27-01-2022

ES200 ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES:

Science & Engineering
Module-B
Ecosystem & Biodiversity
Water Quality & Health
Water & Wastewater Treatment

Lecture-4 Amritanshu Shriwastav

ESED, IIT Bombay
amritan@[Link]

2 Learning Objectives
Parameters for Water Quality Characteristics,
and Water Quality Standards

 Key parameters for water quality characteristics

Physical/Chemical/Biological

 Concepts of BOD, COD, DO sag curve, pathogens,

MPN etc.

 Standards for water quality by different agencies

1
 27-01-2022

3 Water Quality Parameters

 There are too many things in the water.

 Quantifying each and every one of them is not

practical or economical.

 Many of these are clubbed together and

determined based on their common properties or
effects.

 Some critical parameters are still determined

individually.

4 Water Quality Parameters

Physical Parameters Chemical Parameters
 Color  pH
 Odor  Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
 Turbidity  Hardness
 Conductivity  Alkalinity
 Taste  Acidity
 Temperature  Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
 Chemical oxygen Demand (COD)
Biological Parameters  Biodegradability
 Most Probable Number  Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
 Plate Counts  Total Suspended Solids (TSS)
 Toxicity  Specific Cations and Anions
(Ammonia, sulfide, heavy metals)
 POPs
 Recalcitrant Organic Compounds
 Emerging Contaminants

2
 27-01-2022

5 Water Quality Parameters

pH
 Measure of the H+ ions concentration
 pH = -log10[H+]

[Link]

6 Water Quality Parameters

Turbidity
 Scattering of light by particulate or colloidal matter in water,
gives water a turbid appearance
 Unit of measurement: NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity Unit)
 Visible turbidity > 5 NTU

[Link]
[Link]/watershedss/inf
o/images/TurbidityJars
.jpg
[Link]
environmental-
measurements/wp-
content/uploads/2014/09/t
urbidity_nephelometer.jpg

3
 27-01-2022

7 Water Quality Parameters

Solids

Metcalf & Eddy (2003)

8 Water Quality Parameters

Solids

Metcalf & Eddy (2003)

4
 27-01-2022

9 Water Quality Parameters

Determining Particle Size Distribution of Solids

Metcalf & Eddy (2003)

10 Water Quality Parameters

Conductivity
µmhos (microsiemens) Conductivity

 Conductivity of a water sample

is a measure of the electricity
carrying capacity of the
sample.
 In a water sample, it is the
inorganic ions, e.g., chloride,
nitrates, sulfates, sodium,
potassium, calcium, etc., that
carry electricity.
 Conductivity of a water sample
gives us a measure of the
concentration of these
dissolved ions in that samples.
 Water with high conductivity
[Link]
generally has high dissolved
solids concentrations.

5
 27-01-2022

11 Water Quality Parameters

Alkalinity
 Measure of the acid neutralizing capacity of water

 Natural waters have alkalinity primarily due to the salts of

weak acids and strong bases.

 Hydroxide, carbonate, and bicarbonate result in the alkalinity

of the most waters.

 Typically expressed as “mg/L as CaCO3”

Example
Calculate the alkalinity of a water sample (in mg/L as
CaCO3) having 0.35 g/L of HCO3- and 0.12 g/L of CO32- ions.

12 Water Quality Parameters

Example
Calculate the alkalinity of a water sample (in mg/L as
CaCO3) having 0.35 g/L of HCO3- and 0.12 g/L of CO32- ions.

Step-1: Calculate molar mass of the species.

Molar mass of HCO3- = (1)+(12)+(3*16) = 61 g/mole
Molar mass of CO32- = (12)+(3*16) = 60 g/mole
Molar mass of CaCO3 = (40)+(12)+(3*16) = 100 g/mole

Step-2: Calculate equivalent wt. of the species.

Eq. wt. of HCO3- = 61/1 = 61g/eq.
Eq. wt. of CO32- = 60/2 = 30 g/eq.
Eq. wt. of CaCO3 = 100/2 = 50 g/eq.

6
 27-01-2022

13 Water Quality Parameters

Example
Calculate the alkalinity of a water sample (in mg/L as
CaCO3) having 0.35 g/L of HCO3- and 0.12 g/L of CO32- ions.

Step-3: Calculate number of equivalents of the species in the

sample.
Eq. of HCO3- = 0.35/61 = 0.0057 eq./L
Eq. of CO32- = 0.12/30 = 0.004 eq./L
Total eq. of species in sample = 0.0057+0.004 = 0.0097 eq./L
These are to be same as eq./L of CaCO3.

Step-4: Express alkalinity as mg/L of CaCO3.

Equivalents of CaCO3 = 0.0097 eq./L
in mg/L of CaCO3 = 0.0097*50*1000 = 485 mg/L

14 Water Quality Parameters

Hardness
 Defined as the sum of the normalities of all multivalent cations
(Ca2+, Mg2+ etc.)

 Hardness results in the scale formation as a result of solid

precipitates (when will it happen?)

 Typically expressed as “mg/L as CaCO3”

7
 27-01-2022

15 Water Quality Parameters

Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
 One of the most important parameter
 A minimum DO level is critical to be maintained in water
bodies to sustain the aquatic life
 Units: mg/L O2

[Link]
oductpages/[Link]

16 Water Quality Parameters

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
 A proxy of the biodegradable organic compounds in water
 Expressed in terms of the oxygen required by the
microorganisms to biochemically degrade the organic
matter present
 C-BOD, N-BOD
 Fast BOD, Slow BOD
 BOD5, BODu
 Units: mg/L O2

[Link]
talom/tamop425/0032_vizkeszletg
azdalkodas_es_vizminoseg/image
s/[Link]

8
 27-01-2022

17 Water Quality Parameters

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

Biodegradable

Seed acclimatized

Non Biodegradable

Eckenfelder, Jr. (2000)

18 Water Quality Parameters

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)
 A proxy of the organic compounds in water that are
chemically degradable
 Units: mg/L O2

Biodegradability of WW
 Ratio of BOD : COD indicates the biodegradable nature of
WW.
 Higher the ratio, higher is the biodegradability

9
 27-01-2022

19 Water Quality Parameters

DO Sag Curve

[Link]

20 Water Quality Parameters

Multiple Tube Fermentation Test for coliforms
 Targeted towards some indicator organisms, since
determination of all pathogens is very complex and time
consuming
 These coliforms are non pathogenic surrogates that indicate
fecal contamination of water
 Its absence indicates absence of enteric pathogens and its
concentration is related to probability of the presence of
pathogens
 These coliforms survive longer in the environment compared
to pathogens
 Total coliforms and Fecal coliforms (e.g. Escherichia coli,
Enterobacter aerogenes)

10
 27-01-2022

21 Water Quality Parameters

Multiple Tube Fermentation Test for coliforms

Total coliform: All aerobic and facultative anaerobic Gram

negative, non spore forming, rod shaped bacteria that ferment
lactose with gas formation within 48 hours at 35 °C.

Fecal coliform: Coliforms that originate in the feces of warm

blooded animals, and are able to grow at 45 °C.

Presumptive Test
Confirmatory Test
Completed Test

22 Water Quality Parameters

Multiple Tube Fermentation Test for coliforms

Most Probable Number (MPN): Presumptive test

Read the MPN

value (MPN/100 mL)
from tables based
on dilutions used
and no. of positive
tubes

Lactose Broth

[Link]
wp-
content/uploads/2017/06/
MPN-5-Test-Tube-
[Link]

11
 27-01-2022

23 Water Quality Standards

International Organizations
 World Health Organization (WHO)
 US- Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)

National Organizations
 Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)
 Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)

 Standards for Drinking Water

 Standards for Discharge of Municipal Sewage
 Standards for Discharge of Industrial Wastewater

24 Water Quality Standards

CPCB Classification of Inland Surface Water

Class of Water Designated Best-Use Criteria

A Best quality, Drinking Water Source

without conventional treatment but
with disinfection
B Outdoor bathing
C Drinking Water Source with
Conventional Treatment and
disinfection
D Propagation of Wild life and Fisheries
E Irrigation, Industrial Cooling,
Controlled Waste disposal

12
 27-01-2022

25 Water Quality Standards

Drinking Water Standards: IS 10500 (2012)

Discharge Standards

26 Next Lecture:

Conventional Surface Water

Treatment System

13