A tiny percentage of the available water is safe as freshwater for human and animal consumption. In most cases, pollutants infiltrate into the water masses, including the little safe rainwater and make it contaminated. The water quality lab is a test for the presence of contaminants in water supplied in the homesteads from storage or ground sources. The water quality lab applies several materials and structured procedures to test and remove any available contaminants for pure water supply.
The main reason for carrying out the water quality lab is to identify the contaminants in the water to prevent any possible water-borne diseases. Basically, the lab test is conducted to ensure that water meets the required standards for human and animal use. The question in the water quality lab is that “is there better water quality supply in houses?” The main hypothesis for the lab is that there is a danger in consuming contaminated water as a result of the infiltration of pollutants either in the ground or in the air. The main area of concern in the lab test is the groundwater contained in pores, rivers, and other fractures that contain water with contact to soil and rocks.
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Materials
The materials from the water quality lab depend on what aspect is being tested. To begin with, test for temperature includes the following:
Two thermometers
One large square test tube
2 temperature strips
Test for turbidity
Low-cost water monitoring kit containers
Secchi dick stickers
Color charts
Test for dissolved oxygen
1 small test tube with a black cap
2 dissolved oxygen tablets per sample
Color chart
Temperature strip
Biological oxygen demand (BOD)
a small black cap test tube
2 dissolved oxygen tablets per sample
Aluminum foil pouch
Color chart
Coliform bacteria
A huge test-tube with tablet inside a brown protective roll paper
Three test tubes within the roll
Nitrate
Tall square test tube with white cap
1 nitrate tablet per sample
Aluminum foil pouch
Color chart
pH
Tall square test tube with white cap
1 pH tablet per sample
Aluminum foil pouch
Color chart
Phosphate
Tall square test tube with white cap
1 phosphorous tablet per sample
Aluminum foil pouch
Color chart
Procedure
The procedure for the water quality lab is as follows:
Aeration: Addition of the air the water
Coagulation: Addition of chemicals to the incoming water
Sedimentation: separations of the heavy particles from water
Filtrating
Disinfection: use of disinfectants to kill bacteria
| Sample site 1 | Sample site 2 | |
| Description of site | Cropland | Forestry harvest |
| The temperature of water (collected at the site) | 25 °C | 21 °C |
| Turbidity (determined at the site) | 5 NTU | 3 NTU |
| Dissolved oxygen (determined at site) | 1 mg/L | 2 mg/L |
| BOD test (dissolved oxygen) | (BOD 5 ) at 20 °C | (BOD 3 ) at 24 °C |
| BOD = dissolved oxygen (#4) – BOD dissolved oxygen (#5) | 5°C | 10 °C |
| Coliform bacteria | Active | Active |
| Nitrate | Active | Active |
| pH | Neutral | Alkaline |
| Phosphate | High | Medium |
Conclusion
The water quality lab identifies the contaminants in the water to ensure the prevention of any water-borne diseases. The data support the hypothesis that there is a danger in consuming contaminated water as a result of the infiltration of pollutants either in the ground or in the air. The other experiment which could be done to improve the knowledge of the subject is experimenting with cocktails of compounds with different reactivity (atratone, strontium, and ammonium) and non-reactive tracers (naphthionte, bromide, and uranine) which could represent various pollutant classes.
