Abstract
Measurement of water quality involves measuring the water pollutants in terms of milligrams of the substance per liter of water (mg/L). Some tests require the measurement to be conducted at the site because the process of obtaining a sample may change the measurement. Most tests are performed on a water sample taken from the stream. The grab sample measures the water quality at only one sampling point. One of the most important measures of water quality is dissolved oxygen. Dissolved oxygen is inversely proportional to the temperature, and the maximum amount of oxygen that can be dissolved in water at 0° C is 14.6 mg/L. The amount of oxygen dissolved in water is usually measured either with an oxygen probe or by iodometric titration. The rate of oxygen use is commonly referred to as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). The BOD test is often used to estimate the impacts of effluents that contain large amounts of biodegradable organics, such as that from food processing plants and feedlots, municipal wastewater treatment facilities, and pulp mills. Water that is high in total organic carbon has a greater potential to develop disinfection byproducts. Total organic carbon is measured by oxidizing the organic carbon to CO2 and H20, and the CO2 gas is measured using an infrared carbon analyzer. Color, taste, turbidity, pH, alkalinity, and odor are important measurements for determining drinking water quality. Water pollution assessment is also done by measuring toxic, carcinogenic, or other potentially harmful organic compounds in water.
Published Version
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