extremely pure, the distilled water is not used for drinking purposes, rather it is used in laboratories to perform hydrolysis of different reagents as it is free of any reagent itself.

This is the water that is used for the drinking purposes.

This water is a purified form of mostly the fresh water.

But in many cases the sea water and the waste water is recycled, filtered and processed to give a pure form which contains only the essential minerals and elements.

The bottled waters found in the markets are the mineral waters.

The mineral water due to its mineral content is considered as the healthiest water to drink.

This water in many ways is just like the mineral water, the only difference is that it is not very rich in minerals and is lighter.

The fresh water is treated with oxidizing biocides to kill the bacteria and all the microorganisms to make the potable water. This water is used for drinking and for other domestic purposes.

The Sparkling Water

This is another type of water that is used for the drinking purposes. The sparkling water is basically the mineral or the potable water with a high content of carbon dioxide.