Drinking water treatment techniques used in addition to public infrastructure - Household water treatment

According to the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program report published in 2021, 99% of the population in metropolitan France will have access to safely managed water.

This means that these residents benefit from an improved source of drinking water, and have permanent access to it.

The "improved drinking water sources" category includes sources which, by virtue of their construction or active intervention, are protected from external contamination, particularly from faecal matter. These include running water in a dwelling, plot or yard, and other improved sources.

Almost all French people are connected to the public water supply network. The water supplied must meet quality criteria set by regulations.

However, special circumstances sometimes lead users to want to improve certain properties of the water they receive (taste, hardness, turbidity, etc.), or to compensate for inadequate distribution.

It is then necessary to treat the water to ensure the protection of health and equipment in the event that an individual (or a group of users) is forced to use water unfit for domestic use.

In addition, certain uses, such as swimming pools and water used for heating, require special treatment.

Our aim is to present the techniques used for these types of water treatment in a home or small community, and to show the technical and economic advantages and disadvantages of each.