Water Sample City

Acidity Metals Coliform Pesticides Nitrates pH (mg/L) Bacteria Herbicides (mg/L) (ml) (mg/L) 4 .0006 13/100 .00001 .8 mg/L

Type of Contaminati on

Treatment

Lake

.6

33/100

Mountain 6.8 Rural Well 7 8.2

.006 .0027 1.44

0/100 mL 0/100 0/100

.00001 .6 mg/L carbofuran .6 12.4 .0001 .08 6.7 .6

Chlorine, Activated Carbon, Sodium Hydroxide Chlorine, activated carbon Zinc orthospate Chlorine Activated carbon

1: What contaminants were found in the surface water samples? What contaminants were found in the groundwater samples? The contaminates include metals, pesticides, nitrates, acids, and coliform bacteria. The same is said for groundwater. 2: Why might groundwater and surface water have different contaminants? They might be certain contaminants available to the water above ground. However contaminants can be brought under ground. 3: Generally, farmers do not farm and industries do not build factories on the sides of mountains in remote wilderness areas. These areas are usually not highly populated by people. What might explain the high nitrate level in the mountain water in this activity? This could be from the nitrogen cycle creating certain levels of nitrogen in the water. 4: What is pH level, what are its characteristics and how does it contribute to pollution? What chemicals are used in treating low pH levels? The pH level is the test of how acidic or basic a solution is. The chemicals are usually acidic to make a lower pH level. 5: Water in an old building, tested recently, showed high copper and iron content, and low pH levels. A water reading taken 20 years before showed low pH levels, but only minimal traces of copper and iron. If none of the new buildings on the same street showed signs of metallic contaminants, but all reported lower than normal pH readings, how might these readings be explained? These readings can be flawed. Or pipes in the older buildings have much more amounts of metals like copper and iron. They could leak into the water that was tested.