water quality indicators

• The pH of water

  represents the

  level of acidity or alkalinity of water.
• pH of water has something to do

  with the balance between hydrogen

  ions (H+) and hydroxide ions (OH-)
• pH is scale is logarithmic. The

  concentration of H+ changes tenfold

  with any one step change.
• The amount of free oxygen dissolved in

  water is referred to as dissolved oxygen. This is

  measured using DO meter.
• Cold waters hold more DO than warm

  waters. Saline waters cannot retain

  as many DO as pure water.
• DO is measured in units of parts

  per million (ppm).
• 1 ppm = 1 milligram per liter
• Phosphates (PO43-) are naturally

  occurring forms of phosphorus

  and present in rivers but in small

  quantities.
• The smaller amount of phosphates

  in water, the better
• Phosphate is one of the required

  nutrients in plant growth and any

  modest increase in its concentration in water can cause

  eutrophication – excessive

  growth of plants and algae
• Excess phosphates may come from

  erosion, agricultural, storm water,

  residential, and industrial runoff.
• Nitrates (NO3-) are naturally

  occurring forms of nitrogen and

  are more abundant than phosphates.
• Important in plant growth but

  excess can cause algal bloom.
• The Philippine National Standards for

  Drinking Water (PNSDW) of 2017 limits

  the nitrate concentration to 50 ppm.
• Exceedingly high concentrations of

  nitrates may cause blue baby

  syndrome in bottle-fed infants.
• blue baby syndrome is cause due to lack of oxygen in the blood
• Calcium and carbonate are the main

  ions in most hard waters.
• TDS are Indicator of how much material is

  dissolved in water.
• The PNSDW limit for TDS in drinking

  water is 300 ppm.
• •Water temperature is important

  because it affects the rates of

  biologic processes and chemical

  processes that occur in aquatic

  or marine environments.
• Increase in temperature may cause

  DO to decrease
• turbidity Represents the amount of light

  scattered in water as a result

  of suspended particles.
• conductivity Refers to the ability of water to

  conduct electricity
• Pure water is colorless.
• color can be reported by measuring the

  apparent color and true color.
• Pure water has no taste,
• Pure water is odorless.
• They are called “fecal” indicators

  because they live in the intestinal

  tract of humans and other warm-

  blooded animals
• •Large amounts of fecal coliform bacteria

  can give water a murky appearance, bad

  smell, and lowers DO level.
• •Fecal coliform bacteria may come from

  wastewater treatment plants, domestic

  and wild animal manure, and storm runoff.
• The USEPA

  standard for

  drinking water is 0

  coliform per 100 mL

  (0 col./100 mL) of

  water