But in order for water to achieve it’s uses and maintain a balanced biological life, there must be a level of water quality maintained within it.
There are many factors that affect the life of water bodies that include; concentrations of common ions, total dissolved solids, hardness, turbidity, acidity, dissolved oxygen and biochemical oxygen demand, heavy metal pollution, eutrophication.
A major change in any of these areas can have detrimental affects on marine life and …show more content…
Affects of a high turbidity rating is damaging to the drinking water section as it is extremely noticeable through the perspective of a clear bottle. High turbidity levels in the environment may damage aquatic life by blocking light and carrying contaminants. Turbidity is mostly provoked by natural soil-runoff causes but may be accelerated by human activities such as and clearing and farming. Turbidity is measured by lowering a Seci disk into the water until you can no longer differentiate the shades. Both FTU and NTU units are used for turbidity however the units themselves are only useful in comparison to other …show more content…
Dissolved oxygen is critical in the environment as organisms rely on it for respiration. As animals and plants give and take dissolved oxygen in the water, 10ppm is the steady state. When a body of water is over-productive, the oxygen in the water may become unbalanced and loose it’s equilibrium. The amount of required DO levels in a water body si called Biochemical oxygen demand and is dependent on how much organic matter is needed to be broken down. Decreased the DO levels and result in mass “fish kills”. On the contraire to this, increased DO levels have little impact on drinking water other than slightly improving it’s taste. The aeration of water can be caused by wind, waterfalls, or other forms of running water. Man-made causes from an aquarium air pump to a hand-turned waterwheel. The dissolved oxygen sensor is attached to a to a data logger and the use of two tests on the same sample but with 4-5 days between can also indicate marine life and organisms within by the difference in the DO levels.
Water hardness is the amount of dissolved calcium and magnesium on the water, the more of these minerals, the more hard the water is. Water hardness affects fish health because it influences osmoregulation. There are insignificant effects of water hardness to the human body and may even benefit it in some ways. Hard water is created when water contacts limestone or chalk. Water hardness can be tested by adding