Properties of Water

• The chemical structure of water gives

it unique physical properties
– Each individual molecule of water (H2O)
contains one oxygen and two hydrogen
atoms held together by strong
(covalent) bonds
– Water molecules are considered polar
molecules
• The O end of the molecule has a negative charge
• The H end of the molecule has a positive charge

© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

 Water
• Water H2O is composed of one oxygen
atom and two hydrogen atoms. The
oxygen nucleus is in the center

• Molecular weight 18 gr/mole

• 4 pairs of electrons surrounding the

oxygen atom, two pairs involved in
covalent bonds with hydrogen, and two
unshared pairs on the opposite side of
the oxygen atom.

• The asymmetric water molecule contains

unequal distribution of electrons
 Water – a polar molecule
• Water is a "polar" molecule: uneven distribution of electron density.

• Oxygen is highly "electronegative" or electron "loving" atom and

exerts a strong pull on electrons than hydrogen, and also contains
two unshared electron pairs which result in a dipole.

• Water has a partial negative charge near the oxygen atom and partial
positive charges near the hydrogen atoms.
Properties of Water
• Hydrogen bonds
– Each end of every water
molecule is attracted to opposite
charges on adjacent water
molecules
– This attraction forms weak
chemical bonds (hydrogen bonds)
between the molecules of H2O
– Responsible for many physical
properties of water
• High freezing/melting point
• High boiling point
• High heat capacity
• Ability to act as a universal solvent
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Many water molecules
Structural form of water
 Ice and water
• Water molecules attracted
to each other form
aggregates, with distinct
structural properties, such
as ice and water.
• Ice floats (reduced density)
because hydrogen bonds
hold water molecules
further apart (open
structure) in a solid than in
a liquid.

www.chem.uwec.edu © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Water characteristics
• Water is classified into physical, chemical
(organic and inorganic) or biological
characteristics.

Physical
organic
Characteristics Chemical inorganic
Biological
Important physical parameters (units
in parenthesis):
• Temperature (0C)
• Color - units
• UV absorbance (1/cm)
• Turbidity (NTU, Nephelometric Turbidity Units)
• Odor – TON (Threshold Odor Number)
• Electrical Conductivity, EC (µS/cm)
• Total Dissolved Solids, TDS (mg/L)
 Temperature
• Temp. of water affects the chemical reactions,
reaction rates, aquatic life, solubility of gases,
density, viscosity etc.
• In addition, oxygen is less soluble in warm water
• Affects engineering design

• Temp. increase in the aquifer from 25 to 600C resulted

in increased pH and conc. of DOC, P, K, Si, As, Mo, V, B,
and F concentrations due to dissolution of minerals
and oxides (Bonte et al., 2013)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23870436

http://www.ngwa.org/Fundamentals/studying/Pages/Groundwater-temperature's-measurement-and-significance.aspx
 Color
• Yellow-brown color in water results primarily from
natural organic matter (humic and fulvic)
• Presence of iron in water intensifies the color
• Suspended particles as clay, iron and manganese
oxides, give water a false appearance of color –
thus should be removed before measurement
• True color – color of water when turbidity is
removed
• Industrial wastewater contamination can also
impact color
• Organic matter is removed for aesthetic and health
reasons (precursors for disinfection by-products)
 Color Unit (CU)
Platinum-cobalt (Pt-Co) method
• The ratio of cobalt to platinum
matches color of natural water
• Color is measured by visual
comparison of the water with
platinum-cobalt standards.
• Color can be also determined
via a spectrophotometer at
wavelength between 450-465
nm, and compare water 0 - 30 - 100-200-300-400-500
absorbance to a standard curve Liquid Color Standards representing
of CU vs. absorbance range of this yellowness scale

• At the Mezquital Valley aquifer, average color of 3.8 Pt/Co

(Lesser, 2013), less permissible limits (between 15-20 Pt/Co)
UV254 Absorbance
• Amount of light that is absorbed by
constituents in the water sample at a specified
wavelength of 254 nm
• Measured using a spectrophotometer
• UV254 is proportional to the concentration of
light absorbing molecules at 254 nm
• When absorbance is zero, then percent
transmittance is 100%
• Units of cm-1
 What impacts absorbance in
water?
• Inorganic compounds: copper and iron
• Organic compounds: humic substances,
organic dyes, aromatic compounds
• Colloidal compounds <0.45 m
 Turbidity

• Definition: A measure of the scattering of light

by particles in a water suspension
• Measured in Nephelometric Turbidity Units
(NTU)
• Suspended particles reduce water clarity and
increase turbidity
• Indicates the quality of wastewater discharges
and natural waters with respect to colloidal
and residual suspended matter
 Turbidity
• Turbidity in some groundwater sources is a
consequence of inert clay particles or the
precipitation of nonsoluble reduced iron and other
oxides when water is pumped from anaerobic
waters

• Turbidity in surface waters may be the result of

particulate matter of many types and is more likely
to include attached microorganisms that are a
threat to health.

WHO 2012
Turbidity / transmittance Measurements
Cell set at 90o to the
90° detector for direction of light
measuring turbidity beam to estimate
lens scattered rather
than absorbed light
lamp
180° detector for
measuring
transmittance

water
sample cell When absorbance is
zero, then percent
transmittance is
Incident light 100%

Colloidal matter will scatter or absorb light and prevent light transmission
 Odor
• Compounds can be organic or inorganic
• Sulfates are naturally occurring minerals in some soil and
rock formations that contain groundwater. The mineral
dissolves over time and is released into groundwater.
• Hydrogen sulfide, produced by anaerobic microorganisms
that reduce sulfate to sulfide, is the major odor causing
compound (rotten-egg odor)
• Methane gas from the decomposition of organic matter
• Soluble iron and manganese coming out of the aquifer.
• Other odorous compounds include amines, ammonia,
mercaptans, organic sulfides, water chlorination, metal
ions, synthetic organic matter etc.
 Odor
• The method is threshold odor test
• Units: threshold odor number (TON)
• Determine the threshold odor by diluting a water
sample with odor-free water
• Human nose is the odor testing device, panel of
at least 5 persons for TON test
• TON is the greatest dilution of sample yielding a
perceptible odor
• Pleasant odor (tolerable for most consumers
assuming no objectionable conditions resulting
from biological or chemical issues)
Electrical Conductivity (EC)
• Ability of water to conduct an electrical current
• Increases when more salt is dissolved in water.
Example: Sodium chloride (salt) dissociates in water to
sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl-) ions, conduct a current.
• Includes dissolved inorganic ions are chloride, nitrate,
sulfate, phosphate anions or sodium, calcium,
magnesium, iron, aluminum cations
• Pure water and organic compound do not well conduct
• Units of micromhos per centimeter (µmhos/cm) or
microsiemens per centimeter (µS/cm)
 Water solvent properties
• Water is a highly polar molecule and will dissolve
easily small polar molecules

NaCl
 Solution Conductivity

Electrical Conductivity (EC) Deionized water

Drinking water
0.055 µS/cm

A few hundreds

Ocean water 53000 µS/cm

• EC is affected primarily by the geology of the area

through which the water flows.
• Clay soils tend to have higher EC because of the
presence of materials that ionize when water
flows
• Granite bedrock tend to have lower EC because it
is composed of inert materials that do not ionize
 Total Dissolved solids (TDS)
• Solids are in two forms, suspended and dissolved.
• Suspended solids are any particles/substances that are neither
dissolved nor settled in the water
• TDS, determined by evaporating a pre-filtered sample to dryness,
and determining the mass of the dry residue per liter of sample
Water can be classified by the amount of TDS :
1. fresh water < 1500 mg/L TDS
2. Drinking water generally - 25 to 500 mg/L TDS.
3. brackish water 1500 to 5000 mg/L TDS
4. saline water > 5000 mg/L TDS
 Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
• Dissolved solids in freshwater samples include soluble salts that
yield ions such as sodium (Na+), calcium (Ca2+), magnesium
(Mg2+), bicarbonate (HCO3–), sulfate (SO42– ), or chloride (Cl– ).
• EC of groundwater is related to the TDS based on the assumption
that TDS in the water consist mainly of ionic constituents that
conduct electricity.
• In groundwater contaminated with hydrocarbon, it is not clear if
the TDS can be correlated to EC
• At the Mezquital Valley aquifer, average TDS of 1100 mg/L
(Lesser, 2013), above permissible limit (between 500-1000 mg/L)
• Due to dissolution of rocks and ground constituents, thermal
waters and dissolved solids from infiltrated wastewater
• High TDS suggest that the origin of this contamination is
infiltration of excessive wastewater