WATER

and the
HUMAN NEEDS
Danilo V. Ravina, NAMPAP - Cebu

What is the nature of water?

WATER is:
H2O. A liquid without color, taste, or odor.
Water begins to freeze at 0 degrees centigrade and boils at 100
degrees centigrade.
When liquid, it is virtually incompressible.
Most of the worlds water is in the sea; less than 1% is fresh
water. Water makes up 70% of the earths surface & occurs as
standing water (oceans, lakes) and running water (rivers,
streams), rain, and vapor.
Water makes up 60-70% of the human body or about 40 liters,
distributed as follows:

- 25 liters inside the cells

- 12 liters in tissue uid

- 3 liters in blood plasma

source: The Hutchinson Concise Dictionary of Science
Danilo V. Ravina, NAMPAP - Cebu

What is the Earths water resource?

Bodies of water (oceans and seas) - 70% of the earths

surface
Distributed as follows:
1. Salt water 67%
2. Fresh water 3%, where it is divided as:

2a. Frozen in the polar ice caps 2%

2b. Global water source 1%

What is the importance of water?

Water its supply, usage and recovery, often denes civilization

since the basic needs of humans are derived from it.

If the human body loses 4 liters of water, it will experience
hallucinations. A loss of 8 to 10 liters may cause death.
About 1.5 liters a day are lost through breathing, perspiration
and feces.
The additional amount lost in urine is the amount needed to
keep the balance between input and output.
A person cannot survive more than 5 to 6 days without water or 2
to 3 days in a hot environment.

Source: The Hutchinson Concise Dictionary of Science

Danilo V. Ravina, NAMPAP - Cebu

 What are the basic human needs for

water?
Nourishment

Cleaning & Hygiene
Livelihood use
Protective use
Ornamental use
Ceremonial use

- for drinking and cooking

- for bathing and laundry
- for example: farming
- for re ghting
- for example: landscaping
- for example: religious rites

Danilo V. Ravina, NAMPAP - Cebu

What is WATER QUANTITY?

Water Quantity is the amount of water available to meet desired

needs. They are as follows:

1. Nourishment: Drinking 11 liters/person/day
2. Cleaning & Hygiene :

Bathing / Personal Hygiene - 80 liters/person/day

Laundry

- 53 liters/person/day

Dishwashing
- 53 liters/person/day
3. Livelihood: Oce 57 liters/person/shift


Factory 57 to 132 liters/person/shift
4. Protective Use: Fire Protection 1,892 liter/minute (minimum)




as per Fire Code of the Phil.


Wet Standpipe 190 liter/minute @ 2 kg/sq.cm.




as per NBC 2005 Revised
5. Ornamental Use: Lawn sprinkler 0.32 liter/second (5 gpm)

Danilo V. Ravina, NAMPAP - Cebu

What is Water Quality?

Water Quality is the degree to which water is pure
enough to fulll the requirements of various
demands or uses.
Water Demand
Water Quality Requirements
1. Nourishment
Pure, sterilized & protected



from contamination
2. Cleaning & Hygiene Clean, wholesome & with



provision for hot & cold soft



water
3. Protective use
High pressure
4. Ornamental use
Free from silt
5. Ceremonial use
Clean & wholesome
Danilo V. Ravina, NAMPAP - Cebu

What are the characteris@cs used as the

basis of water quality?
For use in a building, the water supply must meet a

minimum level of quality or maximum permissible

level based on the following:
1. Physical Characteristics

a. Turbidity

b. Color


c. Taste

d. Odor


d. Temperature

NATIONAL WATER RESOURCES COUNCIL

Danilo V. Ravina, NAMPAP - Cebu

2. Chemical Characteristics

a. Hardness
b. Alkalinity and Acidity
c. Carbon Dioxide
d. Dissolved Oxygen
e. Organic Nitrogen
f. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)
g. Iron & Manganese
h. Toxic substances
i. Phenolic compounds

NATIONAL WATER RESOURCES COUNCIL



3. Biological & Radiological Characteristics

a. Presence of Coliform bacteria

b. Presence of Pathogenic bacteria
c. Presence of radioactive materials

What are some of the Water Quality Problems &

their Causes, Eects & Correc@on?
Problem: Turbidity the degree of cloudiness or

muddiness of water.
Cause: Silt or suspended matters picked up in the
surface or surface ow.
Eect: Discoloration and bad taste. Has little
detrimental eects on health.
Correction: Filtration

 Problem: Color can be measured through visual

comparison of the sample to the

distilled water

Cause: Presence of Iron and Magnesium.

Has little detrimental eects on health.

Eect: Discoloration of xtures and laundry
Correction: Precipitation by ltration through

oxidizing lter.

 Problem: Taste Pure water is tasteless.

Cause: Presence of algae, decomposing organic

matter, dissolved gases & phenolic substances.

Eect: Bad taste
Correction: Water treatment process

 Problem: Odor Pure water is odorless. Odor

should be absent or very faint for water to

be acceptable for drinking.

Cause: Existence of contaminants in the water.

Eect: Bad odor
Correction: Water treatment process

 Problem: Hardness of Water

Cause: Presence of Calcium and Magnesium

carbonates & bicarbonates. Presence of
Calcium and Magnesium sulfate & chloride.
Eect: Clogging of pipes. Impaired laundering & food
preparation (increases soap consumption as
lathering is more dicult). Causes scaling,
resulting in the reduction of thermal eciency
& restriction of ow. Magnesium & Calcium
sulfate has a laxative eect.
Correction: By boiling (for carbonate hardness). By

chemical precipitation using lime & sodium
carbonate (for sulfate & chloride hardness.

Use of water softeners (example: zeolite)

 Problem: Pollution
Cause: Contamination by organic matter or sewage

(pathogenic bacteria)

Eect: Disease
Correction: Chlorination

What are the other terms used to describe

Water Quality?
Salt Water contains at least 3% salt (30 parts salt per

1000 parts water).
Brackish Water is a mixture of fresh and salt water,

typically found where rivers enter the ocean.
Fresh Water is water having a salt concentration below

0.01%.
Soft Water is relatively free of minerals that cause soap

to precipitate causing scale buildup.
Polluted Water contains one or more impurities that

make the water unsuitable for a desired use.
Puried Water the pollutants are removed, rendering
the water harmless.

 Black Water is water drained from toilet bowls and

urinals; carries body wastes and major


pollutants.
Gray Water is water drained from lavatories, sinks,

laundry trays and showers; contains minor

pollutants.
Storm Water is rainwater drained from gutters and

downspouts.

What is the Hydrologic Cycle?

Hydrologic cycle, also commonly known as water

cycle, consists of evaporation, condensation and

precipitation.
There are 3 principal loops in the cycle, namely:

a. Surface Runo Loop

b. Evapotranspiration Loop

c. Groundwater Loop

The Water Cycle

What is the rela@onship between Humans and

Water Cycle?
Any fresh water that is used must come out of the

cycle at one point or another.

Likewise, all the polluted wastewater we put down the
drain or throw out goes back into the cycle.
Anything we do to the land surface, from development
to deforestation, will inuence the inltration-runo
ratio and thus the cycle.
Anything we put into the air may end up as a
contaminant in precipitation.
Any chemicals we put on or bury in the soil are
subject to leaching into the groundwater.

What is the science of water?

The science of water is known as Hydraulics.
Hydraulics is a eld of study concerned with utilizing

the properties of water, in particular the way they

ow and transmit pressure, and with the application
of these properties in plumbing engineering.
Hydraulics is categorized as to:
a. Hydrostatics is the science of water at rest.
b. Hydrokinetics is the science of water in motion.
c. Hydrodynamics is a general term associated with
the science of the force exerted by water in motion.

What are the General Proper@es of Water?

Water supply in buildings is usually delivered from a

variety of sources which are often pumped or proceed

by gravity to the point of use. This means that the
conveyance of water are through pipes exhibit certain
behavior of the Laws of Physics.
These general physical properties of water include:
a. Water Level
b. Mass
c. Force
d. Pressure
e. Head
f. Capillarity

 Water Level: Water always takes the shape of its

container to the limit of its volume and tends to nd

its own level.
Mass: Mass is the amount of matter in a body. It
remains constant regardless of where the body is in
the universe. For water, a volume of one liter at a
temperature of 4 degrees centigrade has a mass of
one kilogram and maybe contained in 1 cubic
decimeter.
Force: Force is that which changes the state of rest or
the uniform motion of a body. The equation of force
is:
Force = Mass x Acceleration. In other words, when
a mass of 1kg is under the standard acceleration of
9.81m/sec/sec, a gravitational force of 9.81 newtons is
acting on it.

 Pressure: Pressure is dened as the force per unit

area.
In the case of water, the following characteristics can
be observed:
a. Pressure exerted in water is transmitted equally in
all directions.
b. The pressure at any point in a quantity of water
depends on the vertical depth of the point below the
free surface of the water but does not depend upon
the shape or size of the container. Thus, the
relationship between pressure and depth is one of
direct proportion, meaning, that at twice the depth
the pressure is twice as great.
c. Water is practically incompressible.
d. Pressure applied anywhere to a body of conned or
enclosed uid is transmitted with undiminished force
in every direction.

 Head: Head in water is measured vertically from

the free surface of the liquid to the point at which

pressure is being calculated. A head of water of 1.00
meter produces a pressure on its base of 9810
Newtons/sq.meter or
9.81 kPa. It should be noted that head is the only
factor that decides intensity of pressure, not the
volume of water in the pipe.

Capillarity: Commonly known as capillary

attraction, is the spontaneous movement of water up

or down narrow tubes and pipes due to the
unbalanced molecular attraction at the boundary
between the water and the pipe.

What are the common Hydraulics Data of

Water?
The units of measure or hydraulics data frequently

used to describe properties relating to water are as

follows:
1 cubic meter of water = 1000 liters or 264 gallons



= 9.81 kilopascal (kPa)
Head of water in meters = pressure in kilopascal
3.785 liters of water = 1 gallon
1 liter/second (lps) = 15.85 gallons/minute
(gpm)
1 pound/square inch = 6.90 kilopascal

 1 water supply xture unit (wsfu)* = 1 to 1.5 gpm of

water ow rate
*wsfu a numerical weighing factor to account for
the water demand of various plumbing xtures, using
the privately installed lavatory as equal to 1 wsfu.

1 drainage xture unit (dfu)* = 0.5 gpm of drainage

ow rate
*dfu a numerical weighing factor to account for the
sewage ow of various plumbing xtures, using the
privately installed lavatory as equal to 1 dfu.

References:

Doyle, K.M.: Plumbing and Gas Fitting, Volume 2,

Government Printing Oce, Mulgrave St.,

Wellington, 1990
National Water Resources Council. Rural Water
Supply Design Manual Volume 1, NWRC, Quezon City,
Philippines, 1980
Nebel, B.J. and Wright, R.T.: Environmental Science
4th Edition, Prentice Hall, Inc., New Jersey, 1993

1. Is the amount of water available to meet desired

needs.
a. Water Quantity
b. Water Volume
c. Water Amount
d. Water Capacity

2. Is the degree to which water is pure enough to

fulfill the requirements of various demands or
uses.
a. Water Purity
b. Water Quality
c. Distilled Water
d. Sterilized Water

Danilo V. Ravina, NAMPAP - Cebu

3. Is one of the physical characteristics of water

pertaining to water quality.
a. Hardwater
b. Coliform Bacteria
c. Turbidity
d. BOD

4. Is a water quality problem manifested by the

discoloration of fixtures and laundry and is caused
by
a.Hardness of water
b.Presence of Iron and Magnesium
c.Decomposing organic matter
d.Pollution
Danilo V. Ravina, NAMPAP - Cebu

5. The water quality problem of pollution can be

corrected by
a.Filtration
b.Sedimentation
c.Trickling
d.Chlorination
6.
a.
b.
c.
d.

Is the science of water.

Hydrostatics
Hydraulics
Hydrokinetics
Hydrant

Danilo V. Ravina, NAMPAP - Cebu

7. _______in water is measured vertically from the free

surface of the liquid to the point at which pressure is
being calculated.
a. Service Head
b. Suction Head
c. Discharge Head
d. Head
8. A numerical weighing factor to account for the water
demand of various plumbing fixtures, using the privately
installed lavatory as basis.
a. Fixture Unit
b. Water Supply
c. Water Supply Fixture Unit
d. 1-1.5 gpm
Danilo V. Ravina, NAMPAP - Cebu

9. A numerical weighing factor to account for the

sewage flow of various plumbing fixtures, using the
privately installed lavatory a basis.
a. Drainage
b. Fixture Unit
c. Drainage Fixture Unit
d. 7 gpm
10. Is the spontaneous movement of water up or
down narrow tubes and pipes due to the
unbalanced molecular attraction at the boundary
between the water and the pipe.
a. Siphonage
c. Capillarity
b. Backflow
d. Back Pressure

Danilo V. Ravina, NAMPAP - Cebu