Water Quality Test

Water Testing for

Chemical Contaminants
 Presentation Outline
• Chemical properties of water
• Chemical contaminants
• Chemical Testing Methods
– Test strips
– Colour disc comparators
– Colorimeters & photometers
– Digital meters
– Arsenic specific kits
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 Chemical Tests
• There are many different chemicals that can be
found in our drinking water
• Difficult and expensive to test for all chemicals
so we need to select a few that are a priority in
the local area
– pH
– Iron, Manganese
– Arsenic, Fluoride
– Chlorine
– Total Dissolved Solids
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 pH
• pH measures the acidity or alkalinity of water

pH Scale:
1 <---------- 7.0 ----------> 14
(Acid) (Neutral) (Base or Alkaline)
• Depends on the water source, type of soil and
rock, and chemicals present in the water
• pH between 6.5 and 8.5 is ideal, more or less
indicates chemicals in the water
• Acid rain has a pH < 5.6

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 Total Hardness
• Calcium and magnesium
dissolved in water
• High levels result in:
– Scale on pipes
– Poor soap and detergent
performance
• No health impact, no WHO
Guideline value
• Calcium and magnesium are
essential for good health
• Very hard is > 180 mg/L

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 Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
• Mainly inorganic salts that are dissolved in water
– Calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium
• May include small amounts of organic matter
• Comes from natural sources, runoff, sewage and
industrial wastewater
• No direct health impact, no WHO guideline
• Very low or high amounts (>1200 mg/L) may
affect the taste of water

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 Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
• Testing for TDS does not give specific
information about the chemicals in water
• High results indicate that chemicals may
be present in water
• More specific testing is needed to figure
out which chemicals are present

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 Iron
• Naturally found in groundwater and some
surface water
• Iron can come in 2 forms:
1. Groundwater – may be dissolved, once
exposed to air it turns the water orange
or black colour
2. Surface water – may be suspended,
reddish-orange colour
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 Iron and Health
• Need small amounts of iron in food to be
healthy
• No health impact, no WHO Guideline
value
• > 0.3 mg/L of iron
– Causes a bad taste
– Stains water pipes and well aprons
– Stains clothes during washing

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 Iron and HWT
• Suspended iron
– Strain water through a cloth
– Let the water sit in a container and some of
the orange flakes may settle to the bottom
– Filters can also be used to take out some iron
• Dissolved iron
– Find a different source of drinking water
– Dilute groundwater with a different source
(e.g. rainwater)

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 Manganese
• Naturally found in groundwater
• Water has a black colour or black flakes
• Common to find manganese and iron
together in water

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 Manganese and Health
• Need some manganese in food to be healthy
• Too much or too little manganese can make
people sick
• WHO Guideline value < 0.4 mg/L
• > 0.15 mg/L of manganese
– Causes a bad taste
– Stains water pipes and creates a coating that comes
off as small black flakes
– Stains clothes during washing
– Stains food during cooking

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 Manganese and HWT
• Strain water through a cloth
• Let the water sit in a container and some
of the black flakes may settle to the bottom
• Filters can also be used to take out some
manganese
• Find a different source of drinking water
• Dilute groundwater with a different source
(e.g. rainwater)
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 Phosphate
• Natural mineral used in soap, detergent
and washing powders
• Also used in agricultural fertilizers
• Found in water through domestic
wastewater, industrial wastewater and
agricultural runoff

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 Phosphate and Health
• No health impact, no
WHO Guideline value
• Impact on the
environment
• Promotes unwanted
plant growth in rivers
and lakes, clogs water
and causes fish to die off
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 Phosphate and HWT
• There are no practical or common
household technologies to remove
phosphate from water

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 Arsenic
• Naturally occurring in groundwater

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 Arsenic and Health
• Light or dark spots on skin
• Hardening skin on palms and feet
• Causes cancer
• Babies and young children are most vulnerable
• Biggest chemical issue in developing countries,
high priority for WHO
• WHO Guideline < 0.01 mg/L
• Standards vary between countries

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Arsenic and Health

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 Arsenic and HWT
Diffuser Basin Kanchan Arsenic Filter
Lid
Brick chips
Container
Iron Nails

Water

Fine Sand
Pipe

Coarse Sand
Gravel
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 Fluoride
• Naturally occurring in groundwater

2009-06 21
 Fluoride and Health
• Helps make teeth strong
and prevents decay at low
doses (0.5 – 1.0 mg/L)
• Higher doses are not good
for teeth (1.5 – 4.0 mg/L)
• Very high doses harms the
skeleton (> 10 mg/L)
• WHO Guideline < 1.5 mg/L
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 Fluoride and HWT
• Very few practical or common household
technologies to remove fluoride from water
• More research is needed to find simple
and affordable technologies
• Find a different source of drinking water
• Dilute groundwater with a different source
(e.g. rainwater)

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 Chlorine
• Commonly use chlorine as a disinfectant
to treat drinking water
• Not usually found naturally in water in
amounts that can cause harm
• WHO Guideline < 5.0 mg/L
• High amounts of chlorine can hurt skin,
eyes, throat and lungs if we touch it or
breathe it
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 Chlorine for Disinfection
• Two things happen when we add chlorine to
water:
1. Some chlorine reacts with organic matter to
form new chemicals – Combined Chlorine
2. Some chlorine is left over – Free Chlorine

Total Chlorine = Combined + Free

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 Chlorine for Disinfection
• Consumed chlorine is what kills pathogens
in drinking water.
• Free chlorine is what protects drinking
water from re-contamination.
• Ideal level of free chlorine in drinking
water: 0.2 – 0.5 mg/L
• Typical levels of free chlorine in drinking
water are 0.2 - 2.0 mg/L
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 pH and Chlorine
• For chlorination, need a pH between 5.5
and 7.5
• Disinfection with chlorine is not reliable
when the pH is above 9 and turbidity
above 20 NTU
• If the pH is above 7.5, then the quantity of
chlorine should be increased and the
contact time should be lengthened
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 Chlorine and HWT
• Since adding chlorine is one step of the
household water treatment process, we
normally do not try to remove it from
drinking water.
• Chlorine in drinking water helps keep it
safe from pathogens.

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 Chemical Test Methods
• Test (reagent) strips
• Colour disc comparators
• Colorimeter and photometer
• Digital meters

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 Test (Reagent) Strips
• Designed to react with
specific chemicals
– pH, chlorine, hardness, etc.
• Compare colour on stick
to colour chart

Advantages:
– Inexpensive
– Easy and simple
– Provides rough estimate
Limitations:
– Requires visual interpretation
of colour
– Low accuracy +/- 10 %
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 Colour Disc Comparator
• Designed to react with specific
chemicals
– Chlorine, fluoride, nitrates, etc.
• Interchangeable colour discs

Advantages:
– Can be done in moderate field
conditions
– Better accuracy
Limitations:
– Need reagents
– More expensive
– Requires visual interpretation of
colour 31
 Colorimeters & Photometers
• Uses light source to Photometer
(Wagtech)
measure chemical
concentration
• Test a range of chemicals
Advantages:
– More accurate
Limitations:
– More expensive
– Power source necessary
– Proper training required
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Colorimeter (HACH)
 Digital Meters
• Digital meters are made
for specific chemicals
– pH and TDS

Advantages:
– Very accurate pH Pocket Meter
– Portable (Wagtech)
– Easy to use
Limitations:
– More expensive

Conductivity Pocket
Meter (Wagtech) 33
 Arsenic Test Kits
• Designed specifically for
arsenic
Advantages:
– Fairly accurate – range 2 to
100 ug/L
– Portable
– Relatively easy to use
Limitations:
– Requires visual
interpretation of colour
– Expensive
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