Water Quality and Contamination - Lab Report Example

Lab report on Water Quality and Contamination SCI 207: Dependence of man on the environment Lab report on Water Quality and Contamination Introduction Water is the most valuable and certainly the most important resource that we have in the universe. For survival, people, animals, and plants need water not only for drinking, but also for food production, and shelter creation, among others. Water also plays a big role in transforming the surface of the earth with the various topographic characteristics covering the earth surface today. It is important to note that although water comprises at least 70% of the earth, only about 1% percent of this water is fresh water, and the rest 99% of the water is non-usable salty water (De Villiers, 2001). The process of purifying salty water to make it usable is extremely complicated and expensive and as such, people, many animals, and plants have to survive on the 1% (Viala, 2008). There are three sources of fresh water used by people and animals, ground water, surface water, and aquifers. Surface water includes water that collects on the ground through the process of precipitation and which does not evaporate back to the atmosphere or even infiltrates to the ground. This water collects in such places such as rivers, lakes, among others (Ocampo-Duque, et al., 2006). Ground water on the other hand settles underneath the ground, and is stored in pores, fractures, or solid rock underneath the earth surface. This water collects in these places through the infiltration process. Aquifers on the other hand are areas where water collects such as in sand, gravel, or permeable rock. All water found in the universe is rainwater. As such, although rainwater is pure, various processes contaminate it very fast, especially after it touches the ground through man made, natural and animal pollutants. Ground pollutants travel from one place to another through streams, rivers, or ground water while others are available in the air. Man-made pollutants include motor oil, petrol and diesel, acidic chemicals, among others. There are many dangers of consuming contaminated water, especially the potential of these impurities in causing diseases. Poisons, disease causing agents and toxins can reside in water, and adversely affect people (De Villiers, 2001). The objective of the three experiments was to find out the effects of ground water contamination, the process of water treatment and testing the quality of drinking water. Research indicates that toxins and lead acid chemicals are responsible for majority of cancers affecting many people today. It is because of these impurities and dangers associated with contaminated water that water purification becomes necessary. As noted, most of the water found on the earth surface comes from rain. However, the various processes affect its purity, necessitating its purification before usage by people. By examining the sources of impurities in water, it will be possible to reduce entry of these impurities in water. On the other hand, understanding the process of water purification will be important in understanding the costs involved in water purification, subsequently increasing our care for water. There were separate hypotheses for the three experiments. The ground water contamination experiment, I hypothesized that oil will not mix with contaminate ground water. When vinegar is mixed with ground water, it will lose its smell when mixed with contaminate ground water. I also hypothesized that laundry detergent will become foamy when mixed with contaminate ground water. In the water treatment experiment, I hypothesized that the filtration process will leave many contaminations. Finally, the quality of drinking water experiment, I hypothesized that tap water will contain the least amount of components, while Fiji water will contain the highest number of chemical components. Materials and Methods The experiments took place in the laboratory. Three separate tests using different materials and procedures were conducted for each of the experiments. In experiment 1, we added different components in 3 beakers containing water. We added vegetable oil in beaker 2, vinegar in beaker 3 and liquid laundry detergent in beaker 4. We also added 60ml of soil into the four beakers using cheesecloth and a similar amount in beaker 5 containing water only. In experiment 2, we made a soil solution by pouring 100ml of soil into a beaker and adding water. We then poured the contaminated water into a clean beaker, stirred the mixture and let it sit for at least 15 minutes. We added 40ml of sand, 20ml of charcoal and 40ml of gravel into another beaker and added tap water into the mixture until it was full. We then discarded the rinse water from the beaker and repeated the process four times. Without mixing up the sediments after the fourth repetition into the contaminated water, we added three quarters of contaminated water into the funnel, and allowed it sit for 5 minutes. We compared the smell of the filtered water with the 10ml we had earlier prepared. Further, we then treated the contaminated water by adding a few drops of bleach into the filtered water in the beaker and stirred for at least 1 minute. Our final step was comparing the treated water with the 10ml sample created earlier in the experiment. In experiment 3, we conducted 5 different experiments; the Ammonia Test Strip, Chloride Test Strip, 4 in 1 Test Strip, Phosphate Test Strip and Iron Test Strip. We added 100ml of tap water, Dasani and Fiji and labeled the three beakers according to their contents. In the ammonia strip test, we placed the ammonia test strips into the tap water sample and moved the strip vigorously for 30 seconds up and down in the water. We later removed the strip from the water, shook all the excess water from the strip, and held the padded side of the strip up for 30 seconds. We compared the color of the strip with the color chart at the end of the lab. We repeated the experiment for both Dasani and Fiji bottled water. In the chloride test experiment, we began with the beaker containing tap water. By immersing all the reaction zones of the test strip into tap water for a second, we then shook off the excess water from the strip and after a minute, determined the color of the strip by comparing it with the color chat in the lab. We then repeated the experiment with Dasani and Fiji bottled water. The 4 in 1 test strip experiment involved dipping the test strip in the tap water for 5 seconds and gently moving it forth and back. We then removed the excess water from the strip and waited for 20 seconds, then compared the color of the strip with the color chat in the laboratory. Later we repeated the procedure for both Dasani and Fiji water. In the phosphate strip experiment, we dropped the strip in beaker containing tap water and waited for 5 seconds, removed the strip and held in a manner that the side with the pad faced up for 45 seconds, but did not shake off the excess water from the strip. We compared the results with the chat color in the lab and repeated the experiment with Dasani and Fiji water. In the iron test strip, we added powder contents from a foil packet into a beaker containing 30ml of tap water. We covered the beaker with a piece of Parafilm and vigorously shook the beaker for 15 seconds. We then dipped the iron test strip into the beaker with tap water and rapidly moved it back and forth for 5 seconds. We then removed the strip, shook off the excess water and after 10 seconds, compered the color with the color chat in the laboratory. We repeated the procedure using the Dasani and Fiji bottled water. Results Tables Experiment 3: Drinking Water Quality Table 2: Ammonia Test Results Water Sample Test Results Tap Water 0 Dasani® Bottled Water 0 Fiji® Bottled Water 0 Table 3: Chloride Test Results Water Sample Test Results Tap Water 0 Dasani® Bottled Water 0 Fiji® Bottled Water 0 Table 4: 4 in 1 Test Results Water Sample pH Total Alkalinity Total Chlorine Total Hardness Tap Water 7 120 0 120 Dasani® Bottled Water 4 40 0 50 Fiji® Bottled Water 8 80 0 50 Table 5: Phosphate Test Results Water Sample Test Results Tap Water 0 Dasani® Bottled Water 10 Fiji® Bottled Water 100 Table 6: Iron Test Results Water Sample Test Results Tap Water 0 Dasani® Bottled Water 0 Fiji® Bottled Water 0 Results 0ml/l of ammonia were found in all the three samples of water. Similarly, 0ml/l of ammonia were found in all the three samples of water. Tap water was found to have a pH of 7, 0 chlorine, 120-alkalinity level, and 120 level of total hardness. Dasani bottled water had a pH level of 4, alkalinity level of 40, 0 chlorine and total hardness of 50. Fiji bottled water contained pH level of 8, total alkalinity level of 80, 0 chlorine and total harness of 50. Tap water contained 0ml of phosphate, while Dasani contained 10ml/l of the chemical and Fiji contained 100ml/l of phosphate. All the three samples of water contained 0ml/l of iron. Discussion From the first experiment, we accepted the hypothesis that oil would not mix with grounded water as it settled on top of water before and after the soil. We rejected the hypothesis that vinegar would be absent from the sample as its smell was present before and after the soil addition. We accepted the hypothesis that laundry detergent would become foamy when mixed with contaminate water. However, as we established, although there were some bubbles present when mixed with water, only a few bubbles were present when the sample was mixed with soil. In the second experiment, we rejected the hypothesis that the filtration technique would leave many contaminations behind. This is because the treated water had a yellowy color and a small smell. However, there were neither no floaters whatsoever, nor any sign of the water ever containing soil. In the final experiment, we accepted the hypothesis that tap water would contain no chemicals at all, while Fiji water contained the highest amount of chemicals. From the experiments, tap water undergoes a treatment process, owing to the lack of contaminations such as soil and laundry detergents. The experiments proved that water treatment is important, as rainwater is contaminated along the way. For instance, on touching ground before collecting to reservoirs, rivers and lakes, rainwater gets into contact with impurities such as soil and charcoal. What people however use from in their homesteads does not contain the smell of soil, charcoal or any other form of contaminations. It is thus true to argue that the amount of money spent in treating tap water is justifiable (Lalumandier & Ayers, 2000). The experiment also justifies the water bills people pay, as the water purification process is not only a complicated process, but also expensive. As Snyder, et al (2005) points out, the chemicals present in bottled water and absent in tap water indicates that the bottling companies add chemicals in water. The varying amounts of these chemicals are responsible for the different tastes present in bottled water. Perhaps, the different purification processes used by these companies while treating water are responsible for the different chemical components. However, people should take caution while buying bottled water. While we deem it as safer than tap water, the results of the experiment prove otherwise. Tap water contains no chemicals at all, while there are chemical elements in bottled water (Lalumandier & Ayers, 2000). Although we took extreme care in following the steps and procedures of the experiment, a number of factors could have altered our results. The prevailing room temperatures could have affected the color results of the test strips. If perhaps the experiment was performed at a different time of the day, we could have yielded different results. Further, the contaminations could have possessed additional contaminations as the soil used and detergents were not tested for the presence of any foreign components. In future, we would ensure that we choose a time of the day with minimal temperature variations. Additionally, we would test the soil and other contaminations used in the experiment before sing them in the experiment. Conclusions The experiments involved testing the effects of ground water contamination, the process of water treatment and testing the quality of drinking water. The experiments proved that tap water did not contain any contaminations as it undergoes purification before pumped into the homesteads. Additionally, it does not contain any chemicals at all, while compared to bottled water. People should be aware that bottled water contains chemicals and as such, they ingest these into their bodies, which could lead to adverse health conditions. Taking care of the environment is important, as it would reduce the number of impurities in ground water. References De Villiers, M. (2001). Water: The fate of our most precious resource. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Lalumandier, J. A., & Ayers, L. W. (2000). Fluoride and bacterial content of bottled water vs tap water. Archives of family medicine, 9(3), 246. Ocampo-Duque, W., Ferré-Huguet, N., Domingo, J. L., & Schuhmacher, M. (2006). Assessing water quality in rivers with fuzzy inference systems: A case study. Environment International, 32(6), 733-742. Snyder, S. A., Vanderford, B. J., & Rexing, D. J. (2005). Trace analysis of bromate, chlorate, iodate, and perchlorate in natural and bottled waters.Environmental science & technology, 39(12), 4586-4593. Viala, E. (2008). Water for food, water for life a comprehensive assessment of water management in agriculture. Irrigation and Drainage Systems, 22(1), 127-129. Read More