Water Quality Testing

Good water quality is important for living things to survive.The most common standards used to assess water quality relate to the health of ecosystems and safety for human contact and drinking.In this station, we are instructed to observe the water quality at Lower Seletar Reservoir through the water quality test .

1.DEBRIS AND SMELL

Firstly,we were instructed to observe and smell the water, by doing so, we would be able to know the basic information about the water quality.On its own, water does not have any smell.The smell of the collected water could give us a rough indication of pollution sources.There is dirt in the water collected and the water is odorless.These observations made us conclude that the water in the reservoir was clean though there might be some algae present in them.

2.COLOUR

Next, we observe the colour  of the water. Colour can give some clues as to what maybe in the water.The water collected was green or yellow.Algae suspended in eater indicating an algal bloom, usually caused by high nutrients in the water, fertilizers or organic matter. The water is not polluted .

3.TURBIDITY

Turbidity is the level or "murkiness" of the water.It means there are particles, for example soil, sediments, algae or organic matter suspended in the water. We learn that turbidity affects the amount of light that can penetrate through the water which might affect the aquatic plant life. The turbidity of the water collected is 40 JTU but this does not signify that it is polluted, as the water stored in the reservoir has yet to be treated.

4.TEMPERATURE

The temperature of the water vary with the weather and time of sampling. The temperature recorded for water is 30 degree which is within the acceptable range. The temperature of the water collected is warm enough to substain aquatic life. We learn that  temperature of water in the reservoir affects the amount of dissolved oxygen.

5.DISSOLVED OXYGEN

The dissolved oxygen is the amount of oxygen dissolved in a given volume of water, at a given temperature and atmosphere pressure. The water collected is 2ppm and it is enough to substain aquatic life. We learn that the amount of dissolved oxygen is very important for the aquatic life and they will be killed easily when there is not enough dissolved oxygen in the water.

6. PH LEVEL

When the PH level of water is from 0-4  and 10-14 aquatic life might die. The PH level of the water is 8 and it is within the acceptable range.

CONCLUSION

Through this activity, i learnt how to test for the quality of water by testing for its PH level,turbidity,colour and more. The water quality at Lower Seletar Reservoir is moderate but we cannot drink the water from reservoir as it has to be purified.