The Chemistry behind Drinking Water (800 – 1000 word paper) Assignment: Provide a response to the following question or issue. The response may be supported by appropriate tables of data, diagrams and flowcharts. How does the chemical treatment and processing of sewage compare with the quality of town and or tank water supplies? Drinking water should be safe to use and aesthetically pleasing. Ideally, it should be clear, colourless, and well aerated, with no unpalatable taste or odour, and it should contain no suspended matter, harmful chemical substances or pathogenic micro-organisms. Source: Australian Drinking Water Guidelines In 2006, Toowoomba residents rejected a plan to drink treated effluent, even as the town faced a dire water shortage. In the 2007 NSW state election, then Premier Morris lemma accused opposition leader Peter Debnam of planning to "force people to drink recycled sewage". Rosemary Morley, whose group Citizens Against Drinking Sewage fought the scheme in Toowoomba, said Australians would be hard to convince. "It would not be a natural thing for the ordinary, average citizen to think about treating sewage and then extracting water from it," she said. "It's a Third World country option.' Australians live on the driest inhabited continent, yet most take the availability of safe drinking water for granted. In 1984, the World Health Organisation (WHO) released its Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality. This publication has become the basis for drinking water standards around the world. In Australia, the guidelines for drinking water have been prepared by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and are based on WHO's standards: In the future, Australians are likely to be encouraged to embrace highly treated sewage for drinking and overcome the "yuck factor" when conditions again push the contentious option onto the national agenda. STUDENT OWNERSHIP STATEMENT I declare that: This assignment is my own work and I have not copied other students' work or directly from textbooks or other sources. I have not gained unfair assistance from other students, parents or guardians. STUDENT NAME STUDENT SIGNATURE DATE SUBMITTED: