How do we measure water quality?

Question

How do we measure water quality?

Answer 1

there are various parameters to measure water quality. If it is drinking water then you need to look out for metals, toxic material, BOD, coliform, etc. For industrial orsewage wastewater you need to check the BOD, COD, ammonia, fecal coliform , phenol etc.

Either you can but some kit from the market or else give  sample to a lab for analysis.

Answer 2

Call your water company (if you have one) and ask for their latest Consumer Confidence Report. [If you call it a CCR, they might think you know what you are talking about.] You will be amazed at the number of chemical, physical, and biological tests they do routinely.

Different tests are important for different end uses of the water. For industrial use, you worry about dissolved solids. For drinking water, bacteria are high on the list. For fish and wildlife, nutrients (N & P) may be the most important.

One group of tests that biologists use is biomonitoring, in which you examine what is living in the water to determine how healthy the water is. This is more of a shotgun test than the others. If a stream ranks high, you can avoid a lot of individual tests. If it ranks low, it may indicate which chemical tests to follow up with.

Answer 3

how clean it is, ground water is some of the worst water you could ever get

mountain water is some of the best, and rain water. because it is free of impuities, well not completly but its clean

Answer 4

We can measure both abiotic and biotic factors to investigate the quality of a certain stretch of the river. It is probably easiest to only investigate 1,2 or 3 of the abiotic factors e.g. dissolved oxygen, nitrates and how they they affect one of biotic factors e.g. number of different species found.

Dissolved Oxygen

How to do it:

Use a test kit or meter or sensor for dissolved oxygen follow the instructions to measure the amount of oxygen saturation in a sample of water. Oxygen is usually measured in % saturation.

What the results mean:

Healthy clean water contains >75% saturation of oxygen; polluted water contains between 10 and 50% saturation of oxygen and raw sewage contains 10% saturation of oxygen or less.

pH

How to do it:

Dip pH or Universal Indicator paper into a sample of water. Compare the colour of the pH paper with the pH colour chart. Record the pH number eg pH 8

What the results mean:

pH1 - 6 indicates that the water is acidic, pH1 is very acidic; pH7 indicates a neutral solution and pH8 to 11 indicates that the water is alkaline, pH11 is very alkaline.

Phosphate

How to do it:

Use a test kit - follow the instructions to measure the amount of phosphate in a sample of water. Phosphate is measured in mg/l. ( milligrams per litre )

What the results mean:

Clean water contains less than 5 mg/l and polluted water contains between 15 and 20 mg/l phosphate.

Nitrate

How to do it:

Use a test kit - follow the instructions to measure the amount of nitrate in a sample of water. Nitrate is measured in mg/l.( milligrams per litre )

What the results mean:

Clean water contains between 4 - 5 mg/l and polluted water contains between 5 and 15 mg/l nitrate.

Salinity

How to do it:

Use a test kit or meter or sensor - follow the instructions to measure the amount of chloride in a sample of water. Salinity is measured in mg/l.

What the results mean:

Seawater contains 20,000 mg/l; tidal or brackish water contains between 100 and 20,000 mg/l chloride.

Ammonia

How to do it:

Use a test kit - follow the instructions to measure the amount of ammonia in a sample of water. Ammonia is measured in mg/l.

What the results mean:

Clean water contains between 0.05 and 1.0mg/l; polluted water contains between 1 and 10 mg/l and raw sewage contains 40mg/l ammonia.