ENE130

(Water and Wastewater

Engineering
  1)

Asso. Prof. Dima Franca T. Apao

Department of Chemical Engineering &
Technology
MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology
 Lesson 3:
EVALUATION PARAMETERS
for POTABLE (Drinking)
WATER
 PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PARAMETERS FOR
EVALUATION OF POTABLE WATER
1. Taste
• Must have no objectionable taste
• The cause of taste must be determined
2. Odor
• Must have no objectionable odor
• The cause of odor must be determined

3. Color
a. Apparent color is the color of water being reflected from the
surface of the water, and consists of color from both dissolved and
suspended solids.
Standard apparent color: maximum of 10 Color Units

WATCH : https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yo0ak9w7o4&ab_channel=NitishRai
b. True color is measured after a sample of water has been
collected and purified.
Standard true color: maximum of 5 Color Units

• Decomposition of organic materials such as leaves or woods

usually yield coloring substances to water; Tannins, humic acid,
and humates from the decomposition of lignin; Insoluble form of
iron and manganese; colored suspended matters

• Method of test is by visual comparison or Colorimetry

4. Turbidity
• measures the light-transmitting properties of water
• Method of analysis is by Turbidimetry

• Turbidity increases with the

quantity of suspended matters in
water.
• maximum acceptable value: 5
NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity
Unit)
5. Chemical contaminants
There are chemical constituents of water that can lead to acute
health problems except through massive accidental contamination
of drinking water supply. In such incidents, water usually becomes
undrinkable owing to unacceptable taste, odor, and appearance.
a. Inorganic constituents
Certain inorganic constituents may be present in drinking water as a result of
leaching out of piping or plumbing materials such as lead, copper, asbestos,
nickel and cadmium. Some of these chemicals are known or suspected
carcinogens such as arsenic, lead, chromium, and cadmium among others.
 b. Organic constituents
Organic constituents in water could come
from various sources such as the decomposition of
organic debris, domestic, agricultural and
industrial activities and contamination that occur
during water treatment and distribution. These
activities generate wastewater discharges,
agricultural and urban runoff and leachates from
contaminated soils that may include pesticides,
solvents, metal degreasers and plasticizers and
petroleum products.
Other organic contaminants are formed during
water treatment processes such as coagulation,
chlorination and ozonation.
Examples: DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane),
endrin, benzene, carbon tetrachloride, carbofuran,
vinyl chloride, toluene, PAHs (polynuclear
aromatic hydrocarbons), etc.
6. pH
• Standard drinking water pH is from 6.5 to 8.5
• for water that undergone reverse osmosis or
distillation process : Standard pH of 5 – 7
• pH is important as operational water quality parameter
• Method of analysis is by Electrometric method
7. Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
• TDS in drinking water originate from natural sources, sewage, urban runoff
and industrial wastewater.
• Maximum allowable level – 500 mg/L
• Standard TDS of <10 mg/L for water that undergone reverse osmosis
or distillation process
• Method of analysis is Gravimetric method, dried at 180oC
8. Hardness
Hardness is due to the presence of naturally occurring divalent cations, such as
calcium, magnesium, and strontium resulting from contact of acidic groundwater
with rocks such as limestone and dolomites. Hardness beyond the standard
value maybe acceptable by the consumers in certain areas.
• Maximum tolerable level: 300 mg/L as CaCO3
• Method of analysis: Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (FAAS),
Electrothermal Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (EAAS), Inductively Coupled
Plasma (ICP), Colorimetry Method
9. Disinfectants and Disinfectant By-Products
When sufficient dosage of chlorine is applied to water, micro-
organisms of sanitary significance are destroyed and all the
oxidizable matter are reacted upon. After all of these reactions
have taken place, at the end of a specified contact time, there
remains a certain minute quantity of chlorine in the water.
This is detected as residual chlorine. Its presence in water is usually
an indication, and is therefore an assurance of protection of the
bacteriological quality.
 Residual chlorine must be a minimum of 0.30 mg/L occurring at
the farthest point of distribution system and a maximum of 1.5
mg/L detected at any point in the distribution system.
 Some other chemicals might be found in drinking water as a
result of disinfection, such as bromate, chlorite, chlorate,
dichloroacetic acid, etc.
 Maximum tolerable levels of these chemicals in drinking water
are listed in PNSDW 2017
 MICROBIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS FOR EVALUATION OF POTABLE WATER
 Water used for drinking must be free from pathogenic organisms responsible for
waterborne diseases. These pathogenic organisms include bacteria, viruses,
protozoans and helminths.
 Elimination of all these pathogenic agents from drinking water is essential for the
protection of public health. Two approaches can be used to reduce the risk of
bacterial,viral and parasitic infection to a negligible level: (1) providing drinking water
from a source verified free of fecal contamination or (2) adequately treating fecally
contaminated water.
 The primary objective of bacterial examination of drinking water is the detection of
fecal pollution. Although it is now possible to detect the presence of many pathogens
in water, the methods of isolation and detection are often complicated and lengthy. It
is therefore impossible and impractical to identify every disease causing organism
present in water. The approach is to use normal enteric organisms which are the
coliform group especially Escherichia coli (E. coli) as the essential indicator to fecal
pollution.
 E. coli is a bacteria that is an indicator of whether human or animal waste has
entered the water supply. These organisms are easy to detect and their presence in a
sample indicates
* Maximum thatofwater
allowable level organic may be contaminated
and inorganic with
constituents and organisms parameters
microbiological that can cause
in
potable water are listed in Phil. National Standards for Drinking Water (PNSDW) 2017:
disease.
https://doku.pub/documents/philippine-national-standards-for-drinking-water-2017-doh-ao-2017-
0010-nl3v99dd65q1
 PHILIPPINES MAJOR WATERBORNE INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Food Or Waterborne Diseases acquired through eating or drinking on
the local economy (the list follows a descending order of risk):
1. Hepatitis A - viral disease that interferes with the functioning of the liver; spread
through consumption of food or water contaminated with fecal matter, principally
in areas of poor sanitation; victims exhibit fever, jaundice, and diarrhea; 15% of
victims will experience prolonged symptoms over 6-9 months; vaccine available.
2. Hepatitis E - water-borne viral disease that interferes with the functioning of the
liver; most commonly spread through fecal contamination of drinking water;
victims exhibit jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain, and dark colored urine.
3. Typhoid fever - bacterial disease spread through contact with food or water
contaminated by fecal matter or sewage; victims exhibit sustained high fevers; left
untreated, mortality rates can reach 20%.
Water Contact Diseases acquired through swimming or wading in
freshwater lakes, streams, and rivers (the list follows a descending
order of risk):
1. Leptospirosis - bacterial disease that affects animals and humans; infection occurs
through contact with water, food, or soil contaminated by animal urine; symptoms
include high fever, severe headache, vomiting, jaundice, and diarrhea; untreated,
the disease can result in kidney damage, liver failure, meningitis, or respiratory
distress; fatality rates are low but left untreated recovery can take months.
2. Schistosomiasis - caused by parasitic trematode flatworm Schistosoma; fresh
water snails act as intermediate host and release larval form of parasite that
penetrates the skin of people exposed to contaminated water; worms mature and
reproduce in the blood vessels, liver, kidneys, and intestines releasing eggs, which
become trapped in tissues triggering an immune response; may manifest as either
urinary or intestinal disease resulting in decreased work or learning capacity;
mortality, while generally low, may occur in advanced cases usually due to bladder
cancer; endemic in 74 developing countries with 80% of infected people living in
sub-Saharan Africa; humans act as the reservoir for this parasite.