Friday, April 29, 2016

Physical characteristics of groundwater - May not adversely affect health but may additional treatment.




Physical characteristics of groundwater


Contaminant

Sources to 

groundwater

Potential health 

and other effects


Turbidity

Caused by the presence of suspended matter such as clay, silt, and fine particles of organic and inorganic matter, plankton, and other microscopic organisms. 

A measure how much light can filter through the water sample.


Objectionable for aesthetic reasons. Indicative of clay or other inert suspended particles in drinking water. 

May not adversely affect health but may cause need for additional treatment. 

Following rainfall, variations in groundwater turbidity may be an indicator of surface contamination.


Color

Can be caused by decaying leaves, plants, organic matter, copper, iron, and manganese, which may be objectionable. 

Indicative of large amounts of organic chemicals, inadequate treatment, and high disinfection demand. 

Potential for production of excess amounts of disinfection byproducts.


Suggests that treatment is needed. 

No health concerns. 

Aesthetically unpleasing.

pH

Indicates, by numerical expression, the degree to which water is alkaline or acidic. 

Represented on a scale of 0-14 where 0 is the most acidic, 14 is the most alkaline, and 7 is neutral.

High pH causes a bitter taste; water pipes and water-using appliances become encrusted; depresses the effectiveness of the disinfection of chlorine, thereby causing the need for additional chlorine when pH is high. 

Low-pH water will corrode or dissolve metals and other substances.


Odor

Certain odors may be indicative of organic or non-organic contaminants that originate from municipal or industrial waste discharges or from natural sources.



Taste

Some substances such as certain organic salts produce a taste without an odor and can be evaluated by a taste test. 

Many other sensations ascribed to the sense of taste actually are odors, even though the sensation is not noticed until the material is taken into the mouth.





source: water.usgs.gov

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