What is It?
Filtration in municipal water treatment is a physical process whereby water is passed through a porous medium to remove suspended solids and allow its use for potable and process purposes.

Filtration Has Been Around for a While.
The earliest written records of water treatment, dating from about 4000 B.C., mention filtration of water through charcoal or sand and gravel. Although a number of modifications have been made in the manner of application, filtration remains one of the fundamental technologies associated with water treatment.

A Fundamental Technology in Water Treatment Plants
Other processes in a water treatment plant include chemical feed, coagulation, flocculation, and sedimentation, all used to assist the filtration process to function more effectively. While filtration is the process relied on most to remove particulate matter from water, other upstream processes remove large heavy solids from the water and condition the smaller ones for easy removal in the filter. Coagulation and settling can be very effective by themselves in moving solids. However, filtration is still essential to prevent slime formation and to remove disease-causing micro-organisms such as giardia cysts and crytosporidium. After final polishing by the filter, a disinfection step purifies the water for potable consumption.

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