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Water Quality

Water Quality. Water Quality – Why Is It Important?. Many diseases can be caused by contaminants in water Water quality properties can affect usability Some characteristics affect how appealing the water is to drink. Physical Characteristics. Color Odor Taste Temperature

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Water Quality

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  1. Water Quality

  2. Water Quality – Why Is It Important? • Many diseases can be caused by contaminants in water • Water quality properties can affect usability • Some characteristics affect how appealing the water is to drink

  3. Physical Characteristics • Color • Odor • Taste • Temperature • Turbidity: cloudiness or haziness

  4. Chemical Characteristics • Dissolved Oxygen • Alkalinity • pH • Nitrates/Nitrites • Hardness

  5. Testing • Chemical properties of water quality are often measured as ppm (parts per million) • Ex: ppm=4 • For every million particles (molecules, etc) 4 of them would be of the substance being tested.

  6. Dissolved Oxygen (DO) • First limiting factor for growth and aquatic health • Solubility decreases with increasing temperature and elevation • In general the minimum DO should be ≥ 60% of saturation or ≥ 5 ppm (mg/L)

  7. Alkalinity • Is the buffering capacity of water – absorbs acids and/or bases • High alkalinity prevents wide pH fluctuations • Maintain levels between 75-120 mg/L as CaCO3

  8. pH • Measure of the acidity

  9. Nitrites and Nitrates • Nitrite : NO2 • Nitrate: NO3 • Naturally can be added to water systems through animal feces or decaying plant matter • Humans increase levels through sewage output and use of fertilizers

  10. Nitrites and Nitrates • EPA sets guidelines for the amount of nitrite and nitrate in drinking water called maximum contaminant level goals (MCLG) • Nitrite = 1 mg/L or 1 ppm • Nitrate= 10 mg/L or 10 ppm

  11. Hardness • Caused by compounds of calcium and magnesium, and by a variety of other metals • Hard water requires more soap and synthetic detergents for home laundry and washing, and contributes to scaling in boilers and industrial equipment.

  12. Hardness • General guidelines for classification with calcium carbonate: • 0 to 60 mg/L = soft • 61 to 120 mg/L = moderately hard • 121 to 180 mg/L = hard • >180 mg/L = very hard • > • > • >

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