Water purification by the ecosystem   

[edit] Water purification by the ecosystem

Preserving forests can be "a cost-effective way to provide clean drinking water because forests reduce landslides, erosion and sediment, improve water purity by filtering pollutants, and in some cases capture and store water."^[1]

Note that "artificial" ecosystems work in a similar way, including reed beds,^wikipedia constructed wetlands, and any device making use of a biofilm, such as a roughing filter or slow sand filter.

[edit] Notes

1. ↑ This was found to be the case in many cities including Melbourne and New York. See the news report It's cheaper to grow your own clean water, abc.net.au/Reuters, 2 Sep 2003, based on the 114-page World Bank & WWF report Running Pure: The importance of forest protected areas to drinking water, August 22, 2003

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