Transforming Dirty Water: Purification Techniques

For Australians with a residential water body at their disposal, keeping the water safe and clean is a top priority. If you want to use the water, be it a dam, lagoon, or lake, this summer, then you will want to know that it’s not only safe to swim in, but that it’s clean too.

Many people choose to use their lakes, dams, and ponds for water recreation, like paddle boarding, playing on inflatables, and swimming. Using a natural body of water to play in comes with some potential drawbacks, but the water being dirty shouldn’t be one of them.

In this article, we’re going to take a closer look at the significance of dirty and unclean water, what water purification techniques are out there, and which water purification techniques you should use to avoid harm to human health.

Understanding the Significance of Dirty Water

Dirty water usually refers to water that is impure or contaminated in some way. Many different pollutants, including physical, chemical, and biological contaminants, can cause dirty water. You may have noticed that your dam or lake is murky or muddy and wonder if it is safe for the kids to be playing in. Dirty and contaminated water can also contain toxic compounds and harmful microbes, so it is always best to be safe.

Causes of poor water quality can include:

• Sediment and particles: These will usually make the water look muddy or cloudy.
• Chemicals: These may include industrial pollutants, pesticides, fertilizers, and other harmful chemicals.
• Harmful microbes: Bacteria, viruses, and parasites can breed and contaminate water, leading to waterborne diseases.
• Excessive amounts of nutrients: Nutrient pollution can lead to harmful algal blooms that can produce toxins and reduce oxygen levels in the water.
• Sewage and wastewater: If sewage is not treated properly, it can lead to harmful bacterial growth and other contaminants in water.

This article will focus on the steps you should take if you find that your water is dirty in colour, i.e. muddy, cloudy, stained.

Purification Steps for Dirty Water

The steps for purifying dirty water are as follows.

#1 Diagnose the Cause of the Dirty Water

The first thing you will need to do before water treatment is work out what actually needs to be treated. There are many different methods of purifying surface water, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all. If contaminants like wastewater and sewage cause your dirty water, it will need a different water purification technique than if your water is muddy from sediment.

Muddy water is different from cloudy and stained water. Stained water tends to be permanently discoloured, but cloudy water can be caused by organic matter. The best treatment for cloudy water tends to be probiotic treatments. These help the right microbes to flourish and will help to purify your water in no time.

For muddy water, you will need to collect a water sample to find out what is causing the problem. You should collect water from all over the dam, photograph it, and then let it sit for a week. If the clarity of the water has improved after a week, then it is likely soil erosion is causing the dirty water. If not, then it could be a sludge problem.

#2 Choose a Treatment Style

To clear the muddiness from your water, there are a few options.

If the dam is less than 1m deep, then you should consider deepening it. Soil, mud, clay, and other sediment being stirred up from the bottom of your dam could cause the water to appear dirty and muddy. Speak with an expert about deepening the water.

Are yabbies burrowing into the floor of your dam? Yabbie burrows are common on the floor of a dam, but overpopulation can affect the look of the dam. You may need to set some traps and get the population of yabbies under control to reduce muddiness in the water.

If the banks of your dam have no vegetation, then planting non-invasive plant species and laying large rocks can reduce the spoil movement in your dam. Lack of vegetation can lead to soil runoff, causing your water to look dirty.

If livestock has access to your dam, then they may defecate in the water and erode the banks and floor of it. This can lead to muddy water again. The best solution here is to give them their own source of water, i.e., a water trough.

Do you have carp or koi in the dam? If so, this could be causing your issues. They feed by sifting mud through their gills, leading to murky water.

If you’ve been through all of these options and are still struggling with muddy, murky, or dirty water, then you may need to try a combination of aeration and probiotics. These two techniques can work together to increase oxygen levels in your dam and introduce beneficial bacteria to reduce the murkiness of your dam.

Water purification can take time, so if you’re not having any luck, don’t panic. Our experts at Love My Dam can give you tips and offer solutions based on their extensive knowledge of water purification techniques.

Dirty Water Purification: Human Health Impacts

Water purification plays an essential role in our society. The drinking water we access and use every day is often filtered water to some extent, and that water filtration has saved countless lives by improving its purity. Water treatment plants filter and purify water to ensure that it is not contaminated with bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can be harmful to human health.

Water distribution systems and water treatment plants work together to ensure that humans have access to non-contaminated water that enhances our nutrient absorption, reduces mortality, and promotes our overall well-being.

For the most part, humans no longer need their own water filter to ensure they are drinking clean water (though there are places where boiling water is still advised).

However, while water purification and water filtration have ensured that we avoid painful illnesses and reduce mortality rates, some water purification methods can have a harmful impact on the environment, biodiversity, and the planet as a whole.

Advantages of Water Purification

• Protecting natural ecosystems from pollutants
• Maintain biodiversity
• Conserving freshwater resources, ensuring everyone has access to safe drinking water
• Reducing the spread of disease
• Promoted more sustainable practices in water purification technology

Disadvantages of Water Purification

• High energy consumption from many water filtration methods leads to increased greenhouse gas emissions
• Use of chemicals that can harm human health
• Chlorine byproduct in the production of chlorine dioxide
• Waste produced, like sludge and other chemicals, which requires disposal
• Eutrophication, or the excessive plant and algal growth caused by certain nutrient-rich effluents from wastewater
• Disruption of habitats when large water filtration plants are constructed

A Natural Method of Water Filtration

At Love My Dam, we’re committed to using biological methods of purification and filtration of water sources that offer long-term solutions and don’t harm the environment. We rarely recommend the use of chemicals, and the only time we will is when nothing else has worked.

We offer free advice through our YouTube channel, too, so if you’re looking for a way to purify water that won’t harm the planet and will make your dam or pond safe for the kids to play and swim in, then we’ve got you covered.

Purifying water doesn’t need lots of chemicals and harmful toxins. In most cases, water treatment like aeration and probiotics can help to balance the microbes in your water, ensure clear surface water, and make your dam, lake, or lagoon look as attractive as possible and safe for use.

Our two-step method, which includes aeration and probiotic treatment, mimics the ecosystem of a natural lake to ensure that the good microbes outcompete the bad. This leads to a long-term, healthy water body which is self-sustaining.

Final Thoughts

Having dirty, unclean, or cloudy water in your dam, lake, or lagoon is never the goal. Instead, you want clear water that looks great and is safe to play in, on, or around. So, if you’re struggling with dirty water and are looking for options to purify the water, you’ve come to the right place.

Love My Dam is committed to offering free and helpful advice along with a diverse inventory of biological and aeration water treatments that offer a kinder way to treat and purify your water. Check out all our treatment options now, and contact us for more information today.