LAB REPORT # 02

Title

“DETERMINATION OF TURBIDITY OF GIVEN WATER SAMPLE.”

Objective

The objective of this lab is to find out the turbidity of given water sample and identify, whether the water
sample is drinkable or not.

Reagents

 Distilled Water
 Tap Water
 Canal Raw Water
 Drain Water
 Tannery Water

Apparatus

 Turbidimeter

Environmental Significance

In simple words, turbidity is an optical determination of water clearness. Turbid water will appear cloudy,
murky, or otherwise colored, affecting the physical look of the water. Turbidity is a benchmark water quality
parameter across all environments, from the municipal drinking water facility to environmental monitoring.
Turbidity, which is measured and reported in nephelometric turbidity units (NTU), is an optical measurement
of water’s ability to scatter and absorb light rather than transmit it in straight lines. Turbidity levels can range
from less than 1 NTU to more than 1,000 NTU. The major source of turbidity is Total Suspended Solids (TSS).
Suspended solids come from two sources; one is natural sources and the other includes anthropogenic
sources. Natural sources are sediments such as silt, clay, organic material, algae, dead organisms, plant
species, gravel etc. while anthropogenic sources are waste water (sewerage), agriculture runoff and erosion
from rainfall. Turbidity effects aquatic life in such a way that the suspended solids in water block the sunlight
in water, as a result plants in water cannot make their food through photosynthesis and die. If the plants die
under water the living water organisms also die because they use plants as their food. On the other hand,
turbidity effects the human drinking water. The suspended solids provide shelter for micro-organisms such
as bacteria to increase their growth in water and make it contaminated. According to the WHO standards
the turbidity of drinking water should be less than 5 NTU.

Procedure

 Add the buffer solution in the turbidity meter cell and place it in turbidity meter.
 Calibrate the instrument.
 Thoroughly shake the sample. Wait until air bubbles disappear before pouring sample into turbidity
meter. Wipe outside of tube to remove fingerprints, dust dirt and water droplets. Place tube in turbidity
meter.
 Read value of turbidity from the instrument directly.

Observation & Calculation

Sample No. Sample Name Turbidity (NTU)

1 Distilled Water 0.858
2 Tap Water 1.66
3 Canal Raw Water 647
4 Drain Water 42.6
5 Tannery Water 162

Discussion

By looking at the lab results, it can be seen that only tap water is drinkable. Distilled water has very low
turbidity which means it does not contain important minerals which are essential for our body. Other
samples have very high turbidity (>5) which means they are not drinkable. The highest turbidity is of canal
raw water i.e. 647 NTU.

Result

The turbidity of distilled water, tap water, canal raw water, drain water, tannery water is 0.858, 1.66, 647,
42.6 and 162 respectively in NTU.

Reference

 https://www.fondriest.com/environmental-measurements/parameters/water-quality/turbidity-total-
suspended-solids-water-clarity/
 https://blog.hannainst.com/turbidity-guide#1
 https://www.sekid.ca/water-quality/turbidity/