Identifying Turbidity and Effectively Reducing It

Written by AOS Treatment Solutions on June 5, 2018
what is turbidity in water?

 

It is essential to understand what causes turbidity and how to either reduce or eliminate the problem through effective wastewater treatment. Though this term, usually reserved for the water treatment industry, is not widely known to others, it is important to educate community leaders about how to reduce turbidity for the welfare of residents.

The materials suspended in turbid water could include organic matter, contaminants and microscopic organisms that could harm the people using the water.

What Is Turbidity in Water?

Turbidity refers to how clear a liquid is. High turbidity means that the liquid is not very clear; low turbidity means that the liquid is clearer. Turbidity is caused by solid particles being suspended in a liquid. These particles scatter light, which can give the liquid a cloudy or murky appearance. Turbidity is often used to test water quality heuristically. Greater turbidity typically implies lower quality.

What Causes Turbidity?

what causes turbidity?

There are several sources of turbidity in water. The causes of turbidity in water may include erosion, runoff or debris, wastewater that is composed of residual particles or the decay of plant and animal material. Sediment and other bio-organic matter may float to the surface of a body of water due to the activity of bottom-feeding fish and other creatures as well as algae. Erosion of soil could run into the water due to construction projects, mining and even fires and logging jobs.

Why Is Turbidity Important?

Turbidity may increase due to rain, erosion and plant and animal life in the water. However, the importance of turbidity in water treatment increases when the sand, silt, and organic matter remain in the drinking water in a community. Turbidity and water quality have a considerable impact on local communities. Other particles may exist that could contaminate water and increase turbidity along with stirring up sediments in a body of water.

AOS offers municipal surface water treatment that can increase purity and promote healthier water.

What Problems Can Result from Excessive Turbidity?

While turbidity does not necessarily harm the population of a community, it could cause disinfection problems with the wastewater treatment methods. Suspended materials that are not adequately filtered out may become health risks to humans.

Excess turbidity can cause heavy metals to be added to the water supply. These metals may include lead, mercury, and cadmium, which are toxic to humans. Turbidity can harm aquatic life by reducing the food supply, degrading spawning beds and affecting the function of fish gills.

How to Reduce Turbidity in Water Samples

how to reduce turbidity in water samples

Reducing turbidity is possible through sampling the water with tools and then applying wastewater treatment solutions through service to both disinfect and filter the body to rid it of contaminants and other microbes.

In 95 percent of the daily water available to a community, the turbidity should not reach higher than 1 NTU. For the natural sources, it must remain below 5 NTUs. The filtration applied along with disinfection may reduce turbidity significantly for the local population that drinks the water.

By contacting AOS Treatment Solutions to monitor and filter out turbidity, the local community may rest in good hands. Contact AOS to assess turbidity, disinfect your water and filter out additional microbes and organic matter.

 

Posted Under: Surface Water Treatment Solutions