When it comes to improving water quality, many people assume that commercial water filtration systems are simply larger versions of whole-house water filtration setups. While both types of systems purify water, they serve very different purposes, operate on different scales, and are engineered for completely different demands.

When people hear about a government shutdown, they usually think of closed national parks, furloughed federal workers, or political gridlock in Washington. But one of the less obvious yet critical areas affected is water treatment and infrastructure.

In the early 1900s, industrial progress brought prosperity—but also peril.