A pulsed barrier discharge in a water-air mixture is used for water treatment. A dispersed water stream goes through several layers of electrodes like a shower. A voltage of several tens of kilovolts is applied to the electrode system with a pulse repetition rate from 100 to 1500 pulses per second and a pulse duration less than 10/sup -6/ s. Ozone, UV-radiation, electric field and active particles are the factors that provide water disinfecting, and activate redox reactions, which transform the impurities to gas or solid insoluble forms. Filtration of water, processed according to this method, becomes more effective. This paper describes the water treatment apparatus "Pulse" created based on the proposed solution. The results of five years of exploitation of this apparatus are also presented.