Question

Can you discuss the following water quality parameters: what components determines each parameter and please give examples

- pH

-Alkalinity

-Hardness

-Turbidity

-Natural Organic matter

-Total dissolved solids

-Dissolved Oxygen

-Water Microbiology

Answer 1

Water-
A change of 1 unit on a pH scale represents a 10-fold change in the pH , so that water with pH of 7 is 10 times more acidic than water with a pH of 8, and water with a pH of 5 is 100 times more acidic than water with a pH of 7. There are two methods available for the determination of pH: electrometric and colorimetric methods.
Excessively high and low pHs can be detrimental for the use of water. A high pH makes the taste bitter and decreases the effectiveness of the chlorine disinfection, thereby causing the need for additional chlorine. The amount of oxygen in water increases as pH rises. Low-pH water will corrode or dissolve metals and other substances.
Pollution can modify the pH of water, which can damage animals and plants that live in the water.

2.alklanity

The high levels of either acidity or alkalinity in water may be an indication of industrial or chemical pollution. Alkalinity or acidity can also occur from natural sources such as volcanoes. The acidity and alkalinity in natural waters provide a buffering action that protects fish and other aquatic organisms from sudden changes in pH. For instance, if an acidic chemical has somehow contaminated a lake that had natural alkalinity, a neutralization reaction occurs between the acid and alkaline substances; the pH of the lake water remains unchanged. For the protection of aquatic life, the buffering capacity should be at least 20 mg/L as calcium carbonate
3.hardness
Hardness is a term used to express the properties of highly mineralized waters. The dissolved minerals in water cause problems such as scale deposits in hot water pipes and difficulty in producing lather with soap.
Calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) ions cause the greatest portion of hardness in naturally occurring waters. They enter water mainly from contact with soil and rock, particularly limestone deposits.
These ions are present as bicarbonates, sulfates, and sometimes as chlorides and nitrates. Generally, groundwater is harder than surface water. There are two types of hardness:
Temporary hardness which is due to carbonates and bicarbonates can be removed by boiling, and
Permanent hardness which is remaining after boiling is caused mainly by sulfates and chlorides.
Water with more than 300 mg/L of hardness is generally considered to be hard, and more than 150 mg/L of hardness is noticed by most people, and water with less than 75 mg/L is considered to be soft.

Turbidity

Turbidity is the cloudiness of water. It is a measure of the ability of light to pass through water. It is caused by suspended material such as clay, silt, organic material, plankton, and other particulate materials in water.
Turbidity in drinking water is esthetically unacceptable, which makes the water look unappetizing. The impact of turbidity can be summarized in the following points:
It can increase the cost of water treatment for various uses.
The particulates can provide hiding places for harmful microorganisms and thereby shield them from the disinfection process.
The amount of available food is reduced because higher turbidity raises water temperatures in light of the fact that suspended particles absorb more sun heat. Consequently, the concentration of the dissolved oxygen (DO) can be decreased since warm water carries less dissolved oxygen than cold water

Natural organic matter-

There are more than 100 compounds in water that have been listed in the literature as toxic organic compounds. They will not be found naturally in water; they are usually man-made pollutants. These compounds include insecticides, pesticides, solvents, detergents, and disinfectants. They are measured by highly sophisticated instrumental methods, namely, gas chromatographic (GC), high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC), and mass spectrophotometer ice.

TDS-

Solids occur in water either in solution or in suspension. These two types of solids can be identified by using a glass fiber filter that the water sample passes through. By definition, the suspended solids are retained on the top of the filter and the dissolved solids pass through the filter with the water.
If the filtered portion of the water sample is placed in a small dish and then evaporated, the solids as a residue. This material is usually called total dissolved solids or TDS.
Total solid (TS) = Total dissolved solid (TDS) + Total suspended solid (TSS)E2
Water can be classified by the amount of TDS per liter as follows:

freshwater: <1500 mg/L TDS;

brackish water: 1500–5000 mg/L TDS;

saline water: >5000 mg/L TDS.

The residue of TSS and TDS after heating to dryness for a defined period of time and at a specific temperature is defined as fixed solids. Volatile solids are those solids lost on ignition.
These measures are helpful to the operators of the wastewater treatment plant because they roughly approximate the amount of organic matter existing in the total solids of wastewater, activated sludge, and industrial wastes. Figure 1 describes the interrelationship of solids found in water.

Dissolved oxygen-

Dissolved oxygen (DO) is considered to be one of the most important parameters of water quality in streams, rivers, and lakes. It is a key test of water pollution. The higher the concentration of dissolved oxygen, the better the water quality.
Oxygen is slightly soluble in water and very sensitive to temperature. For example, the saturation concentration at 20°C is about 9 mg/L and at 0°C is 14.6 mg/L.
The actual amount of dissolved oxygen varies depending on pressure, temperature, and salinity of the water. Dissolved oxygen has no direct effect on public health, but drinking water with very little or no oxygen tastes unpalatable to some people.
There are three main methods used for measuring dissolved oxygen concentrations: the colorimetric method—quick and inexpensive, the Winkler titration method—traditional method, and the electrometric method.

Microbiology of water -

One of the most helpful indicators of water quality may be the presence or lack of living organisms. Biologists can survey fish and insect life of natural waters and assess the water quality on the basis of a computed species diversity index (SDI) hence, a water body with a large number of well-balanced species is regarded as a healthy system. Some organisms can be used as an indication for the existence of pollutants based on their known tolerance for a specified pollutant.
Microorganisms exist everywhere in nature.Human bodies maintain a normal population of microbes in the intestinal tract; a big portion of which is made up of coliform bacteria . Although there are millions of microbes per milliliter in wastewater, most of them are harmless. It is only harmful when wastewater contains wastes from people infected with diseases that the presence of harmful microorganisms in wastewater is likely to occur.

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