It’s no secret that water is quintessential for everyday life, but not all water is equal. You might already know about mineral, alkaline, purified, or distilled water, but do you know why certain people prefer one over the other?
There are many factors that play a role into this equation, and each type of water has its own benefits and downsides. And while the lack of pollutants is the most crucial factor in drinking water, you can’t just ignore the different types of water and their long-term effects on your body. With all that in mind, let’s see why water quality matters.
How to Determine Water Quality
Scientists and researchers use a variety of factors to determine the quality of water. From temperature to turbidity, dissolved oxygen, hardness, and so forth, these factors play a major role in how beneficial or detrimental is the water.
A single measurement of such factors will determine the water quality for a single batch. However, if we’re talking about the water that flows through your pipes, monitoring the changes that occur over time is far more important.
You’ll also need to take into account what you’re going to use the water for. As an example, water with a pH of 9 is considered alkaline and it’s still relatively safe to drink. However, the high pH can greatly damage pipes and appliances.
Parameters of Water Quality
As stated earlier, there are multiple factors that determine water quality. Let’s take a quick glance at what each means.
- Temperature affects the water’s level of oxygen and the ability of organisms to resist certain pollutants. When water stays at its boiling point for some time, sediment can settle down and pathogens are killed.
- pH determines the amount of hydrogen ions (H+) present water. Knowing the pH level allows you to determine if it’s alkaline, acidic, or neutral. In most cases, going for neutral water is the best choice.
- Dissolved oxygen determines how well fish and other microorganisms can live inside a body of water. The lower the level of dissolved oxygen inside the water, the lower the chances of your pet fish to survive long enough.
- Turbidity makes the water cloudy. It basically is the amount of particulate matter (such as clay, silt, plankton, or microscopic organisms) suspended in water. Having cloudy water doesn’t necessarily mean it’s undrinkable, as it depends on what types of pollutants are present in it.
- Hardness is one of the factors that determine turbidity, but it also has its ups and down of its own. Hard water is completely safe to drink, as no studies have shown any proven side effects caused by the excessive calcium and magnesium. In fact, it’s preferred for drinking compared to softened water that contains traces of sodium. However, it leaves limescale on pipes, fixtures, and appliances. Plus it’s less than ideal to shower in.
- Suspended sediment is the amount of soil circulating in water. The amount depends in part on the speed of the water flow. Fast-flowing water can pick up and hold, or suspend, more soil than calm water.
- Pathogens are present in many bodies of water and are invisible to the naked eye. Some of the most common ones are E. Coli, Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and Legionella, just to name a few. Preventing these pathogens’ nasty disease-causing properties is far better than having to deal with them in the first place.
Final Thoughts on Water Quality
To know that the water you are drinking is top quality, you’re going to need to rely on test kits or on professionally-approved lab tests.
With that said, purchasing filters and other similar equipment is the key to success if you want to improve your water.