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Turbidity
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Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by individual particles (suspended solids) that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality.
Fluids can contain suspended solid matter consisting of particles of many different sizes.
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Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by individual particles (suspended solids) that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality.
Fluids can contain suspended solid matter consisting of particles of many different sizes. While some suspended material will be large enough and heavy enough to settle rapidly to the bottom container if a liquid sample is left to stand (the settleable solids), very small particles will settle only very slowly or not at all if the sample is regularly agitated or the particles are colloidal. These small solid particles cause the liquid to appear turbid.
Causes of turbidity
Turbidity in open water may be caused by growth of phytoplankton. Human activities that disturb land, such as construction, can lead to high sediment levels entering water bodies during rain storms, due to storm water runoff, and create turbid conditions. Urbanized areas contribute large amounts of turbidity to nearby waters, through stormwater pollution from paved surfaces such as roads, bridges and parking lots. Certain industries such as quarrying, mining and coal recovery can generate very high levels of turbidity from colloidal rock particles.
In drinking water, the higher the turbidity level, the higher the risk that people may develop gastrointestinal diseases. This is especially problematic for immune-compromised people, because contaminants like viruses or bacteria can become attached to the suspended solid. The suspended solids interfere with water disinfection with chlorine because the particles act as shields for the virus and bacteria. Similarly, suspended solids can protect bacteria from ultraviolet (UV) sterilization of water.
In water bodies such as lakes and reservoirs, high turbidity levels can reduce the amount of light reaching lower depths, which can inhibit growth of submerged aquatic plants and consequently affect species which are dependent on them, such as fish and shellfish. This phenomenon has been regularly observed throughout the Chesapeake Bay in the eastern United States.
For many mangrove areas, high turbidity is needed to support certain species, such as to protect juvenile fishes from predators. For most mangroves along the eastern coast of Australia, in particular Moreton Bay, turbidity levels as high as 6 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU) are needed for proper ecosystem functioning.
Measurements of turbidity
The most widely used measurement unit for turbidity is the FTU (Formazin Turbidity Unit). ISO refers to its units as FNU (Formazin Nephelometric Units).
There are several practical ways of checking water quality, the most direct being some measure of attenuation (that is, reduction in strength) of light as it passes through a sample column of water. The alternatively used Jackson Candle method (units: Jackson Turbidity Unit or JTU) is essentially the inverse measure of the length of a column of water needed to completely obscure a candle flame viewed through it. The more water needed (the longer the water column), the clearer the water. Of course water alone produces some attenuation, and any substances dissolved in the water that produce color can attenuate some wavelengths. Modern instruments do not use candles, but this approach of attenuation of a light beam through a column of water should be calibrated and reported in JTUs.
A property of the particles — that they will scatter a light beam focused on them — is considered a more meaningful measure of turbidity in water. Turbidity measured this way uses an instrument called a nephelometer with the detector setup to the side of the light beam. More light reaches the detector if there are lots of small particles scattering the source beam than if there are few. The units of turbidity from a calibrated nephelometer are called Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU). To some extent, how much light reflects for a given amount of particulates is dependent upon properties of the particles like their shape, color, and reflectivity. For this reason (and the reason that heavier particles settle quickly and do not contribute to a turbidity reading), a correlation between turbidity and total suspended solids (TSS) is somewhat unique for each location or situation.
Turbidity in lakes, reservoirs, and the ocean can be measured using a Secchi disk. This black and white disk is lowered into the water until it can no longer be seen; the depth (Secchi depth) is then recorded as a measure of the transparency of the water (inversely related to turbidity). The Secchi disk has the advantages of integrating turbidity over depth (where variable turbidity layers are present), being quick and easy to use, and inexpensive. It can provide a rough indication of the depth of the euphotic zone with a 3-fold division of the Secchi depth. However, this cannot be used in shallow waters where the disk can still be
seen on the bottom.
Turbidity in air, which causes solar attenuation, is used as a measure of pollution. To model the attenuation of beam irradiance, several turbidity parameters have been introduced, including the Linke turbidity factor (TL).
Standards and test methods
Drinking water standards
Governments have set standards on the allowable turbidity in drinking water. In the United States, the allowable standard is 0.3 NTU, with many drinking water utilities striving to achieve levels as low as 0.1 NTU.
Ambient water standards
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published water quality criteria for turbidity. These criteria are scientific assessments of the effects of turbidity, which are used by states to develop water quality standards for water bodies. (States may also publish their own criteria.) Some states have promulgated water quality standards for turbidity, including:
- Louisiana. 25, 50 or 150 NTU, or background plus 10 percent, depending on the water body.
- Vermont. 10 NTU or 25 NTU, depending on water body classification.
- Washington. 5 NTU over background (when background is 50 NTU or less), or 10 percent increase when background is over 50 NTU.
Analytical methods
Published analytical test methods for turbidity include:
- ISO 7027 "Water Quality: Determination of Turbidity"
- US EPA Method No. 180.1, "Turbidity"
- "Standard Methods," No. 2130B.
See also
External links
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- United States Geological Survey (USGS)
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