What is the primary purpose of coagulation in water treatment?

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Coagulation’s main purpose is to destabilize and remove suspended solids. Fine, colloidal particles in water have surface charges that keep them apart; adding a coagulant neutralizes those charges, allowing the particles to come together and form larger clumps (floc). This makes it much easier for the water to be cleared in sedimentation and then filtered. While disinfection (like chlorination) happens later to kill microbes, and pH adjustments or taste/odor treatments are handled by other processes, coagulation specifically targets rendering the tiny solids aggregable so they can be removed from the water.