Advance Diploma in Env. Engg.

Course: EZ
Paper 23156, Pollution control and waste Management
Expected question:
1. Explain the Various Environmental indicator of water. ( Mark 5 )
Or
2. Explain physical, chemical and biological parameter of Water( Mark 5 )
(Compiled by Bharat Dighe)

Environmental indicators of Water

Chemical assessment

 Dissolved oxygen (DO)

 Nitrate-N

 Orthophosphates

 Chemical oxygen demand (COD)

 Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)

 Pesticides

 Metals

Physical assessment

 pH

 Temperature

 Total suspended solids (TSS)

 Turbidity

 Total dissolved solids (TDS)

Biological assessment

 Biological, monitoring metrics have been developed in many places, and one widely used
measure is the presence and abundance of members of the insect orders ephemeroptera
,plecopetra & tricopetra .(common names are respectively, Mayfly, Stonefly and Caddisfly.)

 EPT indexes will naturally vary from region to region

Suspended Solids

 Inorganic or organic particles or of immiscible liquids (oils or greases).inorganic solids such as

clay, silt and other, soil

 Organic materials such as plant fibers and biological solids (bacteria, algae cells etc.)
 Flowing over surfaces, Domestic waste water usually contains large quantities of suspended
solids that are mostly organic in nature

 Wide varieties of suspended impurities of either organic or inorganic nature may result from
industrial use of water.

 form of harmful by-products

 Provides adsorption sites for harmful chemical or biological organisms

 provides adsorption sites for harmful chemical or biological organisms

Turbidity

 Measure of the extent to which light is either absorbed or scattered by suspended material
in water.

 is not a direct quantitative measurement of suspended solids

 Most turbidity in surface water results from the erosion of colloidal material such as clay,
silt, rock fragments and metal oxides from the soil.

 Vegetable fibres and micro-organisms also contribute to turbidity.

 Household and industrial waste water may contain a wide variety of turbidity producing
materials.

 Soaps, detergent and emulsifying agents produce stable colloids that result in] turbidity.

 bodies depending upon the light absorbing properties of the solids

 Accumulation of turbidity causing particles in porous stream beds results in sediment

deposits that can adversely affect the flora and fauna of the stream.

 may be harmful or cause undesirable tastes and odours and for biological organisms that
may be harmful

 may impart a brown or other colour to water in natural water bodies depending upon the
light absorbing properties of the solids

 Accumulation of turbidity causing particles in porous stream beds results in sediment

deposits that can adversely affect the flora and fauna of the stream.

Colour

 water in nature is often coloured by foreign substances

 Colour contributed by dissolved solids that remain after removal of suspended matter is
known as true colour.

 Iron oxide cause reddish water and manganese oxides cause brown or blackish water.

 The tanning, humic acid etc. present in the organic debris (leaves, wood, weeds etc.) impart
a yellowish brown colour to water

 Industrial wastes from textile and dyeing operations, food processing, pulp and paper
production, chemical production, and mining, refining and slaughter house operations may
add substantial colouration to water in receiving streams.
 Coloured water is not aesthetically acceptable to the general public. Highly coloured water is
unsuitable for laundering, dyeing

Taste and Odour

 water in nature is often coloured by foreign substances

 Water tastes bitter when contaminated with alkaline impurities and salty when the
impurities are metallic salts.

 Biological decomposition of organic debris impart a characteristic taste and odour of rotten
eggs which is mainly due to hydrogen sulphide.

 Growth of algae, micro-organisms, hydrogen sulphide and ammonia give an obnoxious

odour to water making it unfit for use.

 Consumers find taste and odour aesthetically displeasing for obvious reasons

Temperature

 It is one of the most important parameters in natural surface water systems

 The temperature of surface waters governs to a large extent the biological species present
and then- rate of activity.

 Temperature has an effect on most chemical ructions that occur in natural water systems.

 Temperature also has a great effect on the solubilities of gases in water.

 The use of water for dissipation of waste heats in industry and the subsequent discharge of
the heated water may result in dramatic temporary change in receiving streams.

 Cooler waters usually have a wide diversity of biological species

 At lower temperatures, the rate of biological activity i.e. utilisation of food supplies growth
reproduction etc. is slower. Biological activity increases with increase in temperature
(double with an increase of 10 °C).

 Some aquatic organisms die due to increased temperature (e.g. cold water fishes like
trouts).

 Fishes are affected dramatically by temperature and by dissolved oxygen levels, which are a
function of temperature

 The oxygen saturation percentage decreases and. therefore, the dissolved oxygen level (DO
level) is reduced.

 Low DO level coupled with high temperatures result in increasing the metabolic activity of
micro-organisms thereby resulting in the reduction in the availability of oxygen leading to
anaerobic conditions.

Chemical characteristics

 Alkalinity

 pH
  Total hardness

 Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)

 Total Organic Carbon (TOC)

 Nitrogen , Phosphorus, Chlorides

 Sulfates ,Heavy Metals

 Trace Elements , Priority Pollutants

 pH: Alkalinity/Acidity Alkalinity

 The measurement of the H+ ions found in that particular substance

 The scale goes from 0 to 14

 7 is neutral

 Below 7 is acidic

 Above 7 is alkaline (or basic)

 One pH unit represents a ten-fold change in H+ concentration

 Permissible pH value for public supplies may range between 6.6 to 8.4.

 The lower value of pH may cause incrustation, sediment deposits, difficulty in

chlorination

Dissolved oxygen

 is the level of free, non-compound oxygen present in water or other liquids.

 It is an essential parameter in assessing water quality because of its influence on the

organisms living within a body of water.

 Oxygen gas is generally absorbed by water from the atmosphere but it being consumed by
unstable organic matter for their oxidation.

 Hence, if the oxygen present in water is found o be less than its saturation level, it indicates
presence of organic matter and consequently making the waters suspicious Oxygen is highly
soluble and get dissolved in water in the form of dissolved oxygen (DO).

 DO is a source of oxygen for aquatic aerobic organism like fishes, aerobic bacteria etc.
therefore, DO is an important characteristics of natural water system that determines its
quality.

 If DO is absent in water, aquatic organism cannot survive. Total absent of Dissolved oxygen
in water creates anaerobic condition which facilitates anaerobic decomposition of organic
compounds.

 Dissolved oxygen in water is affected by many factors like temperature, organic matter
content etc.
  Temperature affects DO by two ways- first, solubility of oxygen in water decreases with
increase in temperature of water. Second, high temperature promotes growth and activity
of aquatic microorganisms so that they consume oxygen faster.

 If organic content is high, microorganisms utilizes DO for its oxidation causing depletion of
dissolved oxygen level

Hardness of Water

 Hard waters are undesirable because they may lead to

 greater soap consumption,

 scaling of boilers,

 causing corrosion

 and incrustation of pipes,

 making food tasteless etc

 Temporary Hardness

Permanent Hardness:

 Temporary Hardness

 If bicarbonates and carbonates of calcium and magnesium are present in water, the water is
render hard temporarily as this hardness can be removed to some extent by simple boiling
or to full extent by adding lime to water.

 Such a hardness is known as temporary hardness or carbonate hardness

Permanent Hardness:

 If sulphates, chlorides and nitrates of calcium or magnesium are present in water, they can
not be removed at al by simple boiling and therefore, such water require special treatment
for softening. Such a hardness is known as permanent hardness or non-carbonate hardness.

Permanent Hardness:

 It is caused by sulphates, chlorides, nitrates of Ca and Mg. Carbonate hardness = Total

hardness or Alkalinity (which ever is less) Non-carbonate hardness = Total hardness –
Alkalinity

 Carbonate hardness is equal to the total hardness or alkalinity which ever is less

 Non-carbonate hardness is the total hardness in excess of the alkalinity.

 If the alkalinity is equal to or greater than the total hardness, there is no non-carbonate
hardness.

 Water with hardness upto 75 ppm are considered soft and above 200 ppm are considered
hard and in between is considered as moderately hard.

 Underground waters are generally harder than surface waters.

  The prescribed hardness limit for public supplies range between 75 to 115 ppm

Chloride Content :

 The chloride content of treated water to be supplied to the public should not exceed a value
of about 250 ppm.

 The chloride content of water can be measured by titrating the water with standard silver
nitrate solution using potassium chromate as indicator.

 Normally all types of water contains chloride ion but its concentration is very low in natural
water system.

 Chloride ion concentration increases in case of urine and sewage contaminated water.

 High concentration of chloride ion give salty taste and also corrodes pipelines of water.

 Normally 150mg/ltr of chloride ion is harmless.

 Maximum permissible limit of chloride ion in drinking water is 200mg/ ltr.

Nitrogen Content:

 The presence of nitrogen in water may occur in one or more of the following reasons:

 Free ammonia: It indicates very first stage of decomposition of organic matter. It should not
exceed 0.15mg/l

 Albuminous or Organic Matter: It indicates the quantity of nitrogen present in water before
the decomposition of organic molten has started. It should not exceed 0.3mg/l

 Nitrites: Not fully oxidized organic matter in water.

 Nitrates: It indicates fully oxidized organic matter in water (representing old pollution).

Ammonia :

 In water ammonia come from decomposition of organic matter like protein, amino acids etc.
Its concentration also increases during water disinfection process using chloramine.

 In water Ammonia (NH3) is first oxidized into nitrite and then into nitrate. Therefore by
measuring the concentration of NH3, nitrite and nitrate, we can predict the time of
contamination of organic matter in water.

 In recently contamination, concentration of NH3 is very high than nitrite and nitrate.

 Concentration of NH3 in ground water system is usually 3mg/ltr. If its concentration is

greater than 50mg/ltr, it gives characteristic taste and odor.

Nitrogen Content:

 Nitrites is highly dangerous and therefore the permissible amount of nitrites in water should
be nil.

 Ammonia nitrogen + organic nitrogen = kjeldahl nitrogen

  Nitrates in water is not harmful. However the presence of too much of nitrates in water may
adversely affect the health of infants causing a disease called methemoglobinemia
commonly called blue baby disease.

 The nitrate concentration in domestic water supplies is limited to 45 mg/l.

Metal and other chemical substances in water

 Iron – 0.3ppm, excess of these cause discolouration of clothes. Manganese – 0.05ppm

Copper – 1.3ppm Sulphate – 250 ppm Fluoride – 1.5 ppm, excess of this effects human lungs
and other respiratory organs.

 Fluoride concentration of less than 0.8 – 1.0 ppm cause dental cavity (tooth decay). If
fluoride concentration is greater than 1.5ppm, causing spotting and discolouration of teeth
(a disease called fluorosis).

Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD):

 The extent of organic matter present in water sample can be estimated by supplying oxygen
to this sample and finding the oxygen consumed by the organic matter present in water.

 This oxygen demand is known as Biological oxygen demand (BOD).

 It is not practically possible to determine ultimate oxygen demand.

 BOD of water during the first five days at 20 degree is generally taken as the standard
demand

 The BOD of safe drinking water must be nil

 BOD 5 days=Loss of oxygen in mg/l x dilution factor.

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD):

 COD is amount of oxygen needed for oxidation of organic matter present in water by strong
chemical oxidizing agents such as K2Cr2O7.

 COD measurement is particularly valuable to determine amount of organic matter in water

which contains toxic or antimicrobial chemicals.

 K2Cr2O7 is strong oxidizing agents and it oxidizes both biodegradable and non-
biodegradable organic matters. Therefore the value of COD is always greater than BOD for
particular water sample.

 COD gives amount of total organic (biodegradable + non-biodegradable) matter present in

water.

Phosphate

 In water phosphate is present in the form of H2PO4-, polyphosphate and as organic

phosphate.

 Phosphate in water sources comes from agricultural wastes, sewage and from industrial
effluent.

 Phosphate is not toxic to human being but it is important chemical in natural water system
like pond because its high concentration facilitates eutrophication.
 Biological Characteristics- Bacteria

 Minute single cell organisms possessing no defined nucleus

 Having no green material to help them manufacture their own food

 Reproduced by binary fusion

 May of various shapes and sizes are 1 to 4 microns, examined by microscope

 Five types of parasitic organisms (i.e. bacteria, protozoa, viruses, worms and fungi) are
generally known to be infective to main and are found in water

 a) Non-disease causing bacteria – Non pathogenic bacteria

 Entamoeba coli is a non- pathogenic species of Entamoeba found in the human

gastrointestinal tract.

 b) Disease causing bacteria – Pathogenic bacteria.

 Clostridium tetani (Tetanus) Yersinia pestis(Plague), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (Gonorrhea),

Treponema pallidum(Syphilis)

 Bacteria are microscopic, single-celled organisms that exist in their millions, in every
environment

Biological Characteristics: Protozoa

 Single cell animals

 Are the lowest

 Simplest form of animal life.

 Bacteria eaters

 Destroy Pathogens.

 Counted by microscope.

 Many different shapes and sizes

 They live in a wide variety of moist habitats including fresh water, marine environments and
the soil.

 Amoeba, Paramecium, Euglena ,Trypanosoma

Biological Characteristics: Viruses

 Small collection of genetic code

 either DNA or RNA, surrounded by a protein coat

 cannot replicate alone

 infect cells and use components of the host cell to make copies of themselves

 kill the host cell in the process, and cause damage to the host organism
  filamentous, isometric (or icosahedral), enveloped, and head and tail.

 Varicella zoster virus causes shingles and chickenpox.

 West Nile virus causes West Nile fever.

 Polio is a viral disease which may affect the spinal cord

 Viruses are microscopic parasites, generally much smaller than bacteria.

Biological Characteristics : Worms

 These are the larva of flies

 Invertebrate animals commonly called "worms" include annelids

 typically have soft, slender, elongated bodies

 The major groups of worms include various species of flatworm, annelid, ribbon worm

 They vary in size from less than 1 mm

 Worms are universal in distribution, occurring in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats

 types of worms are parasitic, others are free-living

Worms are many different distantly related bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical
tube-like body

Biological Characteristics : Fungi

 These are those plants which grow without sunlight and live on other plants or animals,
dead or alive.

 any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms

 yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms

 They may be unicellular or filamentous.

 They reproduce by means of spores.

 Fungi exhibit the phenomenon of alternation of generation.

 Fungi lack chlorophyll and hence cannot perform photosynthesis.

 Fungi can be single celled or very complex multicellular organisms.