Water Quality Basics

Properties

Properties of water

The fluctuation of Optimum level of those 3 types of properties of water into desired level affects the water quality.

Water quality testing is an important part of environmental monitoring. When water quality is poor, it affects not only aquatic life but the surrounding ecosystem as well.

Biological Physical Chemical
Cohesion Temperature pH
Adhesion Colour Alkalinity
Surface tension Turbidity Total Hardness
Insulation of
Bodies of water		 Insulation of Bodies of water Taste and Odor Metals
Solvent of Life Specific Conductivity Nitrate / Nitrite
Melting Point DO
Boiling Point BOD
Maximum Density COD
TDS

Physical water quality measurements

A. Temperature Test
tempTest
  1. Domestic Supply water temperature is 100 to 150 C or measure by Ordinary thermometer
  2. Other determining density, viscosity, vapor pressure, surface tension of the water its measure

B. Colour Test
tempTest
  1. The maximum permissible color is 10 to 20PPM
    PPM = pert per millions or 1PPM = 1mg/liter
  2. Its Measure by platinum cabalt scale

D. Taste and Odour Test
tempTest
  1. This may be result microorganism either dead or alive, desolved gasses such as oxygen, carbon mono oxide, methane etc.
  2. Mineral such as sodium chloride, iron compound, etc.
  3. Odour test measure by 200C to 250C and apparatus use is known as Osmoscope
  4. Osmoscope PO value from 0 to 5
Sample Volume Diluted to 200mL Threshold Odor Number (TON) Sample Volume Diluted to 200mL Threshold Odor Number (TON)
200 1 83 24
100 2 57 35
70 3 4 50
50 4 28 70
35 6 2 100
25 8 14 140
17 12 1 200

Chemical water quality measurements

Biological water quality measurements

The fluctuation of Optimum level of those 3 types of properties of water into desired level affects the water quality.

Water Sampling Methods

Water sampling can be done differently in the different water resources.