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Summaries · Grade 4 Geography › Clean water and health
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Clean water and health

Why drinking water must be clean, how a town cleans its water, and what a drought is. Read one part at a time and tap “I know this”. Then test yourself in the quiz.

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Why water must be clean

We cannot see how many germs are in water. Dirty water can make people very ill with diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea. Water from a river must first be boiled or treated before you drink it.

  • Cloudy water that smells bad may not be safe.
  • Wash your hands before you eat, to wash off germs.
  • Sanitation is the safe removal of waste and sewage.
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How a town cleans water

At the water treatment works the water goes through different steps:

ScreenSettleFilterChlorineTest
From river water to drinking water.
  1. Screen: big sticks and leaves are taken out.
  2. Settle: mud and dirt sink to the bottom of a tank.
  3. Filter: the water runs through sand to take out tiny bits.
  4. Chlorine is added to kill germs.
  5. The water is tested every day to make sure it is safe.
At the treatment works water is made clean and safe.
At the treatment works water is made clean and safe.
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Pollution: keep our water clean

Pollution is harmful material in the air, water or soil. Rubbish, oil and chemicals make rivers dirty and kill fish and animals.

  • Put rubbish in a bin, never in a river.
  • Never pour oil into a drain or river.
  • A pit latrine must be far from a well, so waste cannot seep into the water.
The meerkat helps to clean up the river.
The meerkat helps to clean up the river.
Rule

Everyone in the community is responsible for keeping a river clean.

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Drought and water restrictions

A drought is a long time with very little rain. The dams get lower and lower. Then the municipality brings in water restrictions: everyone in the town must use less water.

Meerkat tip

A short shower uses much less water than a full bath. It is one of the easiest ways to save water at home.

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Water on Earth and the cycle of water use

  • Almost all the water on Earth is salt water in the sea. Only a small part is fresh water that we can drink: in rain, rivers, streams, wetlands, lakes and underground.
  • The natural water cycle: the sun heats water in the sea, rivers and dams so that it evaporates (turns into water vapour). The vapour rises, cools and forms clouds. Water falls from the clouds as rain. It flows in rivers back to the sea or soaks into the ground, and the cycle starts again.
  • Where there are no taps or boreholes, a water tanker truck brings water to the people.
  • We take water from nature, use it, clean it at a sewage works, and let it flow back to the river and sea: this is the cycle of water use.

We store water in dams, water tanks, buckets and pots, so there is water in dry times.

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Remember this and test yourself

Remember this: your summary
  • Dirty water carries germs that make people ill.
  • At the water treatment works water is screened, settled, filtered and cleaned with chlorine.
  • Pollution is harmful material in the air, water or soil. Never throw rubbish or oil into rivers.
  • A drought is a long time with very little rain; then water restrictions come in.
  • The municipality looks after a town’s water; everyone must help to save it.

Write these points in your book. Read them again the night before the test.

Memory trick

Five steps: Screen, Settle, Sand-filter, Sanitise (chlorine), Sample (test): from dirty to safe.

Flash cards · Tap to turn over

Important words

First say what the word means, then turn the card over.

Test yourself · Part 2

True or false?

Read the question and the answer. Is the answer right? Tap True or False.

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