The importance of having access to clean water for drinking, bathing, and other vital purposes cannot be stressed enough. Unfortunately, water quality continues to be a significant issue for the United States as well as the global community. While all existing bodies of water have not been completely assessed, a recent study provides information on those that have. Within the United States alone, these ares have been determined to be unsafe for fishing, swimming, and other popular activities:
- Stream Miles: 44%
- Lake acres: 64%
- Bay and estuarine square miles: 30%
It has also been determined that only 28% of the United States’ streams contain healthy biological communities. In order for fish and other aquatic creatures to thrive, this is obviously a significant concern. Furthermore, these bodies of water also also need to sustain plant life which provides habitats and other valuable resources within these eco-systems.
Due to inadequate sanitation, water courses throughout the world have become contaminated. This lack of adequate sanitation is considered to be one of the most significant forms of water pollution. On a worldwide basis, there are 2.5 billion individuals that reside in areas without upgraded or efficient sanitation systems. More than 70% of these individuals live in Asia, which amounts to 1.8 billion people.
On a daily basis, there are approximately two million tons of waste discharged into the world’s water bodies. This consists of the following substances:
- Sewage
- Industrial waste
- Agricultural waste
In order to determine whether or not water is potable or safe for other purposes, it’s necessary to be aware of water quality indicators definitions. To understand the length to which water has been contaminated, a water quality analysis needs to be conducted. Water testing kits are used to provide an assessment of well water and other bodies of water where people fish or engage in other recreational activities such as swimming.
Good-quality water is also essential for industrial purposes. Since the water used for various industries needs to be of high purity, it’s important to note that ultra-pure water isn’t suitable as an electrical conductor. This is because ultra-pure water possesses an 18 megohm-cm resistivity and has 55nS/cm conductivity. Simply put, water conductivity and resistivity conductivity have an inverse relationship. High-purity water applications, for example, use a resistivity measurement exclusively. When considering the broad spectrum of water quality monitoring, a conductivity measurement is utilized.
The water quality indicators definitions have been set forth in order to identify specific areas where there may be issues. Specific water quality parameters have been created accordingly. The water quality indicators definition provides vital data to assist with addressing, and hopefully remediating, this worldwide issue.