Water Quality

Water Color

• Pure water has a slight blue tint to it.
• Most water changes colors because of dead materials, and leaves and other stuff.
• Most of the color we see is because of suspended materials.
• Muddy water is not good on plants because of lack of sunlight.
• A high amount of algae stays floating on water.

Dissolved Oxygen

• When the temperature in water is cold there is more oxygen.
• When the temperature in water is hot there is less oxygen
• A government agency is in charge in measuring the quality of water.
• A moving body of water contains a high amount of oxygen.
• Animals use dissolved oxygen to breath underwater.

PH

• The measure of how acidic and how basic water is.
• The range goes from 0-14
• 7 is neutral
• a high ph in water can dissolve heavy metal.
• Less than 7 is acidic.

Turbidity

• The measure of clarity of water.
• Turbidity changes the color of water.
• It can kill fish and other creatures.
• It can be used to measure pollution.
• Water with high turbidity is not safe to drink

Suspended Sediment

• Rock, dirt, and other organic matter is sediment.
• It is moved from place to place when it rains.
• Sediment is deposited on flood banks.
• The sediment can kill or injure organisms.
• Sediment flows in moving water.

Hardness

• It gets harder to lather up water in your hands.
• Agencies have been monitoring water hardness since 1975.
• Some places like florida and wyoming have hard water.

Temperature

• Temperature exerts a major influence on biological activity and growth.
• Temperature governs the kinds of organisms that can live in rivers and lakes.
• Temperature is also important because of its influence on water chemistry.
• After all, temperature is not a chemical and it doesn't have physical properties.