Transcript Monitoring Water Quality

Monitoring Water Quality
Water quality is determined by its use.
Governments set the guidelines for water quality
based on the following 5 categories:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Human drinking water (potable)
Recreation (swimming etc.)
Livestock drinking water
Irrigation
Protection of Aquatic Life
Biological Indicators
The number and type
of organisms found in
water can indicate the
health of an aquatic
ecosystem
Microbiological Indicators
Presence of bacteria / protozoans
in large numbers may cause illness
/ death in people who use the
water
Aquatic Invertebrates
Invertebrates are animals without backbones
The type and number
of invertebrates
indicates the level of
pollution in water
A pond with few
insects and many
worms has little
oxygen
Below pH 5 = no fish
The diversity of all organisms decreases as acidity
increases and dissolved oxygen decreases.
Chemical Indicators
The concentration of organic and inorganic compounds
Has an impact on the water quality
Indicators of Water Quality
- dissolved Oxygen
- acidity
- plant nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus
- pesticides
- heavy metals
- salts such as sodium chloride and magnesium
sulfate
Measuring Chemicals in the
Environment
Parts Per Million
• Measuring the
concentration of chemicals
in the environment
 (ppm) or milligrams per
litre (mg/L)
 One part per million means
that one unit of an element
or chemical can be found in
one million units of
solution
Monitoring Water Quality
Parts per million
• One drop of food coloring in a half-full bathtub
• 32 seconds in a year!
Parts per billion
• One drop of food coloring in a swimming pool
• One hamburger in a chain of hamburgers circling
the Earth 2.5 times (on their side!)
Parts per trillion
100,000
• One second in _________
years
• One 20cm jump on a trip to the sun