Aljanad University for Science and Technology

Introduction to Environmental
Engineering

Lecture _5: Water Quality and Treatment

Dr. Fathi Al_Hammadi

10/21/2022
Lecture_5: Water Quality and water Treatment
Outlines

❖Water quality parameters

➢ Chemical Water-Quality Parameters
➢ Biological Water-Quality Parameters
➢ Water quality requirements

❖Water Treatment
✓ Coagulation plants,
✓ Softening plants
✓ Disinfection

10/21/2022 2
Water Quality and Treatment

Water quality parameters:

❖ Physical water quality parameters: like suspended solids

content, turbidity, color, and odor.

❖ Chemical water quality parameters: like dissolved solids

content, alkalinity, hardness, fluoride content, metals
content, and organics.

❖ Biological water quality parameters: like pathogens

including viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and helminthes
(parasitic worms).

10/21/2022 3
Lecture_4: Water Quality Management

2- Turbidity
✓ Turbidity is a measure of the amount of particulate
matter that is suspended in water. It normally measured
in Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU).

✓ Turbidity is a measure of the extent to which light is

absorbed or scattered by suspended material. f(size and
surface characteristics of suspended material).

10/21/2022 4
Lecture_4: Water Quality Management

2- Turbidity
A- Sources:
▪ Erosion of clay, silts, rock fragments and metal oxides
▪ Vegetable fiber and microorganisms

B- Impact
▪ Aesthetically displeasing
▪ Creates adsorption sites for chemicals that cause taste
and odor
▪ Shield organisms from disinfection
▪ Interfere with light penetration in streams and lakes

10/21/2022 5
Lecture_4: Water Quality Management
3- Colour

10/21/2022 6
Lecture_4: Water Quality Management

A- Sources 3- Colour

✓ Leaves, wood etc.. – pick up tannins, humic acid

leading to yellowish-brown colour.
✓ Iron oxides – reddish.
✓ Manganese Oxides – brown of blackish.
✓ Industrial Waste – textile and dyeing operations, pulp
and paper production, food processing, chemical
production, mining, and refining.

10/21/2022 7
Lecture_4: Water Quality Management
3- Colour

B- Impact
✓ Aesthetically displeasing.
✓ Not suitable for many operations as textile and paper
production.
✓ True colour can exert a chlorine demand.
✓ Drinking water limit is less than 5 colour units.

10/21/2022 8
Lecture_4: Water Quality Management
4- Taste and Odor
Taste & Odor are closely related. Substances that produce an odor in
water often impart taste. The reverse is not often true.
A- Source:
✓ Metals, minerals, salts from soil.
✓ End products from biological reactions.
✓ Inorganic produce taste e.g. Alkaline – bitter taste; metallic salts
impart salty or bitter taste.
✓ Organics produce taste and odor – e.g. Petroleum-based products;
biological decomposition of organics (sulphur – rotten egg smell.)

10/21/2022 9
Lecture_4: Water Quality Management

4- Taste and Odor

B- Impact
✓ Aesthetically displeasing (associate odor and taste with
contamination).

• The significant effect of this would be upon our health

and feeling aesthetic.

• Drinking water should be free from any objectionable

taste or odour at point of use.

10/21/2022 10
Lecture_4: Water Quality Management

5- Temperature

• Temperature is one of the most important parameters in

natural surface waters.
• It influences the number and type of species present and
their rate of activities; effect most chemical reactions;
affect solubility of gases e.g oxygen decrease with
increase temp. 8mg/L @ 25 degree Celsius.

10/21/2022 11
Lecture_4: Water Quality Management

5- Temperature
B- Impacts
✓ Cooler waters have wider diversity of biological species.
✓ Biological activities reduces at lower temperature i.e. utilization of
food; growth; reproduction.
✓ Reduction in oxygen levels affect fishes.
✓ Increase viscosity with decrease temperature.
.

10/21/2022 12
Water quality and treatment

10/21/2022 13
Water quality and treatment

Chemical Water-Quality Parameters

10/21/2022 14
• Alkalinity

10/21/2022 15
• Hardness
• Scientifically hardness is defined as the concentration of the
multivalent cations, usually Ca2+ and Mg2+.

• Under super-saturation conditions hardness causing species react

with anions in water forming a solid precipitate: CaCO3 or
Mg(OH)2.

• That solid precipitate is called scale. The formation of scale in

boilers and pipes will cause economic losses, i.e. more heating will
be required and will usually damage pipes and boilers in water
systems.

10/21/2022 16
• Hard water can be softened (treated) by the partial or full removal
of calcium and magnesium cations.
• Reverse Osmosis (RO filter) is used to remove calcium and
magnesium cations from water.
• Water is softened by adding the lime Ca(OH)2 for the calcium and
magnesium carbonate hardness removal and by adding the soda
Na2CO3 for the calcium and magnesium non-carbonate hardness
removal.

10/21/2022 17
Lecture_4: Water Quality Management

Chemical Water-Quality Parameters

Lab Experiment_2
Determination of Hardness in Water
Click on this link and follow the instructions to conduct the
experiment virtually:-

https://ee1-nitk.vlabs.ac.in/environmental-engineering-1/exp/determination-of-
hardness/simulation.html

10/21/2022 18
 • Fluoride

• Fluoride originates from few types of sedimentary or igneous

rocks.

• It is rarely found in the surface water while few ground water

sources may contain fluoride at low concentrations.

• Fluoride at high concentrations is toxic to humans while low

fluoride concentration (around 1mg/L) is useful to prevent dental
cavities.

10/21/2022 19
• Metals
• Generally, all metals are soluble in water to some degree.
• Some metals at low concentrations are very toxic.
• The non-toxic metals at high concentrations may cause health
problems.

• Non-toxic metals: like calcium, magnesium, iron, sodium,

manganese, aluminum, copper and zinc. Excessive amount of the
non-toxic metal salts like sodium salts may cause bitter taste to
water and cause health problems. Manganese and iron salts can
cause color problem.

• Toxic metals: like arsenic, barium, cadmium, lead, mercury, and

silver. (All are very toxic at low amounts).
10/21/2022 20
• Organics
• Organics may present in surface waters naturally due to
the runoff or some human activities.
• Organics can be either biodegradable or non-
biodegradable.
• Biodegradable organics: found in dissolved form like
starches, fats, proteins, and acids. Such compounds
present a food source to microorganisms and can be
degraded easily with time.
• Non-biodegradable organics: found in dissolved form like
cellulose and phenols. Such compounds resist biological
degradation and stay dissolved in water for long time.

10/21/2022 21
Water quality and treatment

Biological Water-Quality Parameters

10/21/2022 22
Water quality and treatment

10/21/2022 23
 Biological parameters: Pathogens
• For human water use and consumption, the most
important biological parameters for water quality are
pathogens.

• Such microorganisms are capable to infect humans or

transmit diseases.

• Waterborne pathogens include viruses, bacteria

species, protozoa, and helminthes (parasitic worms).

• The most common diseases caused by pathogens are:

Cholera, Typhoid, and fever.

10/21/2022 24
10/21/2022 25
10/21/2022 26
Water quality and treatment
• Water quality requirements
➢ Water quality requirements vary according to proposed use of the
water. Water unsuitable for one use may be satisfactory for
another.

➢ Water quality parameters :- qualitatively reflect the effect of various

impurities on the intended use of water.

➢ Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater-

Standard analytical test procedures which provide quantitative
measurements of these parameters.

➢ Water Quality Standards are set by a governmental agency and

represent a statutory requirement.

10/21/2022 27
Water quality and treatment

❖ Water Pollution: The presence of any harmful

chemical or other constituent present in
concentrations above the naturally occurring
background level.

❖ Wastewater: discarded or previously used water

from a municipality or industry.

10/21/2022 28
Water quality and treatment

10/21/2022 29
Lecture_4: Water Quality Management

Chemical Water-Quality Parameters

Lab Experiment_3

Determination of Biological Oxygen Demand

Click on this link and follow the instructions to conduct the

experiment virtually:-

https://ee1-nitk.vlabs.ac.in/environmental-engineering-1/exp/determination-of-
biological-oxygen/simulation.html

10/21/2022 30