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Fundamentals of Environmental
Engineering

WATER QUALITY

Professor Rob Delatolla

Office: A-108
Email: robert.delatolla@uottawa.ca
 WATER QUALITY

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WATER QUALITY
Brief History of Treating Water before Drinking:
4000 BC: Filtration through charcoal, irradiation by sunlight, and
boiling.
Greek and Southeastern Indian documents.
1500 BC: Alum to clarify water.
Egyptians.
1685: Multiple sand filtration method.
Italian documents.
1800: Slow sand filtration for municipal water treatment.
Europeans.
1854: John Snow proposed the link between water quality and
disease
Cholera was linked to well water contaminated by sewage.
1893-1953: Ozone and chlorine are used in an increasing
number of treatment facilities.
Ozone and chlorine are used as disinfectants.
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WATER QUALITY
Palatable vs. Potable:
Palatable: Water that does not impact taste or odour and is
therefore pleasant to drink.

Potable: Water that is free of harmful chemicals and

microorganisms and is therefore safe to drink.

Characteristics of Drinking Water (four general categories):

Physical Characteristics: Include the appearance of the

water, its turbidity, color, temperature, taste and odour.

Turbidity: A measure of the decrease in light penetration.

Indicates the presence of clay, silt, organic matter, plankton
and particulate matter.

: Indicates the presence of degraded vegetation

(e.g., algae decay) or certain inorganic compounds. Typically
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colour treatment is purely for aesthetic purposes.
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WATER QUALITY
Temperature: Important for distribution systems and
piping. Microbial growth in the pipes is dependant upon
temperature.

Taste and odour: Caused by inorganic compounds

(minerals), salts (minerals), or dissolved gases.

Chemical Characteristics: Include the concentrations of the

constituents of interest in the water.

Canada, US and the European Union monitor a variety of

inorganic and organic constituents .

Inorganic constituents include chlorine, fluorine, iron,

lead, manganese, sodium, sulphate, zinc, arsenic, nitrates,
cyanites, and heavy metals.
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More
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WATER QUALITY
Microbiological Characteristics: Include the monitoring of
developed tests that are used to indicate the presence or
absence of pathogenic organisms.

Waterborne disease pathogens include viruses, bacteria,

protozoa, helminths (worms).
Pathogenic bacteria (such as Legionella)are monitored by
performing the total coliform test or E. coli test.

Protozoa (such as Giardia & Cryptosporidium) are the most

common pathogens of concern in drinking waters.

Radiological Characteristics: Include the monitoring of tests

to determine radioactive properties of waters that have come
into contact with radioactive substances.

Radioactive substances can originate from mining

operations, power plants, the use of radionuclide in medicine
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and scientific studies or natural sources (e.g., uranium in
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PHYSICAL & CHEMICAL FEDERAL CANADIAN GUIDELINES FOR
DRINKING WATER

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PHYSICAL & CHEMICAL FEDERAL CANADIAN GUIDELINES FOR
DRINKING WATER

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MICROBIOLOGICAL FEDERAL CANADIAN GUIDELINES FOR DRINKING
WATER
Guidelines for Microbiological Parameters: Currently
available detection methods do not allow for routine analysis of
specific pathogenic organisms.
Bacterial Guidelines:
Maximum Acceptable Concentration (MAC) of E-coli
in drinking water systems is non detectable per
100mL sample. (0)
MAC of total coliforms organism in drinking water
systems is non detectable per 100mL sample. (0)
Total coliform test predicts the existence of bacterial
pathogens that live in colon environments.
Turbidity Guidelines:
Turbidity is regulated at 0.1 NTU at all times
NTU: Nephelometric Turbidity Unit
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DISTRIBUTION OF WATER

Distribution of Water on Earth:

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DISTRIBUTION OF WATER

Distribution of Water on Earth:

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SOURCES OF DRINKING WATER
Surface Water:
Rivers, lakes and basins.
High flows may characterize surface waters.
High Total Suspended Solids (TSS), turbidity, pathogens
Groundwater:
Lower flows than surface waters.
High Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), including metals.
Low TSS, turbidity, pathogens
Seawater:
Energy intensive to desalinate.
Disposal of resulting brine must be considered.

Reclaimed and Reused Water:

Currently used for irrigating crops, landscaping and
groundwater recharge.
Technically feasible.
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SOURCES OF DRINKING WATER
Comparison between Surface Water and Groundwater
Sources:
Surface Water Groundwater
Varying composition Constant composition
Low mineral content High mineral content
High turbidity Low turbidity
Colour causing Low or no colour
compounds Possibly low
Microorganisms present microorganisms
DO DO depleted
Low hardness High hardness
Tastes and odours High Fe & Mn
Possible chemical toxicity Possible chemical toxicity

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WATER USAGE
Comparison of Industrial Usage of Water:

Usage Quantity (m3)

Drinking water (1 glass) 0.001
Toilet flush (North America) 0.02
Washing Machine (1 load) 0.17
Production of 1 kg of paper 0.3
Refining 1000 kg of petroleum 2 - 50
Production of 1000 kg of steel 6 - 270
Agriculture: 1000 kg of wheat 300 - 500
Agriculture: 1000 kg of rice 1,500 2,000
Production of 1000 kg of cow milk 10,000
Production of 1000 kg of beef 20,000 50,000

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 POTABLE WATER TREATMENT
SYSTEMS

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GENERAL VARIATIONS OF TREATMENT
SYSTEMS
Conventional (Coagulation) Surface Water Treatment
System:

Typically used to remove color, turbidity, taste & odour and

pathogens. coagulati
on

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GENERAL VARIATIONS OF TREATMENT
SYSTEMS
Water Softening (Groundwater) Treatment System:

Typically used to remove high levels of hardness.

pH
coagulati
adjustme
on
nt

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