What Can Happen If Turbidity of Water Is Too High?

Water is composed of oxygen and bonded atoms of hydrogen and known to be pure. However, the water supply shares space with other things, including minerals, organic materials, man-made pollutants, and chemicals. This leads to high levels of turbidity in water, making it undrinkable as it can contain deadly viruses, bacteria and other disease-causing agents. This is when the Sigrist Turbidity Meter play an important role.

What is turbidity, and how it is measured?

Turbidity is a reduction of water clarity due to the presence of suspended matter absorbing downwelling light. The water is considered to be turbid when the presence of sedimentation is too high and becomes suspicious. Total suspended solids are particles that are larger than 2 microns found in water. Anything smaller than two microns are called a dissolved solid. These solids include anything drifting and floating in water from sediment, sand, and silt to plankton and algae. In addition to it, organic particles from decomposing materials can also contribute to turbid.

Turbid water will appear musky and cloudy, affecting the physical look of the water. Both dissolved colour material and suspended solids can reduce water quality by creating a muddy appearance. The turbidity level in water is measured using Turbidity Monitor. The measurement is often used for determining the water quality based on clarity and estimated suspended solids in water.

The turbidity of water is measured with the help of Sigrist Aquascat detectors based on the amount of light that is scattered in the water. However, it is not a measure of total particles present in the water. Instead, these detectors measure the water clarity, and turbidity is often used to indicate the changes in the total suspended solids concentration in water without measuring the exact solids.

Turbidity is determined by the amount of light scattered in the particles present in the water. The measurement can be used to estimate the total dissolved solids concentration.

A turbidity meter is the best method to find the clarity of the water. Through the detector, the sensor shines light into the water and measures how quickly that light is scattered by particles in the water. Then, the results are reported in units. The higher the unit, the higher turbidity of water is. You could treat the water and purify to the point where it becomes drinkable.

Impacts of high turbidity in water

The microbes and particles present in the water not only affect aquatic organisms but drinking water as well. Organic suspended solids often contain decomposing matter or sewage effluent that has high levels of dangerous microorganisms, including bacteria, virus, and protozoa. These microorganisms contribute to waterborne diseases like cholera, cryptosporidiosis, and giardiasis.

The author is a technician who works in Prodetec, a 100% Australian owned and operated organisation. He offers quality Sigrist Turbidity Meter for every industry and application. Visit https://prodetec.com.au/ for more details.