Source or makeup water is normally either ground water or surface water, neither of which is ever chemically pure. Ground waters contain dissolved inorganic impurities which came from the rock and sand strata through which the water passed. Surface waters often contain silt particles in suspension (suspended solids) and dissolved organic matter in addition to dissolved inorganic impurities (dissolved solids).
A list given below shows some of the common properties or characteristics and the normal constituents of water, together with corresponding associated operating difficulties and potential methods of water treatment.
