Water Quality Parameters

1
 Water pollution
• U.S. Department of Health Education and Welfare: ‘The adding to water of
any substance, or the changing of water's physical and chemical
characteristics in any way which interferes with its use of legitimate
purposes’

• Causes and effects of water pollution:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgLIMaZAJj0

2
 Major categories of Water Pollutants

Infectious agents – Disease causing agents or pathogens, e.g. bacteria, viruses,

protozoa, parasites. These come from raw sewage and animal waste.

Oxygen-demanding wastes – Sewage, animal manure or biodegradable organic

wastes, which can be decomposed by aerobic bacteria. Cause a reduction in
dissolved oxygen (DO); suffocating for oxygen-consuming organisms (fish).
Measured by biological oxygen demand (BOD).

Water soluble inorganic chemicals –Water-soluble inorganic chemicals, including

acids, salts, metals and metalloids. Make water unfit to consume and use for
irrigation. Also can harm organisms and cause material corrosion

Organic chemicals – include oil, gasoline, plastics, pesticides, solvents, detergents.

Present health risks to humans and other organisms.
 Major categories of Water Pollutants

Plant nutrients – Nitrates, phosphates, ammonium originated mostly from

fertilisers. Cause excessive algal and plant growth (algal bloom) that lower
oxygen levels when they decompose leading to eutrophication
Sediment – Mud, silt, sand. Disrupt photosynthesis and transports large
amounts of other, adsorbed pollutants. Bad for aquatic animals.
Radioactive materials –radium, uranium, etc. may come either from natural
or anthropogenic sources.
Heat – from cooling water for power plants and other industrial plants.
Lowers solubility of oxygen in water. Also affect aquatic lives directly.
 Water Quality Parameters
• Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics
of water. It is a measure of the condition of water relative to the requirements of
one or more biotic species, or to any human need or purpose.

• Water Quality Parameters Requirements

Depending on the usage the quality of water varies. For example the quality of
water depends whether we are using it for-
 Drinking
 Domestic consumption
 Agriculture
 Industrial Processes
 Cleaning and Recreation.

5
 Water quality parameters
– Physical
• Suspended solid (SS), color, taste, smell, temp.
– Chemical
• Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
• Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) & Chemical Oxygen Demand
(COD)
• pH
• Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
– Biological
• Bacteria, virus, protozoa, helminthes.

6
 Physical Parameter
• Turbidity: It is a measure of the degree to which
the water loses its transparency due to the
presence of suspended particulates like sand , silt
or clay particles.

• Color: Color of water is due to the suspended particles

and organic matter. Ranges form light to dark brown or
greenish. Pure water is colorless.

• Odor: Pure water is odorless. When water dissolves

other substances, different odor may develop.
Mostly decayed organic substances give fouling
smell.

•Temperature: Measured using Thermometers. It

ranges from 0 to 100 degree Celsius.

7
 Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
• Measure of oxygen present in water
Fish and other aquatic animals depend on DO to live, as they consume the
oxygen they require from the DO
• DO depends on:
– Water temperature
– Quantity of sediment
– Amount of oxygen taken out by organisms
– Amount of oxygen put back by photosynthesizing plants etc. during
photosynthesis process
– Respiration
– Amount of nutrients
Photosynthesis process:6CO2+6H2O+light energy C6H12O6+6O2
Respiration process: C6H12O6 + 6O2 6CO2 + 6H2O + heat energy

8
• Dissolved oxygen (DO) is one of
the most important water quality
parameters (measurements)
• Most DO diffuses into water from
the atmosphere
• Only a small percentage is
produced by photosynthesis

Figure: Oxygen requirement

by different fish species

9
 Relationship between Dissolved Oxygen
(DO) and Temperature
Temperature of water influences the amount of DO present
Less oxygen dissolves in warm water than cold water
For this reason, there is cause for concern for streams with warm water
Most fish need DO of around 5 mg/l

Figure: Relationship between Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and temperature 10

 Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
• BOD: a measure of the quantity of oxygen that bacteria will consume
while decomposing organic matter under aerobic conditions
• Bacteria decompose organic materials using dissolved oxygen, thus
reducing DO present for fish
• Treatment plants reduce BOD before discharging Wastewater
• BOD5 is the 5 day biochemical oxygen demand.

11
Figure: Relationship between BOD and Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
12
Low Dissolved Oxygen Leads to…

Fish Kills
Management of dissolved
oxygen in ponds
Aeration
Management of Dissolved Oxygen in water
bodies
Note that Aeration is the artificial addition of oxygen to the water bodies
which should be the last option of management of DO of the water bodies.
We should rather avoid-
• discharging of sewage
• disposing off any waste materials
• discharging hot water or any hot solution
in the water bodies which may potentially reduce the amount of DO of water.

15
 pH
• Measure of the amount of free hydrogen ions in water
• Basically an indicator of acidity/alkalinity
• pH scale ranges from 0 to 14
• A pH of 7 is considered neutral
• Acidity increases as pH values decrease
• Alkalinity increases as pH values increase

16
Significance of pH

17
 Factors influencing pH of water

• Natural sources: One of the main causes of lowering pH of rain water is

the presence of CO2 in the atmosphere. The pH of rain can also be lowered
due to volcanic ash, sulfate-reducing bacteria in wetlands, airborne
particulates from wildfires and even lightning
• Man made influencers: Emissions from mining and fossil fuel combustion
can also decrease the pH of rain water. Also the chemicals and discharges
coming from agricultural fields or mining can reduce the pH of
waterbodies, while Wastewater discharge that contains detergents and
soap-based products can cause a water source to become too basic
(increase pH of water)

18
 Water Quality Standards
- United States Public Health Drinking Water Standards(USPH)
- Department of Environment (DoE)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

19
 Water Conservation
• Water conservation: careful use and protection of water resources
• Involves both the quantity of water used and its quality
• Conservation is an important component of sustainable water use

Some common techniques of water conservation at home:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5RehiMZQmc

20
 Lab work
• Students can be shown the pH of liquid antacid, cold drink, fruit juice, tap
water, tea and soapy water in the lab and can be asked to prepare graphs,
tables to compare the pH of these different samples
• Relationship between DO and temperature can demonstrated by
measuring DO at different temperature of water and can be asked to
prepare graphs to show the relationship of DO at different temperature
• If time permits DO of sewage and tap water can be demonstrated

21