Environmental Geology & Hazard Waste Management

(Lab)

Lab 3
Submitted by: Muhammad Attique
(2017-GE-5)
Submitted to: Sadia Ismail (Assistant Professor)

Geological Engineering Department

University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore

2017-GE-5 (Muhammad Attique)

 Lab. 03
Statement
To determine the physical properties (color, odor, and taste) of water by visual inspection

Objective
Observation of the physical properties like color, taste, and smell determines water & suitability
for drinking purposes.

Related Theory
Testing for Physical Contaminants
The physical characteristics of drinking water are usually things that can be measure with our
senses: color, taste, odor, and temperature. In general, we judge drinking water to have good
physical qualities if it is clear, tastes good, has no smell, and is cool.
WHO Guidelines for Physical Parameters
The appearance, taste, and odor of drinking water should be acceptable to the consumer. The table
below shows the WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality for physical parameters.
Table 1 WHO Guidelines for Physical Parameters (WHO,2007)
Parameters WHO Guidelines
Colour Aesthetic value of < 15 True Colour Units (TCU)
Odour Aesthetic only, no health base value is purposed
Temperature Aesthetic only, no health base value is purposed
Turbidity < 5 NTU
Potential Health Effects
Physical contaminants generally do not affect health directly. However, their presence may relate
to a higher risk of microbiological and chemical contamination, which may be harmful to human
health. For example, increased turbidity levels are often associated with higher disease-causing
pathogens such as viruses, parasites, and some bacteria (WHO, 2007).
Test Methods
Drinking water samples can be tested for the following physical parameters by visual inspections:
color, odor, taste, temperature.
Color
Color in drinking water may be due to colored organic substances and certain metals such as iron,
manganese, and copper. In general, the color of a water sample is evaluated by simple visual
observation. It can also be measured by visual comparison with a series of standard solutions.
Clean & quit; water should be clear with no noticeable color deposits. Common colors include:

2017-GE-5 (Muhammad Attique)

1. Red or Brown Color
A red, brown, or rusty color is generally indicative of iron or manganese in your water.
Disadvantages to iron in your water include stains in sinks or discolored laundry.
2. Yellow Color
This coloration occurs in regions where the water has passed through marshlands and then moved
through peat soils. In the United States, these conditions occur in the Southeast, Northwest, New
England, and Great Lakes regions. It is more commonly found in surface water supplies and
shallow wells. Although the yellow color may be displeasing, it presents no health hazard, as it is
only small particles suspended in the water.
3. Blue or Green Color
A green or blue color is generally a result of copper in your water supply or copper pipes and
corrosive water. The copper can cause staining of your fixtures and your laundry. Copper is
regulated in drinking water by the EPA at 1.3 PPM. Copper can become a problem if it is higher
than 30 PPM in your water. Effects at this dose are vomiting, diarrhea, and general gastrointestinal
distress. If you are using well water as your primary source of water, and copper is a concern in
your area, it would be to your advantage to have your water tested for copper.
4. Cloudy White or Foamy
Cloudy water is usually due to turbidity. Finely divided particles in the water cause turbidity. When
light hits the water, it is scattered, giving a hazy look to the water. The particles may be of either
organic or inorganic nature. Neither one causes any harmful effects to the body, although they can
cause abrasions to pipes or possible staining of sinks.

Odor and Taste

In general, odor and taste are evaluated by observation. When smelling a water sample froman
unknown source do not breathe the aroma indirectly. Use your hand to waft the vaporstowards
your nose gently. Never drink a sample from an unknown source.

Temperature
A thermometer is used to measure the temperature of the water.

Taste and Odor

Since taste and odor work together, it is often difficult to distinguish the two. Common complaints
include:
1. Strong Chlorine taste or smell
Generally, this occurs when the water is treated at the water treatment plant to disinfect it, the
addition of chlorine is used to kill off bacteria and other harmful microorganisms.

2017-GE-5 (Muhammad Attique)

 2. Metallic taste
Some water systems have a high mineral concentration giving the consumer a salty or soda taste.
In the case of Iron and Manganese, a strong metallic taste is readily detected.
3. Rotten egg odor
Rotten egg smell is usually a result of decaying organic deposits underground. As waterflows
through these areas, hydrogen sulfide gas is picked up, and when this water reaches the surface or
comes out of the faucet, the gas is released into the air. Hydrogen sulfide gas produces the rotten
egg odor, corrosive plumbing at high concentrations, and tarnishes silver rapidly. In large enough
quantities, it is toxic to aquarium fish. As little as 0.5 ppm (parts per million) can be tasted in
drinking water.
4. Musty or unnatural smells
These smells are usually a result of organic matter or even some pesticides in the water supply.
Even low amounts can introduce unpleasant odors into the water.
5. Turpentine taste or odor
This smell can be a result of MTBE contamination in your water. The odor threshold often is
relatively low, so even though you can smell it, the MTBE is more than likely not at a level to
cause harmful effects.

Observation
Table 2 Observation

Sample Sample Sample Latitude Longitude Color Tem Taste Smell Remarks
No ID Location N E p
oC

1 QHC-1 Q hall 31.581679 74.352778 Colorless 24 Tasteless Light No visible

Canteen, sewery impurity
UET, Lahore smell

4 SJ-1 Shah Jamal, 31.532426 74.324745 Nearly 28 Normal Odorless Appears to

Lahore colorless taste be clear
with slightly with
dark blue visible
tint suspended
particles
5 LH-05 Liaqat Hall 28.28353 71.45278 Clear as 23 Metallic No Particles
(floor 1) crystal and sour are visible
UET, Lahore taste, in light,
catching drinkable
the throat water

2017-GE-5 (Muhammad Attique)

6 SGD-6 Farooq 32.022182 72.689832 Yellowish Salty- Rotten Highly
Colony, Tint, brackish Egg deteriorate
Sargodha (Presence of (High d
humic or sodium)
fluvic
compounds, 20
iron, IRB
bacteria,
anaerobic/ae
robic
bacteria)
7 LH-07 Liaqat hall 31.581747 74.352689 Crystal clear 22 Metallic No Small
and sour suspended
taste salt
feels like particles
catching were seen
the throat in sunlight
8 GKR-08 Ghakhar City, 32.303889 74.149722 Transparent 21 Tasteless Odorless It is
Gujranwala (Crystal drinkable
District clear)
9 Fsd-09 156-A, 31.423262 73.063515 Colorless 21 Tasteless Odorless Micro size
Gulberg, particles
Faislabad were
observed.
It is
Taj bagh drinkable
housing but
10 GE-10 31.582403 74.410244 colorless 26 Tasteless Odorless
scheme, suspended
Lahore particles
are present
11 GE-11 Kasur 31.6175 74.29 Drinkable
Colorless 22 tasteless No smell
water
13 Grw-13 Kashmir 32.18 74.194 colorless 22 tasteless odorless Very
road, small iron
Gujranwala particles
were
observed
in sunlight
due to old
pipe
system
14 MW-14 UET, Lahore 31.580471 74.356573 Colorless 26 Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
water
16 GE-16 Gulshan 31.528024 74.271621 colorless 28 Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
colony, Kot water
Kambo,
Lahore
17 PC-17 PAF colony, 31.54776 74.370067 Drinkable
Colorless 22 tasteless No smell
Cantt Lahore water
Shahdra Drinkable
18 GE-18 31.6175 74.295 Colorless 22 tasteless No smell
Lahore water
19 SM-19 Scheme mor, 31.528024 74.271621 Colorless 24 Insipid No Dust
Lahore smell particles
are
present.

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20 GE-20 Shad Bagh, 31.6000 74.3333 Colorless 26 Tasteless Odorless No visible
Lahore impurity
21 SMG-21 SMG Hostel 31.58175 74.35269 Crystal clear 22 Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
UET Lahore water
22 GE-22 ShadBagh 31.34 74.59 Colorless 24 Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
water
23 SB-23 Shad Bagh, 31.6000 74.3333 Colorless 26 Tasteless Odorless No visible
Lahore impurity
E Block Johar Drinkable
24 JT-24 31.4827 74.2595 Crystal clear 22 Tasteless Odorless
town, Lahore water
25 IC-25 Iqbal Canteen 31.5613 74.3516 Clear 24 Metallic No No visible
UET, Lahore and sour impurity,
taste drinkable
water
Shalimar Drinkable
26 GE-26 31.582 74.382 Colorless 24 Tasteless Odorless
town, Lahore water
27 GE-27 Shalimar 31.582603 74.410144 Transparent 22 Tasteless Odorless It is
housing drinkable
scheme,
Lahore cantt
Asif colony
Drinkable
28 GE-28 Shalimar 31.592 74.387 Colorless 23 Tasteless Odorless
water
town, Lahore
30 NAC-30 Naval 33o35’6’’ 73o11’28’’ Colorless 20 Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
Anchorage, water with
Islamabad no
suspended
particles
visible
Tajj Garh,
31o36’2.76’
31 GE-31 Manawan, 74o26’39.55’’ Colorless 25 Tasteless No smell Drinkable
’
Lahore
32 GE-32 Shalimar 31.582603 74.410144 Colorless 23 Tasteless Odorless It is
housing drinkable
scheme, however,
Lahore tiny
suspended
particles
might be
seen in
broad
daylight
33 SGD-33 Sargodha 32o02’51’’ 72o43’06’’
Colorless 25 Tasteless No smell Drinkable
34 GE-34 Quaid-e- 31.581450 74.351112 Colorless 19 Bitter No A little
Azam Hall taste amount of
suspended
salts can
be seen in
sunlight
Drinkable
35 Grw-35 Gujranwala 31o33’59’’ 74o20’50’’ Colorless 16 Metallic Odorless
water
36 GE-36 Sahowari 31.56 74.27 Colorless 25 Tasteless No smell Drinkable
Mughalpura, water
Lahore

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37 AMS-37 Amir road, 31.600 74.3397 Crystal clear 26 Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
Shad bagh, water
Lahore
38 SMG-38 SMG Hostel 31.58176 74.35268 Crystal clear 22 Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
UET Lahore water

39 LH-05 Liaqat Hall 31.5707 74.324 Clear as 23 Metallic No Particles

(floor 2) crystal and sour are visible
UET, Lahore taste, in light,
catching drinkable
the throat water
41 LH-41 Liaqat Hall 31.6 74.33 Clear 18 tasteless Odorless Drinkable
Doag Payeen,
42 DPU-46 35.278 72.0029 Clear 22 Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
Upper dir
No visible
Gawalmandi, impurity,
43 GM-43 31.5707 74.324 Colorless 26 Tasteless Odorless
Lahore Drinkable
Water
No
Sweet
45 Mzd-45 Muzaffarabad 34.3596 73.47105 Colorless 20 Odorless particles
taste
seen
No visible
99 LH-99 Liaqat Hall 31.5707 74.324 Colorless 26 Tasteless Odorless
impurity

Table 2 Observation of Punjab University Hostels Site (Shahid, Naeem, et al. ,2015)

No. Sampling Sample Color Temp Taste Smell Remarks

oC
Point Name Point
Code
1 Girls Hostel G1-TW Colorless Bacterial testing, Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
1 Tube well samples were used
the very same day,
Chemical testing
samples were
preserved at 4ºC
using the Reagents
2 Boys Hostel B1-TW Colorless As mentioned above Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
1 Tube well
3 Boys Hostel B18-TW Colorless As mentioned above Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
18 Tube
well
4 Girls Hostel G8-TW Colorless As mentioned above Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
8 Tube well

2017-GE-5 (Muhammad Attique)

 5 Girls Hostel G1-OHT Colorless As mentioned above Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
1 Overhead
Tank
6 Boys Hostel B1-OHT Colorless As mentioned above Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
1 Overhead
Tank
7 Girls Hostel G1-T Colorless As mentioned above Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
1 Tap
(Hazrat
Khadija
Hall)
8 Girls Hostel G1-C Colorless As mentioned above Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
1 Water
Cooler
9 Girls Hostel G2-T Colorless As mentioned above Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
2 Tap
(Hazrat
Ayesha
Hall)
10 Girls Hostel G2-C Colorless As mentioned above Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
2 Water
Cooler
11 Girls Hostel G3-T Colorless As mentioned above Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
3 Tap
(Hazrat
Mariam
Hall)
12 Girls Hostel G3-C Colorless As mentioned above Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
3 Water
Cooler
13 Girls Hostel G7-T Colorless As mentioned above Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
7 Tap
(Hazrat
Asma Hall)
14 Girls Hostel G7-C Colorless As mentioned above Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
7 Water
Cooler
15 Girls Hostel G8-T Colorless As mentioned above Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
8 Tap

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 16 Girls Hostel G8-C Colorless As mentioned above Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
8 Water
Cooler
17 Girls Hostel G9-T Colorless As mentioned above Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
9 Tap
(Hazrat
Sakina Hall)
18 Girls Hostel G9-C Colorless As mentioned above Tasteless Odorless Drinkable
8 Water
Cooler

Discussion
Drinking water in Pakistan is the major factor. Earth consists of 70 % of water and 30 % of land.
However, there is very little water which is drinkable. It is because of certain environmental factors
as well as acid rain.
On the bases of visual inspection, we cannot decide the quality of water so for further analysis are
required to check the quality of water samples.

Conclusion
It is concluded that almost all the samples are drinkable because these all are crystal clear and
colorless as well as other properties like taste and order explains their taste and smell. It is assumed
that majority of samples are tasteless as well as odorless. Further analysis of water samples will
decide better about quality of water sample specially about the table 2 samples.

References
• Edition, F. (2011). Guidelines for drinking-water quality. WHO chronicle, 38(4), 104-108.
• Li, P., He, X., & Guo, W. (2019). Spatial groundwater quality and potential health risks due to
nitrate ingestion through drinking water: a case study in Yan’an City on the Loess Plateau of
northwest China. Human and ecological risk assessment: an international journal, 25(1-2), 11-
31.
• Nnorom, I. C., Ewuzie, U., & Eze, S. O. (2019). Multivariate statistical approach and water
quality assessment of natural springs and other drinking water sources in Southeastern
Nigeria. Heliyon, 5(1), e01123.
• Shahid, N., Zia, Z., Shahid, M., Faiq Bakhat, H., Anwar, S., Mustafa Shah, G., & Rizwan
Ashraf, M. (2015). Assessing Drinking Water Quality in Punjab, Pakistan. Polish Journal of
Environmental Studies, 24(6).

2017-GE-5 (Muhammad Attique)