We are surrounded by water but there is no drop to drink

Task 3. Chemical experiment on water quality

Mazeikiu Merkelio Rackausko gimnazija

 Lithuania is one of a few European

countries where people use only groundwater for their basic needs. The quality of drinkable water depends on the composition of the soil and the depth of a borehole. In Lithuania we use water from private wells (their depth is about 20 30 m) or from waterhole boreholes (their depth is about 250 m).

To test the quality of the water we drink, our students decided to analyse 6 types of drinkable water:

tap water, well-water, spring water, filtrated water, mineralized water, ionisated water.

to find such ions as ammonium, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate.

 We were looking for these ions because

they are known to cause a lot of serious health problems, even cancer. These ions appear in groundwater as a result of human household activities (for example, the use of fertilizers). In addition to that, we also decided to test the melted snow water and to compare the results.

For the chemical water analysis we used Merck Compact laboratory for water testing. It consists of reagents and accessories for the determination of pH, electrical conductivity (TDS), ammonium, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate. Most of the tests are based on colorimetric method.

Work Process

Determination of pH and TDS

Pure water has a pH
of 7. The pH range of 3 to 7 shows that the water is weakly acidic, and the range of 7 to 11 shows that it is weakly alkaline. TDS of drinkable water has to be 0 1000 mg/l.

Determination of Nitrate
Nitrate ions found in drinkable water are dangerous for our health. What is more, in case of chemical reactions they can change to nitrite ions. The concentration limit is 50 mg/l of nitrate ions for adults and 10 mg/l for infants.

Determination of Nitrite
Nitrite ions are in particular dangerous as they may cause cancer. The concentration limit of these ions is 0,5 mg/l for adults and 0,02 mg/l for infants.

Determination of Ammonium
The concentration limit of ammonium is 0,5 mg/l.

Determination of Phosphate
The amount of phosphate is not rationed. Phosphates are used for water softening.

Results
Type of water
Tap water Well-water Spring water
Filtrated water Mineralized water Ionisated water Melted snow

pH

TDS, mg/l
420 270 600

Nitrate, mg/l
0 10 0

Nitrite, mg/l
0 0 0

Ammonium , mg/l 0,2 0,1 0,1

Phosphate, mg/l 0,25 0,25 0

6 5 6

5,5

10

6,2

500

0,1

7,8 5

290 20

0 30

0 0

0,1 0.3

0 0,25

Conclusions

The pH of almost all sorts of the tested water is weakly acidic. Only the ionisated water is neutral. Total dissolved salts (TDS) are in the tolerated range. The amount of nitrate ions in all kinds of the tested water is also in the acceptable range. However, we have found 10 mg/l of these ions in the well-water. This amount of nitrate is dangerous for infants. And there were 30 mg/l of nitrate ions in the melted snow water (although it is also within the permitted limits). We havent found nitrite ions in any of the water types. The amount of ammonium ions is normal in all kinds of the tested water.

As a result, we can state that all the tested types of drinkable water are suitable for drinking!

Thank you for your attention