How does turbidity affect drinking water?
Turbidity can interfere with disinfection processes that are used in water treatment, such a ultra-violet radiation and chlorination. Turbidity can also significantly affect the microbiological quality of drinking water, because waterborne microorganisms, including some that may cause diseases in humans, can attach themselves to the suspended particles. An increase in turbidity may increase the risk of gastroenteritis, especially for people with immunocompromised conditions. Health Canada recommends that all water used for infants under the age of four months should be boiled for two minutes. How is drinking water treated to avoid turbidity? Turbidity is treated by filtration and/or clarification/settling. Therefore, while turbidity is primarily an issue in unfiltered water systems, it can also indicate a problem with filtration. Unfiltered surface water supplies can have variable levels of turbidity. There are times when the levels are low enough that no action is required, and times
