CWR 3200L Environmental and Hydraulic Engineering Laboratory

Lab 1: Turbidity Measurement

Raven Maki

Lab Partners:
Group 1

(Section 2)

1/23/2025
 1.​ Introduction

Water is essential for all life. In the United States, there are about 152,000 public drinking water
systems and over 16,000 wastewater treatment centers (CISA, 2015). Humans need freshwater,
and it is treated to have low turbidity, or to be “clean” and visually clear. Turbidity is the
cloudiness or haziness of a fluid. It is caused by large numbers of individual particles that are
generally invisible to the human eye, but appear smoky in water, and it has negative impacts
upon water quality. High levels of turbidity are not desirable, as it negatively affects the water
quality for aquatic and human life. Turbidity blocks light, which in turn inhibits photosynthesis,
which in turn decreases production of dissolved oxygen (Fondriest Environmental Inc, 2014).
The individual particles absorb light and its energy which increases the temperature of the entire
water body (US EPA, 2021). In addition, turbidity affects the filtration and disinfection process
of drinking water, as it can provide physical barriers protecting microorganisms from a water
plant’s disinfectants (Brown, 2025). Turbidity is measured by a device called a turbidimeter,
which shines light through a tube of sample water and measures how much light reflects off of
the particles in the sample, giving a result in units called Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU)
(Fondriest Environmental Inc, 2014). Water turbidity in NTUs has a linear relationship with the
light scattering; therefore, a linear regression line is necessary to transfer the turbidity meter
readings to water turbidity.

In this experiment, a turbidimeter was used to measure the turbidity of numerous water samples.
Turbidity meter readings of water of a known turbidity (20 NTU) were taken for the purpose of
creating a linear regression calibration curve, as the data from a known sample should be
consistent. Then, students were expected to use the turbidity meter readings of four different
water samples (distilled water, tap water, distilled water with added particles, and tap water with
added particles), to find their respective turbidity values. As distilled water is supposed to be
more purified than tap water, it was predicted that the distilled water samples would be less
turbid than the tap water samples.

2.​ Materials and Methods

The students first donned gloves in order to protect the equipment. They used five different water
samples, four with unknown turbidity and one known, with the known sample value being 20
NTU. The Hach 2100 AN turbidimeter was used to attain four different turbidity meter readings
of the known sample, which the students recorded in Table 1, along with the average and
standard deviation of the readings. Then, the students used the turbidimeter to test the rest of the
samples’ turbidity meter readings, which they recorded in Table 2. The students made sure to
shake the tubes for about 30 seconds before each reading in order to reduce error. The students
then used the data from Table 1 to generate Figure 1, a regression line relating the sample
number to each of the four tests of measured turbidity meter readings.

3.​ Results and Discussion

The students found that their data was consistent with their hypothesis. The students expected the
distilled water to be less turbid than the tap water in each case, and that was proven to be true.

Table 1. Turbidity meter readings of standards for calibration curve- Sample Number vs.
Turbidity Meter Readings, average value and standard deviation included.
Sample # Measured Average Standard
(all 20 NTU) Reading (NTU) (NTU) Deviation

1 22.2 22.25 0.05

2 22.2

3 22.3

4 22.3

The results of this graph prove that the known sample that was tested for the calibration curve
has a turbidity meter reading close to 20 NTU, as expected. This table was used to create Figure
1, a regression line.
Figure 1. Linear Regression Calibration Curve showing relationship of Sample Number vs.
Turbidity Meter Readings

From this figure, it can be told that the turbidimeter’s data is not perfectly accurate, but close to
accurate, as the actual known value is 20 NTU.

Table 2. Turbidity meter readings of samples- Water Sample vs. Turbidity Measure Reading
Water Sample Turbidity Meter Reading
(NTU)

Test 1- Distilled Water 0.281

Test 2- Tap Water 1.54

Test 3- Distilled w/ added particles 242

Test 4- Tap w/ added particles 444

A low standard deviation value indicates that the data is all close in value to the mean, and
therefore consistent. From Table 1, the standard deviation value from the quadruple turbidity
meter readings was 0.05, an extremely low value. From Figure 1, the R-squared value associated
with the linear regression line is 0.8. The closer an R-squared value is to 1, the more that the
variation of the dependent variable is explained by the independent variable in a regression
model. This value of 0.8 indicates that the variation of the dependent variable (the turbidity
meter reading) is well explained by the independent variable (sample #). This consistency helps
validate the rest of the data from the turbidimeter.

The turbidity of the distilled water was read to be 0.281 NTU. The World Health Organization
(WHO) considers drinking water suitable for human consumption to be under 1 NTU, and this
value is consistent with that standard (Fondriest Environmental Inc, 2014). In comparison, the
tap water was found to be 1.53 NTU, which was close to the WHO standard but not quite
meeting it. In some regions, the drinking water is allowed to be up to 5 NTU as long as it can be
proven to be disinfected, and this experiment’s tap water sample would fall between that range of
0-5 NTU (Fondriest Environmental Inc, 2014). The distilled water with particles was read to be
242 NTU, while the tap water with particles was 444 NTU. With or without the added particles,
the distilled water had lower turbidity than the tap water. These results support the students’
hypothesis that the distilled water would be less turbid.

Possible errors could include the students not shaking the tubes for long enough, or waiting too
long before placing them into the turbidimeter, as then the particles would settle and cause
inaccurate readings.

Conclusion

Turbidity is the visual haziness of a fluid, and an important tool in assessing water quality.
Turbidity is measured by a turbidimeter. This experiment allowed students to both familiarize
themselves with a turbidimeter, and use data from the device to generate a regression line. The
students predicted that the distilled water would have lower turbidity than the tap water, and the
experiment results proved them correct. Tap water is more turbid than distilled water.

References

CISA. (2015). Water and Wastewater Sector | Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

CISA. Www.cisa.gov.

https://www.cisa.gov/topics/critical-infrastructure-security-and-resilience/critical-infrastr

ucture-sectors/water-and-wastewater-sector
Emma Brown. (2025, January 3). The Role of Turbidity in the Drinking Water Treatment Process

- Palintest New. Palintest New.

https://www.palintest.com/the-role-of-turbidity-in-the-drinking-water-treatment-process/

Fondriest Environmental, Inc. (2014, June 13). Turbidity, Total Suspended Solids & Water

Clarity - Environmental Measurement Systems. Environmental Measurement Systems;

Fondriest.

https://www.fondriest.com/environmental-measurements/parameters/water-quality/turbidi

ty-total-suspended-solids-water-clarity/

US EPA. (2021, June 11). Factsheets on Water Quality Parameters- Turbidity. Www.epa.gov.

https://www.epa.gov/awma/factsheets-water-quality-parameters

Appendices

Data sheet from experiment included in the next page.