Water quality refers to thechemical,physical, andbiological characteristics ofwater based on the standards of its usage.[1][2] It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved throughtreatment of the water, can be assessed. The most common standards used to monitor and assess water quality convey the health ofecosystems,safety of human contact, extent ofwater pollution and condition ofdrinking water. Water quality has a significant impact onwater supply and often determines supply options.[3]
Over time, there has been increasing recognition of the importance ofdrinking water quality and its impact onpublic health. This has led to increasing protection and management of water quality.[4]
The understanding of the links between water quality and health continues to grow and highlight new potential health crises: from the chronic impacts ofinfectious diseases on child development throughstunting to new evidence on the harms from known contaminants, such asmanganese with growing evidence ofneurotoxicity in children.[4] In addition, there are many emerging water quality issues—such asmicroplastics,perfluorinated compounds, andantimicrobial resistance.[4]
The parameters for water quality are determined by the intended use. Work in the area of water quality tends to be focused on water that istreated for potability, industrial/domestic use, orrestoration (of an environment/ecosystem, generally for health of human/aquatic life).[5]
Contaminants that may be in untreated water includemicroorganisms such asviruses,protozoa andbacteria;inorganic contaminants such assalts andmetals;organic chemical contaminants from industrial processes andpetroleum use;pesticides andherbicides; andradioactive contaminants. Water quality depends on the localgeology andecosystem, as well as human uses such as sewage dispersion, industrial pollution, use of water bodies as aheat sink, and overuse (which may lower the level of the water).[citation needed]
TheUnited States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limits the amounts of certain contaminants intap water provided by USpublic water systems. TheSafe Drinking Water Act authorizes EPA to issue two types of standards:
The U.S.Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations establish limits for contaminants inbottled water.[9] Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of these contaminants does not necessarily indicate that the water poses a health risk.
Inurbanized areas around the world,water purification technology is used in municipal water systems to remove contaminants from the source water (surface water orgroundwater) before it is distributed to homes, businesses, schools and other recipients. Water drawn directly from a stream, lake, oraquifer and that has no treatment will be of uncertain quality in terms of potability.[3]
The burden of polluted drinking water disproportionally effects under-represented and vulnerable populations.[10] Communities that lack these clean drinking-water services are at risk of contracting water-borne and pollution-related illnesses like Cholera,diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio.[11] These communities are often in low-income areas, where human wastewater is discharged into a nearby drainage channel or surface water drain without sufficient treatment, or is used in agricultural irrigation.
Dissolvedions may affect the suitability of water for a range of industrial and domestic purposes. The most familiar of these is probably the presence ofcalcium (Ca2+) andmagnesium (Mg2+) that interfere with the cleaning action ofsoap, and can form hardsulfate and softcarbonatedeposits in waterheaters orboilers.[12] Hard water may be softened to remove these ions. The softening process often substitutessodium cations.[13] For certain populations, hard water may be preferable to soft water because health problems have been associated with calcium deficiencies and with excess sodium.[14] The necessity for additional calcium and magnesium in water depends on the population in question because people generally satisfy their recommended amounts through food.[3]: 99, 115, 377
Environmental water quality, also calledambient water quality, relates to water bodies such aslakes,rivers, andoceans.[15] Water quality standards for surface waters vary significantly due to different environmental conditions, ecosystems, and intended human uses. Toxic substances and high populations of certainmicroorganisms can present a health hazard[16] for non-drinking purposes such as irrigation, swimming, fishing, rafting, boating, and industrial uses. These conditions may also affect wildlife, which use the water for drinking or as a habitat. According to the EPA, water quality laws generally specify protection of fisheries and recreational use and require, as a minimum, retention of current quality standards.[17] In some locations, desired water quality conditions include highdissolved oxygen concentrations, lowchlorophyll-a concentrations, and highwater clarity.[18]
There is some desire among the public to return water bodies to pristine, or pre-industrial conditions.[19] Most current environmental laws focus on the designation of particular uses of a water body. In some countries these designations allow for somewater contamination as long as the particular type of contamination is not harmful to the designated uses. Given the landscape changes (e.g.,land development,urbanization,clearcutting in forested areas) in thewatersheds of many freshwater bodies, returning to pristine conditions would be a significant challenge. In these cases, environmental scientists focus on achieving goals for maintaining healthy ecosystems and may concentrate on the protection of populations ofendangered species and protecting human health.
Regulatory or grading systems related to water quality for bathing include the BritishBathing Water Regulations 2013, the EuropeanBathing Waters Directive 2006, and the internationalBlue Flag Beach scheme.
The complexity of water quality as a subject is reflected in the many types of measurements of water quality indicators. Some measurements of water quality are most accurately made on-site, because water exists inequilibrium with itssurroundings. Measurements commonly made on-site and in direct contact with the water source in question includetemperature,pH,dissolved oxygen,conductivity,oxygen reduction potential (ORP),turbidity, andSecchi disk depth.
Sampling of water for physical or chemical testing can be done by several methods, depending on the accuracy needed and the characteristics of the contaminant. Sampling methods include for example simple random sampling,stratified sampling, systematic and grid sampling, adaptivecluster sampling, grab samples, semi-continuous monitoring and continuous,passive sampling, remote surveillance,remote sensing, andbiomonitoring. The use of passivesamplers greatly reduces the cost and the need of infrastructure on the sampling location.
Many contamination events are sharply restricted in time, most commonly in association with rain events. For this reason "grab" samples are often inadequate for fully quantifying contaminant levels.[20] Scientists gathering this type of data often employauto-sampler devices that pump increments of water at either time ordischarge intervals.
More complex measurements are often made in alaboratory requiring a watersample to be collected, preserved, transported, and analyzed at another location.
The process of water sampling introduces two significant problems:
Sample preservation may partially resolve the second problem. A common procedure is keeping samples cold to slow therate of chemical reactions and phase change, and analyzing the sample as soon as possible; but this merely minimizes the changes rather than preventing them.[22]: 43–45 A useful procedure for determining influence of sample containers during delay between sample collection and analysis involves preparation for two artificial samples in advance of the sampling event. One sample container is filled with water known from previous analysis to contain no detectable amount of the chemical of interest. This sample, called a "blank", is opened for exposure to the atmosphere when the sample of interest is collected, then resealed and transported to the laboratory with the sample for analysis to determine if sample collection or holding procedures introduced any measurable amount of the chemical of interest. The second artificial sample is collected with the sample of interest, but then "spiked" with a measured additional amount of the chemical of interest at the time of collection. The blank (negative control) and spiked sample (positive control) are carried with the sample of interest and analyzed by the same methods at the same times to determine any changes indicating gains or losses during the elapsed time between collection and analysis.[24]
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After events such asearthquakes andtsunamis, there is an immediate response by the aid agencies as relief operations get underway to try and restore basic infrastructure and provide the basic fundamental items that are necessary for survival and subsequent recovery.[25] The threat ofdisease increases hugely due to the large numbers of people living close together, often in squalid conditions, and without proper sanitation.[26]
After anatural disaster, as far as water quality testing is concerned, there are widespread views on the best course of action to take and a variety of methods can be employed. The key basic water quality parameters that need to be addressed in an emergency are bacteriological indicators of fecal contamination, freechlorine residual,pH,turbidity and possiblyconductivity/total dissolved solids. There are many decontamination methods.[27][28]
After major natural disasters, a considerable length of time might pass before water quality returns to pre-disaster levels. For example, following the2004 Indian Ocean tsunami the Colombo-basedInternational Water Management Institute (IWMI) monitored the effects of saltwater and concluded that the wells recovered to pre-tsunami drinking water quality one and a half years after the event.[29] IWMI developed protocols for cleaning wells contaminated by saltwater; these were subsequently officially endorsed by theWorld Health Organization as part of its series of Emergency Guidelines.[30]
The simplest methods ofchemical analysis are those measuringchemical elements without respect to their form. Elemental analysis foroxygen, as an example, would indicate a concentration of 890 g/L (grams perlitre) of water sample because oxygen (O) has 89% mass of the water molecule (H2O). The method selected to measuredissolved oxygen should differentiate betweendiatomic oxygen and oxygen combined with other elements. The comparative simplicity of elemental analysis has produced a large amount of sample data and water quality criteria for elements sometimes identified asheavy metals. Water analysis for heavy metals must consider soil particles suspended in the water sample. These suspended soil particles may contain measurable amounts of metal. Although the particles are notdissolved in the water, they may be consumed by people drinking the water. Addingacid to a water sample to prevent loss of dissolved metals onto the sample container may dissolve more metals from suspended soil particles.Filtration of soil particles from the water sample before acid addition, however, may cause loss of dissolved metals onto the filter.[31] The complexities of differentiating similarorganic molecules are even more challenging.
Making these complex measurements can be expensive. Because direct measurements of water quality can be expensive, ongoing monitoring programs are typically conducted and results released bygovernment agencies. However, there are local volunteer programs and resources available for some general assessment.[32] Tools available to the general public include on-site test kits, commonly used for homefish tanks, and biological assessment procedures.
Biosensors have the potential for "high sensitivity, selectivity, reliability, simplicity, low-cost and real-time response".[33] For instance,bionanotechnologists reported the development ofROSALIND 2.0, that can detect levels of diverse water pollutants.[34][35]
Although water quality is usually sampled and analyzed at laboratories, since the late 20th century there has been increasing public interest in the quality of drinking water provided by municipal systems. Many water utilities have developed systems to collect real-time data about source water quality. In the early 21st century, a variety of sensors and remote monitoring systems have been deployed for measuring water pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen and other parameters.[36] Some remote sensing systems have also been developed for monitoring ambient water quality in riverine, estuarine and coastal water bodies.[37][38]
The following is a list of indicators often measured by situational category:
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Biological monitoring metrics have been developed in many places, and one widely used family of measurements for freshwater is the presence and abundance of members of the insect ordersEphemeroptera,Plecoptera andTrichoptera (EPT) (ofbenthicmacroinvertebrates whose common names are, respectively, mayfly, stonefly and caddisfly). EPT indexes will naturally vary from region to region, but generally, within a region, the greater the number of taxa from these orders, the better the water quality. Organisations in the United States, such as EPA. offer guidance on developing a monitoring program and identifying members of these and other aquatic insect orders. Many US wastewater dischargers (e.g., factories, power plants,refineries, mines, municipalsewage treatment plants) are required to conduct periodic whole effluent toxicity (WET) tests.[39][40]
Individuals interested in monitoring water quality who cannot afford or manage lab scale analysis can also use biological indicators to get a general reading of water quality. One example is the IOWATER volunteer water monitoring program ofIowa, which includes an EPT indicator key.[41]
Bivalve molluscs are largely used asbioindicators to monitor the health of aquatic environments in both fresh water and the marine environments. Their population status or structure, physiology, behaviour or the level of contamination with elements or compounds can indicate the state of contamination status of the ecosystem. They are particularly useful since they are sessile so that they are representative of the environment where they are sampled or placed. A typical project is the U.S.Mussel Watch Programme,[42] but today they are used worldwide.
The Southern African Scoring System (SASS) method is a biological water quality monitoring system based on the presence of benthic macroinvertebrates (EPT). The SASSaquatic biomonitoring tool has been refined over the past 30 years and is now on the fifth version (SASS5) which has been specifically modified in accordance with international standards, namely theISO/IEC 17025 protocol.[43] The SASS5 method is used by the South AfricanDepartment of Water Affairs as a standard method for River Health Assessment, which feeds the national River Health Programme and the national Rivers Database.
Weather and its related shocks can affect water quality in several ways. These depend on the local climate and context.[44] Shocks that are linked to weather include water shortages, heavy rain and temperature extremes. They can damage water infrastructure through erosion under heavy rainfall and floods, cause loss of water sources in droughts, and make water quality deteriorate.[44]
Climate change can reduce lower water quality in several ways:[45]: 582
In the setting of standards, agencies make political and technical/scientific decisions based on how the water will be used.[54] In the case of naturalwater bodies, agencies also make some reasonable estimate of pristine conditions. Natural water bodies will vary in response to a region's environmental conditions, whereby water composition is influenced by the surrounding geological features, sediments, and rock types,topography,hydrology, and climate.[55]Environmental scientists andaqueous geochemists work to interpret the parameters and environmental conditions that impact the water quality of a region, which in turn helps to identify the sources and fates ofcontaminants.Environmental lawyers andpolicymakers work to definelegislation with the intention that water is maintained at an appropriate quality for its identified use.
Another general perception of water quality is that of a simple property that tells whether water ispolluted or not. In fact, water quality is a complex subject, in part because water is a complex medium intrinsically tied to theecology,geology, andanthropogenic activities of a region.Industrial andcommercial activities (e.g.manufacturing,mining,construction,transport) are a major cause ofwater pollution as arerunoff fromagricultural areas,urban runoff and discharge of treated and untreatedsewage.[citation needed]
The water policy of theEuropean Union is primarily codified in threedirectives:
Water quality guidelines for South Africa are grouped according to potential user types (e.g. domestic, industrial) in the 1996 Water Quality Guidelines.[58] Drinking water quality is subject to the South African National Standard (SANS) 241 Drinking Water Specification.[59]
In England and Wales acceptable levels for drinking water supply are listed in the "Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2000."[60]
In the United States,Water Quality Standards are defined by state agencies for various water bodies, guided by the desired uses for the water body (e.g., fish habitat, drinking water supply, recreational use).[61] TheClean Water Act (CWA) requires each governing jurisdiction (states, territories, and covered tribal entities) to submit a set of biennial reports on the quality of water in their area. These reports are known as the 303(d) and 305(b) reports, named for their respective CWA provisions, and are submitted to, and approved by, EPA.[62] These reports are completed by the governing jurisdiction, typically astate environmental agency. EPA recommends that each state submit a single "Integrated Report" comprising its list of impaired waters and the status of all water bodies in the state.[63] TheNational Water Quality Inventory Report to Congress is a general report on water quality, providing overall information about the number of miles of streams and rivers and their aggregate condition.[64] The CWA requires states to adopt standards for each of the possible designated uses that they assign to their waters. Should evidence suggest or document that a stream, river or lake has failed to meet the water quality criteria for one or more of its designated uses, it is placed on a list of impaired waters. Once a state has placed a water body on this list, it must develop a management plan establishingTotal Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for the pollutant(s) impairing the use of the water. These TMDLs establish the reductions needed to fully support the designated uses.[65]
Drinking water standards, which are applicable topublic water systems, are issued by EPA under theSafe Drinking Water Act.[7]
Text was copied from this source, which is available under aCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 International LicensePlastic is the most common type of marine debris found in oceans, and it is the most widespread problem affecting the marine environment. It also threatens ocean health, food safety and quality, human health, and coastal tourism, and it contributes to climate change
Text was copied from this source, which is available under aCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 International LicenseArchived 24 March 2018 at theWayback Machine – Professional association
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