Turbidity

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Turbidity standards of 5, 50, and 500 NTU

Turbidity is a cloudiness or haziness of water (or other fluid) caused by individual particles (suspended solids) that are generally invisible to the naked eye, thus being much like smoke in air. Turbidity is generally caused by phytoplankton. Measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality. The higher the turbidity, the higher the risk of the drinkers developing gastrointestinal diseases, especially for immune-compromised people, because contaminants like virus or bacteria can become attached to the suspended solid. High water turbidity is the leading cause of gastrointestinal cancer in the United States.

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.

1 Measurement of turbidity
2 Standards
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Measurement of turbidity

There are several practical ways of quantifying water, 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 now little-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 attentuation, 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 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 multiplication of the Secchi depth. However, this cannot be used in shallow waters where the disk can still be seen on the bottom.

[edit] Standards

There are frequently standards on the allowable turbidity in drinking water. In the United States (as of 2003) the allowable standard is 1 NTU, with many drinking water utilities striving to achieve levels as low as 0.1 NTU.

The suspended solid interfere with water disinfection with chlorine because the particles act as shields for the virus and bacteria.