4/12/2024

WATER QUALITY
CHAPTER 4

Introduction
✓Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, biological, and
radiological characteristics of water.
✓It is a measure of the condition of water relative to the requirements
of biotic species and or to any human need.
✓It is not a simple thing to say
➢ “that water is good” or
➢ “that water is bad”
✓Scientific measurements are used to define water quality.

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Cont…
✓Determination of water quality is typically made relative to the
purpose of the water:
• is it for drinking?
• is it to wash a car?
• is it to mix a concrete?
• for some other purpose?
✓Poor water quality can pose a health risk for people, ecosystems.
✓Absolutely pure water is never found in nature and contains number
of impurities in varying amounts.
✓The impurities which water dissolves or picks up as a suspended mater
may be useful or harmful for human health.

Cont…
✓Example iron, magnesium, calcium, fluorine etc is useful
✓Example arsenic, barium, cadmium, lead etc are harmful for human
life even in small amount.
✓Before supplying to the public, raw water should be treated and
purified for the safety of:
• public health
• economy and
• protection of various industrial processes
✓The water work engineer has to thoroughly check, analyze and do
the treatment of the raw water obtained from the sources, before its
distribution.

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Cont…
Important requirements of water for domestic use:
1. Colorless and sparkling clear
2. Tasteless and free from odor
3. Reasonably soft (Ca2+, Mg2+)
4. Free from disease producing bacteria of organisms
5. Free from objectionable dissolved gases such as H2S
6. Free from harmful salts
7. Free from objectionable minerals like Fe, Mn, Pb, As
8. Free from radioactive minerals
9. Reasonably free from phenolic compounds, Cl2, fluorides, iodine
10. Not lead to scale formation and should be non-corrosive
✓The water supplied to the public should be strictly according to the standards laid
down from time to time.

1.1 Common impurities in water

Impurities in a water are classified into three heads:
I. Suspended Impurities
✓They are small solid matters floating in the water. Normally remain in
suspension.
✓Sources of suspended impurities are

✓Living organism
Bacteria, Algae, protozoa, Virus etc
✓Inorganic matter:
Clay, silt, sand
✓Organic matter:
Plant and animal particles
Vegetables and
Industrial and Domestic by-products.

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Cont…
II. Colloidal impurities:
✓Customarily assigned a size range of 0.001 to 1 μm.
✓Are at the boundary between dissolved and particulate matter,
overlapping with both.
✓There are two types of colloids:
• Hydrophilic colloids, include like soap are stable. When these colloids
are mixed with water,
▪ They form colloidal solutions that are not easily destabilized.
• Hydrophobic colloids, including clay and non-hydrated metal oxides,
are unstable.
▪ The colloids are easily destabilized.

Cont…
✓Sources of colloidal impurities are:
• clay, silica, iron oxides, manganese oxides
• amino acids, organic waste product

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Cont…
III. Dissolved impurities
✓They are present as individual molecules or as ions.
✓Dissolved molecules cannot be removed by conventional physical
treatment.
✓Naturally water is a good solvent so that it dissolves a large quantity
of impurities.
✓They cause bad taste, hardness and alkalinity. Sometimes they are
harmful.

Cont…
✓Sources of dissolved impurities are:
• Salts
Ca and Mg: carbonates,
bicarbonates, sulphates and
chlorides.
Na: carbonates, bicarbonates,
sulphates, chlorides and fluorides
• Metal and compounds
Iron oxides, Mn, Pb, As, Ba, Cd, Cn, Br,
Se, Nitrates.
• Vegetable dyes
• Gases like O2, CO2, H2S

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1.2 Qualities of water sources

Naturally water is available from the following sources:
I. Pure water
✓It is a combination of two hydrogen and one oxygen.
✓It is entirely free from all the three types of impurities.
✓It is not possible to find absolutely pure water in nature.
Q: Is pure water a potable water?
II. Rain water
✓It is a water that comes from the sky in separate drops.
✓At the instance of rain formation, it doesn’t contain impurities.
✓But during the process of formation and fall through atmosphere, it
dissolves gases, traces of minerals and substances

Cont…
✓ Rain water contains:
• CO2, O2, N, rare gases,
• sweep particulates,
• radio active fallouts,
• Salts, acids etc.
III. Surface runoff water
✓It is a flowing rain water over the surface of the earth.
✓During flow it picks up and dissolve impurities like:
• particle of soils, garbage, sewage,
• Pesticides, chemicals and wastes from industries
• Decayed organic materials from dead animals and plants.

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Cont…
✓Characteristics of surface runoff depends on the characteristics of
catchment.
✓Surface runoff water contains:
• Mineral and organic particulates picked up by erosion
• Soil bacteria and other organism
• Salt and soluble substances
• Natural and synthetic fertilizers.
IV. River water
✓Since surface runoff water joins rivers and streams their characteristic is
similar.
✓If municipal and industrial waste is join rivers it may have additional
impurities.

Cont…
V. Lake and pond water
✓When water is ponded the following will occur:
• Algae and similar organisms grow on the surface
• A rise of odor, color and test of water
• Low dissolved oxygen
• Dissolution of iron and manganese
• Production of H2S
• Increase in CO2
• Reduction in pH of water
VI. Ground water
✓It is the infiltrating rain water in to the ground and join ground water
table.

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Cont…
✓It have the following characteristics:
• It absorbs gases of decomposition and degradable organic

matter such as such as H2S, CH4

• Has lower pH
• Soil minerals are dissolved in groundwater
• May contain iron and manganese in soluble form
VII. Impounded water
✓It is a stored water by constructing a storage dame across the flow
direction of river.
✓The impoundment of water has a beneficial and detrimental effect
on the characteristics of water.

Cont…
Beneficial effect Detrimental effects:
• Reduction in turbidity at • Lower atmospheric reaeration
upper levels • Increased algal blooms with
• Reduction in hardness resultant taste and odor problems
• Organic oxidation • Back up of pollutants present in the
• Reduction in BOD receiving water

• Color reduction due to • Thermal stratification resulting in

low DO
setting silts
• dissolution of iron and manganese
• Reduction in coliform
• production of H2S
density due to natural die
• increase in CO2 and reduction in
off during storage
pH

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1.3 Water quality characteristics

Chemical

Water
quality
parameters
Physical
Biological

Cont…
✓It is a measure of the condition of water relative to the
requirements of:
• One or more biotic species including human and
• To Any human need or purpose
• Industries

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Cont… Physical chrxs

✓Physical characteristics for water are those that are apparent to
the senses of smell, taste, sight, and touch.
✓Physical characteristics include:
• Turbidity
• Color
• Taste and odor
• Temperature

Cont… Physical chrxs

I. Turbidity
✓ Turbidity is a measure of the extent to which light is either absorbed
or scattered by suspended material in water.
✓ The clarity of water is usually measured by its turbidity.
✓ Both the size and surface characteristics of the suspended material
influence absorption and scattering.
✓ Algal blooms, micro organisms, vegetable materials and inorganic
matters are the source of turbidity.
✓ The amount and character of turbidity depend upon:
• The type of soil (land use) over which the water has run
• Point source pollution and effluent

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Cont… Physical chrxs

• Resuspension
• The velocity of the water (Groundwater is normally clear)
✓Turbidity vary seasonally according to:
• Biological activity in the water
• Surface run-off carrying soil particles
✓Most turbidity is related to the smaller inorganic components of the
suspended solids, primarily the clay particles
✓When water becomes quite:
• The heavier and larger suspended particles settle quickly
• The lighter and more finely divided ones settle very slowly

Cont… Physical chrxs

• Very finely divided clay may require months of complete
quiescence for settlement
✓Low inorganic turbidity (silt and clay) may result a relatively high
organic turbidity
✓low inorganic turbidity permits sunlight to penetrate freely into the
water and stimulates a heavier growth of algae, photo plankton.
✓ Effects of turbidity:
• Aesthetics
• Adsorption point/center
• for chemical and micro-
organism
• Health aspect

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Cont… Physical chrxs

❖How to measure turbidity of water?
✓It can be measured by a turbidity rod or turbidimeter with optical
observation.
✓Turbidity is expressed as NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity Units) or
PPM (parts per million) or Milligrams per liter (mg/l)
✓1ppm = 1mg/l = 1NTU but not always.
✓Ground water is less turbid than any other sources of water.
✓WHO turbidity should be less than 1NTU for domestic use water.
But Ethiopian standard demands less than 5NTU

Cont… Physical chrxs

✓ Turbidity test is useful to determine:
• The detention time in settling for raw water and
• The dosage of coagulants required
• Sedimentation with or without chemical coagulation and filtration
are used to remove turbidity.

LaMotteTM Turbidity Meter Kits,

2020T Tungsten Version

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Cont… Physical chrxs

II. color
✓It is caused by materials in solution or colloidal conditions.
✓Water takes on color when foreign substances such as organic
matter from soils, vegetation, minerals, and aquatic organisms are
present.
✓ Color in water is classified as either true color or apparent color.
✓Apparent color is Color contributed by suspended.
✓Colored water is:
• Undesirable because of consumer objections to its appearance
and
• It discolor clothing and adversely affect industrial processes.

Cont… Physical chrxs

✓ Before testing the color of water, total suspended solids should be
removed.
✓ Color of water is measured by comparing the color of water sample
with other standard glass tube containing a solution of different
standard color intensities.
✓ The color produced by one milligram of platinum cobalt in a liter of
water has been fixed as the unit of color.
✓ The maximum permissible color for domestic supply is 15 mg/l
platinum cobalt scale. Or
✓ Most people can detect color above 15 true color units (TCU) in a
glass of water. Levels of color below 15 TCU are often acceptable
to consumers.

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Cont… Physical chrxs

✓ For precise determination of small color intensities, tintometer

may be used.
✓ Tintometer is a compacted instrument for color measurement.

Tintometer

Cont… Physical chrxs

III. Temperature
✓It measures the warmness of water. Hanna Instruments
HI98129 Meter
✓Temperature has an effect on the:
• Solubility of oxygen in water,
• Rate of bacterial activity,
• Rate at which gases are transferred to and from the water,
• Rate at which chemicals dissolve and react.
✓Temperature increase may affect the potability of water
✓Measured by thermometer in degree Celsius.
✓There is no defined requirement of temperature, however cold
water satisfies more compared to the warm one.

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Cont… Physical chrxs

IV. Testes and odor
✓Substances that produce an odor in water will almost invariably
impart a taste as well.
✓The convers is not true, as there are many mineral substances that
produce taste but no odor.
✓ Inorganic substances are more likely to produce tastes
unaccompanied by odor.
• Water that tastes bitter is usually alkaline, while salty water is
commonly the result of metallic salts.
✓Organic materials are likely to cause both taste and odor,
• Petroleum-based products and biological decomposition of
organics are in the leading list that produce testes and odor.

Cont… Physical chrxs

✓In drinking water, taste and odor are not normally a problem until the
consumer complains.
✓The problem is that most consumers find taste and odor in water
aesthetically displeasing.
✓Odor and teste may impart health problem.
✓The extent of tastes and odor is measured by a term called odor intensity.
✓Odor intensity is represents the dilution ratio at which the odor is hardly
detectable.
✓The sample is diluted by odor free water until the odor is lost from the
sample.
✓The number of times the sample is diluted, represents the threshold odor
number.
✓Drinking water should be free of any offensive odor.

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Cont… Chemical chrxs

✓Chemical impurities can be either natural, man-made (industrial), or
be deployed in raw water sources by enemy forces.
✓Water is universal solvent.
✓The solvent capabilities of water are directly related to its chemical
characteristics or parameters.
▪ Total dissolved solid
▪ Nitrogen
▪ Total suspended solids
▪ Hardness
▪ Alkalinity
▪ Chloride
▪ pH
▪ Fluoride
▪ Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
▪ Metals and other chemical
▪ Ca and Mg substances
▪ Phosphorous

Cont… Chemical chrxs

I. Total solids
Total solid

Settleable Suspended Colloidal Dissolved

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Cont… Chemical chrxs

✓The quantity of suspended solids is determined by
• Filtering the sample of water through fine filter, drying and
weighing.
• The filter have 0.45 to 1.5 micro-meter diameter holes.

Cont… Chemical chrxs

✓The quantity of dissolved and colloidal solids is determined by:
• Evaporating the filtered water obtained from the suspended solid
test and weighing the residue.
✓The total solids in a water sample can be directly determined by:
• Evaporating the water (@105°C oven dry for 24 hrs) and
weighing the residue.
✓Inorganic solids can be obtained:
• By fusing (@550°C for 1 hour) the total solids in a muffle
Oven dray
furnace, organic solids can be decomposed
Hence, inorganic solids will remain. By
weighing we can determine the inorganic
solids.

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Cont… Chemical chrxs

✓organic solids can be determined by deducting weight of inorganic
solids from total solids.
✓Effects of total solids:
• Cause taste, color and odor problems
• Health aspect
• Small amount of TDS – water becomes corrosive to attain
equilibrium
• High levels of TSS will increase water temperature & decrease
DO levels

Cont… Chemical chrxs

II. Alkalinity
✓It is a measure of acid-neutralising capacity of water.
✓It is defined as the quantity of ions in water that will react to neutralize
hydrogen ions.
✓It is determined by the concentration of carbonate (CO32-), bicarbonate
(HCO3-) and hydroxide(OH-) species in the water.
✓Effects of alkalinity o the water:
• It impart unpleasant test
• Reaction between alkaline constituent and cation (positive ion Ca2+,
Mg2+) produces precipitation in pipe.
✓Different forms of alkalinity are distinguished by titrating the water to
different specific end points.

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Cont… Chemical chrxs

III. pH
✓It is a measure of the concentration of free hydrogen ion in water.
✓The pH value of water is equal to the logarithm of reciprocal of
hydrogen ion concentration in water.
𝟏
𝒑𝑯 = 𝒍𝒐𝒈
𝑯+
✓Lower pH means higher hydrogen ion concentration, representing
acidic solutions.
✓Higher pH means lower hydrogen ion concentration, representing
alkaline solution.
✓Pure water is a balanced combination of hydrogen ion and hydroxyl
ion.
𝑯𝑶𝑯 𝑯+ + 𝑶𝑯−

Cont… Chemical chrxs

✓The product of concentration of H ion and OH ion in water solution is
equal to 10−14 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠/𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟
✓Pure water have a pH value of 7.
𝟏 𝟏
𝐥𝐨𝐠 + + 𝐥𝐨𝐠 = 𝟏𝟒
𝑯 𝑶𝑯−
✓pH is measured by using pH meter(potentiometer).
✓For public water supply pH value should be close to 7.
✓The permissible pH values for public supplies may range from 6.5 to
8.5.
✓Effects:
✓pH below 6.5 may cause tuberculation and corrosion
✓pH above 8.5 may produce incrustation, sediment deposit, difficulty in
chlorination, effect on human system etc.

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Cont… Chemical chrxs

IV. Dissolved oxygen(DO)
✓It is the amount of oxygen content in water.
✓The presence of free O2 molecules within water.
✓The bonded oxygen molecule in water (H2O) is in a compound and
does not count toward dissolved oxygen levels.
✓The oxygen content of natural waters varies with:
• Temperature (Inverse relation)
• Salinity (Inverse relation)
• Turbulence (water movement and mixing)
• Photosynthetic activity of algae and plants
• Respiration by aquatic plants and animals
• Atmospheric pressure
• Depth of water

Cont… Chemical chrxs

✓Oxygen saturated waters have pleasant taste and waters lacking in
DO have an insipid tastes.
✓Dissolved oxygen for 100% saturation.
Temperature (0C) 0 10 20 30
DO (mg/1) 14.6 11.3 9.1 7.6

✓More quantity of oxygen causes corrosion to the pipes material.

✓The DO content of water is generally determined by:
• Winkler’s method
• An oxidation-reduction process carried out chemically to
liberate iodine in amount equivalent to the quantity of dissolved
oxygen originally present.
• DO meter

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Cont… Chemical chrxs

V. Oxygen demand
✓Organic compounds are generally unstable to be oxidized biologically
or chemically to stable, relatively inert end products such as CO2, H2O
& NO3.
✓An indication of the organic content of water can be detected by:
• Measuring the amount of oxygen required for stabilization

✓Indicators used for estimation of the oxygen demanding substance in

water are:
• Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)
• Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)
• Total Oxygen Demand (TOD)
• Total Organic Carbon (TOC)

Cont… Chemical chrxs

• BOD is the quantity of oxygen required for the biochemical oxidation
of the decomposable organic matter at specified temperature within
specified time. (20°C and 5 day).

• Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) is a measurement of the oxygen

required to oxidize soluble and particulate organic matter in water.

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Cont… Chemical chrxs

VI. Nitrogen
✓The forms of nitrogen in water quality:
• Organic – nitrogen: in the form of protein, amino acids and
urea.
• Ammonia – nitrogen: nitrogen as ammonium salts. eg.
(NH4).CO3.
• Nitrite- nitrogen: an intermediate oxidation stage. Not normally
present in large quantity.
• Nitrate- nitrogen: final oxidation product of nitrogen.
• Gaseous nitrogen (N2)

Cont… Chemical chrxs

✓The presence of nitrogen compounds in surface waters usually
indicates pollution.
✓Water containing high organic-N & ammonia –N levels are
considered to be potentially dangerous
• It may result from recent sewage discharges or runoff
contamination by relatively fresh pollution.
✓Waters in which most of nitrogen is in nitrate form are considered
to somewhat stabilized to constitute prior pollution.
✓Effects: • Cause disruption of
• NO3- poisoning human babies (below 6 month thyroid function
old). blue baby syndrome (methemoglobinemia)• Cause birth defects
• May increase cancer risks (nitrosamines/des) • Excessive algae breeding
(Mirvish 1991) and aquatic plants

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Cont… Chemical chrxs

VII. Phosphorus
✓A mineral nutrient that is essential for all forms of life.
✓Exist in a form of “orthophosphate”, “condensed phosphate”, and “organic
phosphate”.
✓Source (s):
• readily present in soil (weathering of rocks)
• Fertilizers
• human wastes (“organic phosphate”)
• domestic wastes (element in detergent)
✓Effects (s)
• Algae breeding and aquatic plants
• > 0.2 mg/l – disturb coagulation processes in WT plants

Cont… Chemical chrxs

VIII. Hardness
✓Hardness in water is the characteristics which prevents the
formation of sufficient leather or foam when mixed with soap.
✓Hard water is formed when water percolates through deposits of
calcium and magnesium containing minerals such as limestone, chalk
and dolomite(CaMg(CO3)2).

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Cont… Chemical chrxs

✓There are two hardness types, temporary and permanent hardness.

Temporary hardness(carbonate Permanent hardness(non

and bicarbonate hardness) carbonate hardness)
• Calcium bicarbonate • Calcium sulfate (CaSO4)
(Ca(HCO3) 2) • Magnesium chloride
• Magnesium bicarbonate (MgSO4)
(Mg(HCO3) 2) • Calcium chloride (CaCl2)
• To some extent it can be • Magnesium chloride
removed by simply boiling (MgCl2)
• To full extent it can be • Nitrate of Ca and Mg
removed by adding lime to • They require a special
water treatment process for
softening.

Cont… Chemical chrxs

✓Hardness is defined as the concentrations of calcium and magnesium
ions expressed in terms of calcium carbonate (CaCO3).

Soft < 50 (75) mg/1 as CaCO3

Moderately hard 50 (75) – 150 mg/1 as CaCO3
Hard 150 – 300 mg/1 as CaCO3
Very hard > 300 mg/1 as CaCO3

✓Water hardness more than 600mg/lit have to be rejected for drinking

purpose.
✓Generally a hardness of 100 to 150 mg/liter is desirable.
✓Excess of hardness leads to the following effects:
• Large soap consumption in washing and bathing
• Not fit for industrial use like textiles, paper making, dye and ice-
cream manufactures.

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Cont… Chemical chrxs

• Precipitates can choke pipe lines and values
• Very hard water is not palatable
• The precipitates clog the pores on the skin & makes the skin
rough
• May cause Kidney Stones: generally composed of calcium salt
and usually occur as calcium oxalate
• It forms scales in the boiler tubes

Cont… Chemical chrxs

IX. Chloride
✓Chlorides are widely distributed in nature as salts of sodium (NaCl),
potassium (KCl), and calcium (CaCl2).
✓The presence of chloride may be due to:

• mixing of saline water from mines and sea

• Industrial and domestic wastes
• Leaching of marine sedimentary deposits
✓Effects: The concentration above 250 mg/l
• Produce a noticeable salty test in drinking water and thus
objectionable.
• Adverse physiological effect
• Excess of chlorides is dangerous and unfit for use

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Cont… Chemical chrxs

X. Fluoride
✓Fluoride is seldom found in surface waters and appears in groundwater
in only few geographical regions.
✓Concentrations of approximately 1.0mg/1 in drinking water help to
prevent dental cavities in children.
✓Excessive intakes of fluoride(2 mg/l) can result in discoloration of teeth
(mottling).
✓Excessive concentration(> 5mg/l) in drinking water can also result in
bone fluorosis and other skeletal abnormalities.

Cont… Chemical chrxs

XI. Metals and other chemical substances
✓Non-toxic Metals: Ca2+, Mn2+, Na+, Fe2+, Mg2+, Al3+, Cu2+, Zn2+
• dangerous for health if the concentration is high
• Sources:
o Minerals, readily available from nature
• Effect (s):
o Color, odor, taste
o Deteriorate health (at high concentration)
o Discoloration of clothes during washing (Fe2+ & Mn2+>0.3ppm)
o Incrustation in water mains due to deposition of ferric
hydroxide and manganese oxide

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Cont… Chemical chrxs

✓Toxic metals – As2+, Ba2+, Cd2+, Cr2+, Pb2+, Hg2+
• stored up in food chain
• Source (s):
o human activities such as mining and industries
• Effect (s):
o dangerous disease such as cancer, abortion and deformation in
newborn baby
• Arsenic, Selenium and lead are poisonous, therefore they should be
removed totally.

Cont… Biological chrxs

•A variety of micro-organisms can be present even in
very good quality domestic waters.
• Most of these micro-organisms are harmless but, if the water is polluted
pathogens may be present.
• Pathogens are disease-causing micro-organisms such as those causing cholera,
gastro–enteritis(infectious diarrhea), hepatitis, etc.
• The experiments to determine the presence of all pathogens
takes a long time and very expensive.
• Therefore certain indicator organisms are used to give an indication of the
possible presence of pathogens.
• Indicator organisms are specific types of micro-organisms that are present in
very large numbers in the intestines of people and warm-blooded animals.

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Cont… Biological chrxs

• The presence of these organisms in water serves as an indication of
pollution of the water by animal wastes.
• Properties of indicator microorganism:
✓ Can be used for all types of water
✓ Always present when pathogen is present
✓ Always absent when pathogen is absent
✓ Easily experimented and give reliable results
• The coliform groups are non-pathogenic indicator organisms and
grouped as total coliforms and fecal coliforms.
• Coliforms are the rod shaped non pathogenic bacteria (bacilli),

Cont… Biological chrxs

• Total coliforms: it consists of members whose normal habitat is the
colon(lower portion of intestine) of animals.
✓ It is widely used as an indicator organism for drinking water.
✓ Some members of coliforms are found in the environment, including
soil, water and vegetations.
✓ Therefore they are not specific to pollution by human wastes.
• Fecal coliform: The member which are exclusively found in the feces
and which are not found in the environment.
✓ Escherichia Coli(E-coli) is a pre-dominant member of fecal coliforms.
✓ They are better indicators of recent fecal pollution than total
coliforms.
✓ But they do not provide a distinction between human and animal
contamination.

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Cont… Biological chrxs

✓Micro organisms found in water may be:
- Bacterium - Viruses
- Algae - Protozoa
Viruses
• Viruses like; enterovirus, hepatitis A, norovirus, rotavirus
• Potential health effects from ingestion of water contaminated with
viruses are: Gastrointestinal illness (diarrhea, vomiting, cramps),
hepatitis, meningitis.
Algae
• These are small, chlorophyll bearing generally one–celled plants of
varying shapes and sizes which live in water.

Cont… Biological chrxs

• When Algae's present in large numbers:
✓ May cause turbidity in water and an apparent color
✓ Cause trouble in water works by undue clogging of filters
✓ They may cause taste and odor.

Eutrophication

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Cont… Biological chrxs

Bacterium
• Many are found in water.
• Some bacteria are indicator of pollution but are harmless; other
few in number are pathogenic.
• Bacterial-born diseases include: typhoid fever, cholera, and
bacterial dysentery
Protozoa
• They are the lowest and simplest forms of animal life.
• Protozoa–born diseases include giardiasis and amebic dysentery.

1.4 Examination of water quality

• Various types of impurities present in water can be determined by
water analysis.
• Water analysis done for raw water will enable us to determine the
outline or processes of water purification.
• Water analysis of purified water is done to know whether the degree
of purification has reached the required standard or not.
• Purpose of water analysis are:
✓ To classify water based on level of constituents
✓ To determine the degree of clarity
✓ To determine the chemical and bacteriological pollution of water
✓ To determine the level of organic impurity.

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Cont… Water Sampling

Objectives, Parameters, Levels of accuracy and use of data

Sample Location

Sample Frequency

Sample collection

On Spot analysis Sample preservation

Analytical methods and Instrumental Techniques

Data Handling and Reporting

Cont… Type of Sampling

1. Grab (spot or catch) sample
✓Is a discrete sample which is collected at a specific location at a certain
point in time.
• A source is known to be fairly constant
- In composition over a considerable period
- For substantial volume over spatial dimensions
• Condition of source
- Fairly steady = Represent the composition
- Varies with time = Suitable intervals
- Varies in space = Appropriate locations
• They are representative only of the conditions at the time of
collection.

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Cont… Sampling
2. Composite sample
✓Consist of a series of individual grab samples collected over a
specified period in proportion to flow.
✓Is made by thoroughly mixing several grab samples.
✓Refer to a mixture of spot samples collected at the same sampling
site at different times.
✓Useful technique in case of temporal variation in water quality.
3. Integrated Sample
✓Sometimes samples are collected at the same location but, the
composition of river and lake are vary horizontally and vertically.
✓Therefore, integrated samples are collected in proportion to the
river flow of the areas of sample collection

Cont… Sampling
✓ Collection of Integrated sample require equipment to collect sample
from various depths
4. In-situ Measurement
✓Some parameters are more likely to be affected by sampling and
sample storage.
✓If possible, these parameters should be analyzed on the sampling
site or, even better, in-situ.
✓Important parameters: pH, DO, temperature, EC and sometimes
turbidity.
✓Where to sample: • Groundwater
• River
• Water distribution system
• Lake/reservoir
• Rainfall

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Cont… Sampling
• Samples must be taken from locations that are representative of the:
✓ Water source
✓ Treatment plant
✓ Storage facilities (reserve tanks and reservoirs)
✓ Distribution network
✓ Points at which water is delivered to the consumer

Cont… Sampling
Location of sampling points: the following general criteria are usually
applicable:-
• Samples taken should be representative of the different sources from
which water is obtained by the public.
• Samples taken should include the most unfavorable sources (possible
contamination) in the supply system.
• Sampling points should be uniformly distributed throughout a piped
distribution system.
• Sampling points should be located in such a way that water can be
sampled from reserve tanks and reservoirs.
• In systems with more than one water source, the locations of the
sampling points should take account of the number of inhabitants
served by each source.

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Cont… Sampling
• There should be at least one sampling point directly after the
clean-water outlet from each treatment plant.
How much water do needed for water analysis?
• Depends on:

✓The parameters to be analyzed

✓The method used for analysis

• Better to be safe and have too

much water rather than too little

Cont… Sampling
Suggested Sample Volume

Analyte Volume needed

TSS Often > 1 L
Total phosphorus
200 - 500 ml
Total nitrogen anions
Dissolved nutrients ~ 100ml
Total and dissolved carbon ~ 60 ml
Metals ~ 60 ml
Chlorophyll > 500 ml

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Cont… Sampling
Storage of samples:
• Samples should be placed in a lightproof insulated box containing melting
ice or ice-packs with water to ensure rapid cooling.
• If ice is not available, the transportation time must not exceed 2 hours.
• Plastic bottles are used for chemical analysis
• Glass bottles are used for bacteriological analysis.

Cont… Sampling
• Samples should be labeled with the following information:

✓ Name of collector
✓ Preservatives added
✓ Any unusual conditions at the time of sampling
✓ Sample identifying number
✓ Sample location
✓ Date and time of collection
✓ Type of sample (either grab or composite)

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1.5 Water quality standards

✓Public water supplies are obliged to provide water which is suitable

and safe for drinking purposes.

✓The quality of water for various uses should satisfy the required
standards.

✓Water quality standards may be set by regional, national, or

international bodies.

✓Guidelines for drinking water quality have established by the World

Health Organization (WHO).

Cont.…
Parameter Unit Guideline value
Microbial quality
Fecal coli forms Number/ 100 ml Zero*
Coli form organisms Number /100 ml Zero*
Lead mg/1 0.05
Arsenic mg/1 0.01
Cadmium mg/1 0.003
Chromium mg/1 0.05
Cyanide mg/1 0.1
Fluoride mg/1 0.5 - 1.5(3)
Mercury mg/1 0.001

Nitrate mg/1 50

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Cont.…
Parameter Unit Guideline value
Selenium mg/1 0.01
Magnesium mg/l 30
Manganese mg/1 0.3
pH ---- 6.5 - 8.5
Sodium mg/1 200
Total dissolved solids mg/1 500
Sulfate mg/1 250
Taste and odor ---- Non objectionable
Turbidity NTU 5(10)
Zinc mg/1 5
Alkalinity mg/l 300

Cont.…
Parameter Unit Guideline value
Taste and odor ---- Non objectionable
Calcium mg/l 75
Aluminum mg/1 0.03
Chloride mg/1 250
Color True color unit 5(15)
Copper mg/1 1
Hardness mg/1(as CaCO3) 300
Iron mg/1 0.3(3)
Copper mg/1 1

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THE END

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