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1. Turbidity
Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by suspended solids that are usually
invisible to the naked eye. The measurement of Turbidity is an important test when trying to
determine the quality of water. Turbidity is measured in nephelometric turbidity unit (NTU).
The quality of drinking water is affected by many things, therefore SLS (Sri Lanka Standards)
regulations set the level of turbidity that is permissible. According to SLS standards, value of
turbidity of public drinking water cannot exceed 2.0 nephelometric turbidity unit (NTU).
Observations
Water Source Turbidity (NTU)
River Water 14.37
Well water 16.60
Waste water 23.77
When comparing SLS drinking water standards and observations, it can be seen a
considerable difference in observed values. The aesthetic quality of lakes and streams is
reduced significantly by high turbidity. Therefore the cost of water treatment for drinking and
food processing can be increased.
2. Color
Color in water means that the water absorbs light in visible spectral range (400-700 nm).The
ideally pure water is colorless. Color in water is caused dissolved minerals, dyes or humic
acids from plants. The later causes a brown-yellow unsightly color. Color is measured in units
of mg/L (Pt/Co, Hazen).SLS standards accepts 15 Pt/Co as maximum value of public drinking
water in Sri Lanka.
Observations
Water Source Color (Pt/Co)
River Water 122.67
Well water 54.67
Waste water 105
These high color values are not aesthetically acceptable for drinking water. It means more
minerals, dyes are dissolved in water and it is essential to treat water to get pure for drinking.
3. UV Absorbance (UV254)
UV absorption & transmissivity measurement is used in the testing of water to predict water
quality and the amount of dissolved organic carbon. The UV254nm optical measurement can
be supplied for either transmission (UVT) or absorption (UVA) measurement.
Observations
Water Source UV254 10 cm
4. pH
The pH value is a good indicator of whether water is hard or soft. The pH of pure water is 7.
In general, water with a pH lower than 7 is considered acidic, and with a pH greater than 7 is
considered basic. The normal range for pH in surface water systems is 6.5 to 8.5. According
to SLS standards, the pH value of drinking water should be in range of 6.5 to 8.5 in 25oC.
Observations
Water Source pH
River Water 7.09
Well water 4.63
Waste water 6.30
As experimental results, well water can be considered as acid. Because of that pH control is
necessary at water treatment to ensure satisfactory water clarification and disinfection. River
water satisfies SLS standards of Ph, but that acceptance is not enough to consider river water
as drinking water.
5. Dissolved Oxygen
The amount of oxygen dissolved in a body of water as an indication of the degree of health of
the water and its ability to support a balanced aquatic ecosystem.
Observations
Water Source DO(mg/l)
River Water 7.69
Well water 3.48
Waste water 2.47
A high DO level in a community water supply is good because it makes drinking water taste
better. However, high DO levels speed up corrosion in water pipes. For this reason, water
with the least possible amount of dissolved oxygen is used by industries.
Turbidity(NTU)
25
20
15
10
0
Turbidity
(NTU)
River Water Well water Waste water
UV254 10cm
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
UV254 10cm
pH
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
pH
DO (mg/l)
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
pH
River water: - From the lake situated just in front of the Chandrika Kumarathunga
Mawatha
Well water: - From a well which is situated inside of the SLIIT premises near the
faculty of engineering.
Waste water: - From drainage near the open area canteen in SLIIT premises.
Conclusion
In the experiment, we were able to learn how to test water quality by using physical and
chemical parameters such as pH, turbidity, UV absorbance, color and dissolved oxygen. As
well as it is essential to test several parameters of quality of water when testing water quality.
The experiment confirms that considerable variation exists in the taken water samples. These
significant differences make it difficult to evaluate compliance of SLS water-quality standards
for these water sources.
References
Water Quality - WATER SRI LANKA. 2017. Water Quality - WATER SRI LANKA.
[ONLINE] Available at: http://www.watersrilanka.com/quality.
Water quality and sampling. 2017. Water quality and sampling. [ONLINE] Available
at: https://www.slideshare.net/JasmineJohn/water-quality-and-sampling.