Disinfection of Water Used for Human and Animal Consumption

This chapter deals with disinfection of water used for human and animal consumption. Water is the most abundant chemical component of the Earth and is very extensively used by mankind. Anthropogenic pressure on the environment leads to decrease in water quality. The quality of water is determined using the most important range of parameters (physical, chemical, and microbiological). This chapter discusses major pollutants of water, protection of water sources, micro-organisms causing the main waterborne diseases and methods of treatment, and disinfection of water. Different methods are used to disinfect drinking water. One of the most frequently used methods is disinfection with active chlorine, which is the only method providing continuous protection against micro- bial regrowth. However, this method has also some disadvantages (e.g., formation of trihalomethane and haloacetic acid precursors) linked to increased risk of cancer. It is important to remember that none of the products used to disinfect water is capable of ensuring complete safety of treated water if the water comes from unsuitable sources.