What is the goal of the disinfection process in water treatment?

The primary goal of the disinfection process in water treatment is to eliminate pathogens in water. This is crucial for ensuring that the water is safe for human consumption and use, as harmful microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites can pose significant health risks. Disinfection methods, such as chlorination, ozonation, and ultraviolet (UV) light treatment, are specifically designed to target and inactivate these pathogens, effectively reducing the potential for waterborne diseases.

Improving water taste, increasing water hardness, and filtering out physical contaminants are important aspects of water treatment, but they are not the main objectives of the disinfection process. Taste is typically addressed through other treatment processes, hardness relates to mineral content, and physical contaminants are commonly removed through filtration techniques. Disinfection focuses explicitly on public health by ensuring that the water is microbiologically safe to drink.