DEVELOP A HYPOTHESIS ON WHICH WATER SOURCE YOU BELIEVE WILL CONTAIN THE MOST AND LEAST CHEMICAL COMPONENTS.

DEVELOP A HYPOTHESIS ON WHICH WATER SOURCE YOU BELIEVE WILL CONTAIN THE MOST AND LEAST CHEMICAL COMPONENTS.

DEVELOP A HYPOTHESIS ON WHICH WATER SOURCE YOU BELIEVE WILL CONTAIN THE MOST AND LEAST CHEMICAL COMPONENTS.
Lab 2Water Quality and Contamination
WaterQuality andContaminationConcepts to Explore• Usable water• Ground water• Surface water• Ground water contaminates• Water treatment• Drinking water qualityFigure 1: At any given moment, 97% of the planet’s water is in the oceans. Only a small fractionof the remaining freshwater is usable by humans, underscoring the importance of treating ourwater supplies with care.IntroductionIt is no secret that water is one of the most valuable resources on planet Earth. Every plant and animal requireswater to survive, not only for drinking, but also for food production, shelter creation and many other necessities.Water has also played a major role in transforming the earth’s surface into the varied topography wesee today.While more than 70% of our planet is covered in water, only a small percent of this water is usable freshwater.The other 99% of the water is composed primarily of salt water, with a small percentage being composed of23WaterQuality andContaminationglaciers. Due to the high costs involved in transforming salt water into freshwater, the Earth’s population survivesoff the less than 1% of freshwater available. Humans obtain freshwater from either surface water orgroundwater.Surface water is the water that collects on the ground as a result of precipitation. The water that does notevaporate back into the atmosphere or infiltrate into the ground is typically collected in rivers, lakes, reservoirs,and other bodies of water and is easily accessible.PrecipitationPrecipitation PrecipitationCloud formationTranspirationEvaporationEvaporationGroundwaterFigure 2: Water is a renewable source, purified anddelivered across the planet by the hydrological cycle.Groundwater, on the other hand, is precisely as the name suggests; water located underneath the ground.This water is stored in pores, fractures and other spaces within the soil and rock underneath the ground’s surface.Precipitation, along with snowmelt, infiltrates through the ground and accumulates in available undergroundspaces.Aquifers are areas in which water collects in sand, gravel, or permeable rock from which it can be extractedfor usable freshwater. The depth of aquifers vary from less than 50 feet to well over 1,500 feet below the surfaceof the ground. The water within an aquifer typically does not flow through as it would through a river orstream, but instead soaks into the underground material, similar to a sponge. As aquifers are depleted by humanuse, they are also recharged from precipitation seeping into the ground and restoring the water level.However, many times the recharge of the aquifers does not equal the amount of water that has been extracted.If that cycle continues, the aquifer will eventually dry up and will no longer be a viable source of groundwater.24WaterQuality andContaminationWater is the only substancethat is found naturally inthree forms: solid, liquid,and gasIf the entire world’s supplyof water could fit into a onegallonjug, the fresh wateravailable to use would equalless than one tablespoonApproximately 66% of thehuman body consists of water– it exists within everyorgan and is essential for itsfunctionWhile the water that precipitates down in the form of rain is relatively pure, it does not take long for water topick up contaminants. There are natural, animal, and human-made sources of water pollutants. They cantravel freely from one location to another via streams, rivers, and even groundwater. Pollutants can also travelfrom land or air into the water. Groundwater contamination most often occurs when human-made productssuch as motor oil, gasoline, acidic chemicals and other substances leak into aquifers and other groundwaterstorage areas. The most common source of contaminants come from leaking storage tanks, poorly maintainedlandfills, and septic tanks, hazardous waste sites and the common use of chemicals such as pesticidesand road salts.The dangers of consuming contaminated water arehigh. Many deadly diseases, poisons and toxins canreside in the contaminated water supplies and severelyaffect the health of those who drink the water. It is alsobelieved that an increased risk of cancer may resultfrom ingesting contaminated groundwater.With the many contaminants that can infiltrate our watersupply, it is crucial that there be a thorough watertreatment plan in place to purify the water and make itdrinkable. While each municipality has its own watertreatment facility, the process is much the same at eachlocation.Figure 3: Sedimentation tanks, such as those shownabove, are used to settle the sludge and remove oilsand fats in sewage. This step can remove a good portionof the biological oxygen demand from the sewage,a key step before progressing with the treatmentsand eventually releasing into the ground orbody of water.25WaterQuality andContaminationThe process begins with aeration in which air is added to thewater to let trapped gases escape while increasing theamount of oxygen within the water. The next step is calledcoagulation or flocculation, in which chemicals, such as filteralum, are added to the incoming water and then stirred vigorouslyin a powerful mixer. The alum causes compounds suchas carbonates and hydroxides to form tiny, sticky clumpscalled floc that attract dirt and other small particles. When thesticky clumps combine with the dirt they become heavy andsink to the bottom. In the next step, known as sedimentation,the heavy particles that sank to the bottom during coagulationare separated out and the remaining water is sent on tofiltration. During filtration, the water passes through filtersmade of layers of sand, charcoal, gravel and pebbles thathelp filter out the smaller particles that have passed throughuntil this point. The last step is called disinfection in whichchlorine and/or other disinfectants are added to kill any bacFigure4: Fresh water is essentialto humans and other landbasedlife. Contaminated watermust be treated before it can be

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