WATER TESTING
Do you know that the water which we use for different purposes be it domestic, agriculture, business could be of inappropriate quality.
Water quality is not entirely dependent on human activities, other simmering factors like weather and meteorology floods due to climate change can increase the water pollution as the pollution from farms, residential lawns, overfilled sewage systems, trash , animal waste, nitrogen phosphorous mixes in water ways which increases the risk of contamination and higher cost of water treatment. There is a notion that water quality is getting severely affected by climate change.
What Are The Different Types of Water Testing ?
There is a wide range of water quality tests used to help determine how safe, or even drinkable water is to be used in a household setting or otherwise that water test labs perform. These different types of tests help determine if specific materials of contaminants have infected a body of water, and help inform how it needs to be further treated. A few types of water testing methods are –
There is a range of potential bacterial contaminants that can plague water. One of the most common and most looked for is E. coli bacteria, which comes from fecal matter exposure and can result in serious health issues when consumed. Bacteria testing is essential in determining how safe water is to drink or expose to your skin.
A few common and important mineral tests include chlorine and chloride, nitrate and nitrite, lead, copper, iron, zinc, potassium, and sodium.
This wide range of mineral testing is essential and relevant in determining water quality, as different regions or areas of terrain may have more of a buildup of certain types of minerals, which informs what kind of mineral treatments the water actually needs in order to be purified.
What is pH?
pH is a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution.
The more of these hydrogen ions there are in a solution, the more acidic that water is. Acidity effects taste of water. Drinking water that’s not neutral enough in acidity can make people sick!
There are some basic water tests that don’t have anything to do with chemical testing: conductivity, odour, sediment, and turbidity. Not relevant in all situations, these tests create a measure of the more physical traits of a water sample.
Is it clear, or clouded with sand and silt? Does it smell swampy or fresh? How well does it convey electricity—and what does that say about the mineral content?
Our water testing solutions can help a homeowner, business, contractor or research group understand the water quality that they’re dealing with. Contact us today to get started!
Wastewater and Surface Water Testing
Wastewater testing varies depending on the different NPDES permits. For municipal wastewater tests, four different categories of testing are often required: physical properties, solids, biologicals and chemicals. For industrial wastewater, different heavy metals may also be required to be monitored.
Surface water, the receiving water for discharged wastewater, is also monitored to make sure that it does not contain contaminants higher than the standards. For instance, high concentration of nutrients (total nitrogen and total phosphorus) in surface water contribute eutrophication, which depletes oxygen in water, leading to algal bloom (production of mycrocystins), bacteria growth, and death of aquatic animals.
Physical property of wastewater testing includes measuring temperature, pH, conductivity (salinity) and turbidity. Color and odour are characterized as well. For instance, a too high or too low pH in wastewater can affect the aquatic lives in receiving water as they only live in neutral or slightly basic water environment.
Aquatic animals require dissolved oxygen (DO) in water to live. Aerobic bacteria can degrade organic matters using dissolved oxygen in water and BOD measures the amount of oxygen used up by bacteria for degrading organic matter. BOD is an indicator for the amount of organic materials in the wastewater effluent. If an effluent wastewater sample has a high BOD measurement, the bacteria in the wastewater will digest the organic materials from the wastewater and use up the oxygen in the receiving surface water, negatively affecting the aquatic lives. The goal of the wastewater treatment is to reduce the BOD value in wastewater.
Wastewater from agriculture, animal feeding, storm water runoff and municipal facilities may all contribute to the blame of algal blooming due to excess amount of nutrients in surface water. The overgrowth of algae using excess amounts of nitrogen (from ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and organic nitrogen) and phosphorus in surface water causes production of neutoxins (microcystins) that may contaminate future drinking water and threaten human health. The algae further eaten up by bacteria use up the dissolved oxygen in surface water and lead to death of aquatic animals. To protect the public health, a nitrogen and phosphate test requirement has been added to some of the NPDES permits and a variety of methods can be used for nutrient analysis.
The major source of heavy metal contamination is industrial wastewater from textile, paper and pulping, semi-conductor, metal finishing and plating, and many other industrial categories. Besides the notorious top 4 heavy metals, other metals, such as chromium, nickel, and zinc are also toxic to human health.
GROUNDWATER TESTING
The quality of groundwater can affect not only our health, but also society and the economy. Groundwater contamination can adversely affect property values, the image of a community, economic development, and the overall quality of life we all share. Clean water at reasonable cost is essential and in many parts of the country, groundwater is the only economical water source available. Once groundwater has been contaminated, it is usually very difficult and costly to clean. Even small contamination sites often cost many thousands of dollars to cleanup. The frequency of water testing and the contaminants to test for depend on factors such as the potential sources of pollution, etc. Another consideration is ensuring that the private well complies with proper well construction standards.
A water’s taste, smell, or color is not necessarily an indicator of water quality. Many of the most hazardous contaminants are undetectable to the senses. The only way to detect most pollutants is by testing.
In order to obtain valid results from sampling it is important to follow proper sampling and analysis protocols.
Groundwater must be protected from the adverse effects of agricultural and industrial pollution to safeguard the environment, protect sources of drinking water and avoid well water contaminations.
As one of the market leader in groundwater testing, we provide quality results, fast turnaround times, and have the expertise to help you fulfill your legal, social and commercial responsibilities with regards to groundwater protection.
