UVC Light Technology Provides Safe & Clean Drinking Water

Throughout most of the developed countries in the world, there are standards and regulations governing drinking water.  In America, we rely on the 1974 US Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), which is a federal law designed to protect public drinking water supplies throughout the country. Under the SDWA, the EPA sets standards for drinking water quality, and with help from its partners, implements various technical and financial programs to safeguard our drinking water.

While drinking water is essential to human survival, only 2.5% of the earth’s water is drinkable and only 1% clean enough to drink.  In addition as the world population increases, so does the demand for clean drinking water.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that, “Water, sanitation and hygiene has the potential to prevent at least 9.1% of the global disease burden and 6.3% of all deaths.”  They add that the impact of “clean water  technologies on public health in the U.S. is estimated to have had a rate of return of 23 to 1 for investments in water filtration and chlorination during the first half of the 20th century”.

Today, we also recognize the importance of providing our communities with safe drinking water that in the process of purifying it does not further harm the environment.  With more than 156,000 municipal drinking water systems in the U.S. alone that serve 90% of our population, the methods we use to treat water are critical. This is why germicidal UVC water purification is quickly becoming an effective alternative to chemical disinfection.

Unlike traditional chemical treatment, UVC light disinfection has the advantage of effectively eliminating cryptosporidium and giardia bacterium.  Another benefit to germicidal UV water purification includes the fact that biological contaminants cannot build resistance to UV light.  Also consumers like the fact that the process does not alter the taste, odor or pH value of the water.

Germicidal UV water purification requires only a short radiation time, ease of use and minimal maintenance as well as low operating costs.  Furthermore, while germicidal UVC light does not entirely replace chemical disinfection for non-point-of-use, it does significantly reduce the need for chemicals.  Once water leaves the irradiated area, the UVC method has no disinfection residual to protect it and supplemental chemicals are required to protect water sitting for days in pipes before it is consumed.  See our website to learn more about our line of cost-effective germicidal lamps.

LightSources in the U.S. and our strategic partner in Europe, LightTech represent the leading high-tech designers and manufacturers in the lamp industry today.  Our products are used world-wide in a multitude of applications and industries such as our UV air treatment systems that provide industries a way to disinfect and improve the quality of air without the need for toxic chemicals. 

Source: unwater.org/water-cooperation-2013/water-cooperation/facts-and-figures/en/