Chemicals in Water Tests

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Chemicals in Water Tests

• Manitou Spring Water
• And
• Fountain Creek

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Ammonia Nitrogen

• Used in fertilizers. All plants need ammonia as
  a source of nitrogen. Humans add it to crops and
  gardens. In excess, it can cause blood anemia.

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pH - Measurement of Acidity

• pH Scale
• __________________________________
• 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
• 1-6 Acids
• 7 Neutral
• 8-12 Bases

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pH affect on Water Organisms

• Acidic water can kill fish eggs. pH 5.0
• Most fish can tolerate a pH of 5.0 to 9.0 in
  lakes and river water.
• Acidity can leach heavy metals into the water or
  out of pipes.
• Rainwater is slightly acidic. pH 6

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pH Exponential Scale

• The pH scale is exponential. Each number away
  from neutral 7 increases the acidity or
  alkalinity by 10 times.
• For example a pH of 3 (like vinegar) is 10
  times more acidic than a pH of 4,
• 100 times more acidic than a pH of 5,
• 1000 times more acidic than a pH of 6 and
• 10,000 times more acidic than a pH of 7.

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pH alkalinity

• Many western soils are alkaline with a pH of
  around 8 9. When rivers or springs run through
  alkaline soil, they also become alkaline. Bases
  feel slippery and taste bitter, while acids taste
  sour.

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Chlorine (element 17)

• Chlorine is a halogen. (That means it has seven
  valence electrons and will combine very quickly
  with other chemicals.) People add chlorine to
  city water supplies to kill bacteria. Chlorine
  has saved thousands of lives by destroying
  bacteria that cause diseases like cholera. It
  evaporates out of the water supply after a short
  time.

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Chromium (element 24)

• Chromium is a metal and is usually found in
  mineral form. Chromium is needed by the human
  body in trace amounts to help metabolize fats,
  lipids, and carbohydrates. Some people take
  chromium supplements. There have not been any
  health affects found for too much chromium in the
  human body. The EPA has not established upper
  guidelines.

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Copper (Element 29)

• Copper as a mineral is essential to human health.
  Copper helps the body metabolize iron, which is
  part of blood. People get the small doses of
  copper needed from a good diet. Excess copper
  can result in liver, kidney and neurological
  disorders. Too little copper can result in
  abnormal heartbeat, bone and immune system
  disorders.

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Cyanide A dangerous organic molecule (Organic
carbon compounds)

• Cyanide is formed when a triple bond forms
  between carbon and nitrogen.
• C N
• Cyanide is used to process gold and recover gold
  from the ore.
• Cyanide poisoning harms the brain and heart and
  may cause coma or death. If any cyanide was
  found in water supplies, the water cannot be used
  by humans.

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Iron (Element 26)

• Iron is the center of the hemoglobin molecule and
  in making muscles. It is essential to animals.
  Iron is found in meats, fish and poultry.
• Iron deficiency results in fatigue, weakness,
  headaches and anemia in severe cases.
• Iron is only toxic to people who have a genetic
  deficiency. Your body will just excrete extra Fe.

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Nitrate Nitrogen

• Nitrogen (element 7) is one of the most abundant
  elements. 78 of the atmosphere is N.
• Nitrogen cannot be used by plants in the
  atmospheric form N2.
• It can only be used by plants as ammonia or
  nitrate.

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Nitrate Nitrogen

• Humans fertilize plants lawns, trees, crops
  with nitrate nitrogen. Excess run off from
  fertilizer causes excesses in water.
• Excess nitrate nitrogen can also be put into
  water by faulty waste water treatment plants.

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Nitrate Nitrogen

• Too much nitrate nitrogen in the water can have
  serious health hazards for aquatic organisms and
  for humans.
• Fish can develop brown blood disease.
• Algae can over reproduce. When they die, they
  cause oxygen depletion. Algae blooms cause many
  fish kills.
• Nitrates cause anemia in humans. The red blood
  cells cannot carry oxygen.

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Phosphorous (Element 15)

• Phosphorous is needed by plants and animals for
  energy production.
• It is part of the ATP molecule that is used by
  mitochondria to get the energy from food.
• Phosphates are a part of fertilizer that humans
  put on plants, such as lawns, trees, and crops.

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Phosphorous cont.

• Too much phosphorous can cause algae blooms,
  excess growth and reproduction by algae. When
  the algae dies, it uses oxygen to decompose. Too
  little oxygen causes fish kills.
• Detergents have quit using phosphorous.
• Waste water treatment plants try very hard to
  remove phosphorous.

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Silica (Element 14)

• Silica is a natural part of sand. Silicon
  dioxide is melted to form glass.
• Silica is not needed by animals or most plants.
  It does not harm nor help living organisms.
• Interesting fact Native Americans used
  horsetail reeds as scrub brushes, because this
  plant contains much silica.
• Diatoms (used in toothpaste) use silica in
  forming their shells.

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Sulfide usually found in water as Hydrogen
Sulfide

• Hydrogen Sulfide in water does not really pose a
  health threat but does give water a strange
  rotten egg smell and taste.
• Naturally occurring sulfur bacteria use the
  sulfur in plants as a food source when the plant
  dies. During this process, hydrogen sulfide is
  produced.
• Chlorine quickly reacts with H2S. A yellow
  precipitant of sulfur will fall out of the
  solution.

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Dissolved Oxygen

• Dissolved Oxygen is critical in a water supply
  for the fish and macroinvertebrates to be able to
  breath.
• The colder the water, the more dissolved oxygen
  can stay in solution. (Remember the gas
  solubility chart.)

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Dissolved Oxygen Cont.

• Dissolved Oxygen gets into water as a waste
  product of photosynthesis, rapid motion of the
  water, or from being in contact with the air.
• If DO levels drop below 5 ppm, it starts to
  stress aquatic life. At 1-2 ppm, major fish
  kills occur.
• If DO levels reach too high, fish can develop gas
  bubble disease, where oxygen accumulates in
  bubbles beneath the skin.

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Biological Oxygen Demand

• BOD determines how fast little organisms in the
  water use up Dissolved Oxygen.
• Sample is wrapped in foil and left for 5 days.
  Another DO test will determine if oxygen has been
  used by water organisms.

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Nitrate in parts per million ppm

• This is a duplicate test to determine if there
  are any nitrates in the water sample.
• Nitrates are used in fertilizers to help plants
  grow.
• Too much nitrate will cause anemia in humans.

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Phosphates can cause Eutrophication Algae Bloom
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Phosphates

• Phosphates are added to fertilizers to help
  plants grow. Too much phosphate in water
  supplies can result in an algae bloom. When
  algae die, the decomposition depletes oxygen
  supplies.
• Phosphate is used in energy production, ATP, in
  the mitochondria of cells.

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Phosphates continued

• Too much phosphate can cause human digestive
  problems in very large doses.
• Phosphates occur naturally in many western soils.
  Phosphate is mined in Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming.
  

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Total Dissolved Solids

• Includes dissolved salts such as calcium,
  chloride, iron, phosphates, nitrates,
  bicarbonates, and chlorine. Can come from farm,
  municipal (city), and industrial run off.

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Total Solids

• Includes all solid particles such as silt and
  plankton, as well as dissolved solids. TS is
  especially a problem in farming communities where
  soil is eroded from farm lands and ends up in
  rivers. Industrial wastes may also contribute to
  particulate matter.

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Total Solids in River
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Fecal Coliforms Bacteria

• Bacteria
• From
• Feces from
• Animals Humans.

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Fecal Coliform

• Bacteria in our lower digestive systems help us
  digest food.
• Many diseases are passed through fecal bacteria
  including typhoid fever, dysentery, and Hepatitis
  A.
• Cities treat water with Chlorine to kill these
  bacteria.

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Safe Water to Drink?

• Is the Manitou Spring Water safe for people to
  drink as it comes out of the spring untreated?
• Is the water from Fountain Creek safe to drink
  untreated?
• You Decide!!

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