Virtual Water Testing and Treatment http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/science/virtual_labs/CT04/CT04.

html Suppose you were hiking along a stream or lake and became very thirsty. o you think it would be sa!e to drink the water" In many cases, it wouldnt. #ach source o! !resh water on or beneath #arth$s sur!ace is a!!ected by contaminants. Though the sources o! these contaminants are varied% all can make water un!it to drink i! they are allowed to increase beyond sa!e limits. The most common water contaminants are: Acidity: The p& scale is a measure o! acidity in water and other substances. 'ater with a p& reading o! (ero to si)% or acidic water% is unsafe to drink and can corrode metal pipes. The most signi!icant environmental impact o! a high or low p& level is that it can magnify the effect of other contaminants. Bacteria: Coliform bacteria and other microorganisms are !ound in the fecal matter of warm blooded animals and humans. This bacteria is most commonly !ound in lakes% rivers% and ponds% but can seep into groundwater supplies. 'hen coli!orm bacteria are present in your drinking water% your risk o! contracting a water*borne illness is increased. Metals: Copper and +ron are two o! the more common metal contaminants !ound in water supplies. ,n overabundance o! copper and iron can cause water to be discolored and !oul*tasting. Li er damage can also be traced to unsa!e levels o! metallic contaminants in water. -ost copper and iron contaminants enter the water supply through rusty and corroded pipes. &owever% metallic contaminants can also enter groundwater through erosion as the water travels through layers o! rock and minerals. !itrates: .itrates are a !orm o! nitrogen !ound in animal wastes" chemical fertili#ers and food preser ati es. /ound in both sur!ace water and groundwater% nitrates enter the water supply through surface runoff from farms and from leaking household septic tanks. .itrates pose little threat to humans% but an o erabundance of nitrate can kill fish and other a$uatic creatures. %esticides: 0esticides and herbicides are manu!actured chemicals that are used to kill weeds% molds and insects. Carbo!uran and ,lachlor are e)amples o! common herbicides used in agriculture. &urface runoff can introduce pesticides and herbicides into the water supply. In concentrated amounts, these substances can cause a number of health problems, including anemia and liver and kidney disorders. 'irections: +n this virtual lab% you will test a variety o! water samples% then you will determine how to treat the water samples to make them sa!e to drink. %rocedures: 1: Click the right and left arrows to select a body of water to analyze 2: Click T(&T to test the water sample. 3: 4ook at the results o! the water analysis to identify which contaminants exceed the safe limits 4: Click the tabs to find information on how to treat each contaminant 5: #nter the contaminant and treatment information into the table 6: Click )* T* T+(ATM(!T to go to the treatment screen 7: 8se the in!ormation in the table and click the wheels on the valves to add chemicals or additives to the water sample 9: Click the T+(ATM(!T &W,T-. to start treating water. The safe/unsafe sign will indicate

whether the water is safe to drink :: +! the water is sa!e to drink% use +(T/+! T* LAB to go to the lab screen and test another water sample 'ata Table: 'ater Sample City ,cidity p& -etals ;mg/4< Coil!orm =acteria ;ml< 0esticides &erbicides ;mg/4<

4 0.0006 mg/4 Sodium hydro)ide should be added to raise p& levels 7 0.6 ;iron<

13/100 0.00001 mg/= ,dd chlorine to the beginning and end o! the treatment process 33/100 0.6 ,dd chlorine to the beginning and end o! the treatment process 0/100 0/100 0 0.09 mg/4 ,dd activated carbon during treatment process and the water should be chlorinated at the end o! the process 0.0004 mg/4

4ake

-ountain >ural

6.9 7

0.006 mg/4 0.0027 mg/4

'ell

9.2

1.44 mg/4 Chlorine added at beginning% (inc orthophosphate added as well Type o! Contamination Coli!orm and acid Coli!orm

0/100

.itrates ;mg/4< 0.9 mg/4 ;City< 0.6 ;4ake<

Treatment Chlorine% sodium hyro)ide ;beginning and end< ,ctivated carbon chlorine ;end< ,ctivated carbon chlorine ;end<

12.4 ;-ountain< .itrates ,dd activated carbon during treatment process and chlorinate at the end o! process 6.7 ;>ural< 0.6 ;'ell< 0esticide/herbicide -etal

,ctivated carbon chlorine ;end< Chlorine ;beginning< ?inc orthophphate

'ata Analysis01uestions: 1: 'hat contaminants were !ound in the sur!ace water samples" 'hat contaminants were !ound in the groundwater samples" They contained metals% coli!orm% nitrites and pesticides/herbicides. The contaminants !ound in groundwater were coli!orm and acid. 2: 'hy might groundwater and sur!ace water have di!!erent contaminants" Sur!ace water is e)posed to di!!erent variables like phosphorus% nitrogen% pesticides% while groundwater can@t be touched all the easily because it is underground. +t is only harmed i! certain chemicals are soaked into the ground. 3: Aenerally% !armers do not !arm and industries do not build !actories on the sides o! mountains in remote wilderness areas. These areas are usually not highly populated by people. 'hat might e)plain the high nitrate level in the mountain water in this activity" There could be a build up o! bacteria which causes nitrates !rom the nitrogen cycle. 4: 'hat is p& level% what are its characteristics and how does it contribute to pollution" 'hat chemicals are used in treating low p& levels" 0& signi!ies how acidic or basic a water is. ,t 7 the water is neutral% between 0*6 it is acid and !rom 9* 13 it is basic. 0& can assist with pollution because it can magni!y e!!ects o! other contaminants. Sodium hydro)ides are used to treat low p& levels. 5: 'ater in an old building% tested recently% showed high copper and iron content% and low p& levels. , water reading taken 20 years be!ore showed low p& levels% but only minimal traces o! copper and iron. +! none o! the new buildings on the same street showed signs o! metallic contaminants% but all reported lower than normal p& readings% how might these readings be e)plained" Blder buildings tend to have older popes which get rusty and release copper and iron contaminants into water supplies. .ew buildings have newer pipes% so there is no copper or iron in trace.