The main reason for people to purify water; was the desire to improve the taste of drinking water. People hardly noticed the distinction between clean and dirty water, but they knew they were trying to reduce the turbidity of the water.
Although they tried to reduce the turbidity, they did not know much about the microorganisms or chemical contaminants in the water.
The Egyptians first They discovered the principle of coagulation around 1500. They purified the water by applying a chemical template for particle settlement in suspension. B.C. After 500 BC, Hippocrates discovered the healing power of water and invented the first bag filter called the "Hippocratic Sheath". In this way, sediments that cause bad taste or odor are prevented from passing through the filter.
Between 300 and 200 BC, Rome began to build aqueducts to meet the water needs of cities and industrial areas. Archimedes invented the water screw. The water screw was used to transport water to a higher location and is now the basis for many modern industrial pumps.
Sir Francis Bacon tried to use sand filtration to filter salt from brine in 1627; but did not succeed. In 1670, two Dutch eyeglass makers produced the first microscope to observe microorganisms in water, by grinding and polishing advanced magnifying lenses.
In the 1700s, the first water filters were applied for the house made of wool, sponge and charcoal. The first truly municipal water treatment plant, designed by Robert Thom, was built in Scotland in 1804. By 1854, an epidemic of cholera had spread through the water. The cause of the epidemic; was the water pump pollution of the sewage water. However, the epidemic was less common in areas where sand filters were installed. To solve this problem, they used chlorine to purify the water; but they realized that water was not enough to guarantee their safety.
In the seventeenth century, the sand filtration method was used to remove pollutants from water, and this method is inspired by the similar natural purification of water in nature. Although this technique was used by individuals before, municipalities started to use these city water purification methods from 1804.
Robert Thom (1774 Tarbolton, South Ayrshire, Scotland - 1847) was a Scottish civil engineer who worked upon major hydraulic projects on the Isle of Bute and Inverclyde. On Bute, he created aqueducts to increase the flow of water which powered the cotton mills there, so that their capacity was increased. This economic success resulted in him becoming the laird of Ascog. He then created a larger system to supply water power to Greenock. The reservoir is named after him — Loch Thom — and the supply aqueduct is known as the Greenock Cut. In the early 1800s, he designed the first water purification plant in Scotland.
That year, Robert Thom (1774 - 1847), a civil engineer, built the first water treatment plant in Paisley, Scotland. The water was filtered by passing it slowly through a mixture of sand and pebbles and then transported to places where it was needed with the help of horse-drawn carriages. Three years later, this relatively inefficient system began to be carried into people's homes through water pipes in Glasgow.
Hailing from South Ayrshire, Scotland, Thom was determined to do bigger things and was tasked with building a water system for the Greenock district, near Glasgow, particularly known for the manufacturing trade that the Industrial Revolution brought with it. Thom built a 9 km long aqueduct and called it the "Section". The water carried by the section was used for the operation of the mills. The people living in Greenock continue to use this aqueduct that Thom built even today. The waterbed, which is the source of the aqueduct, was named Loch Thom (Scottish Thom) in order to keep the name of its engineer alive.