Water testing

water testing

Subclass of	procedure
Measures	water quality

Water testing be general description for different procedures wey dem dey use check water quality. Millions of water quality tests dey happen every day to meet regulatory requirements den to maintain safety.

Dem fit carry out testing to check:

• ambient anaa environmental water quality – how surface water body fit support aquatic life as ecosystem. See Environmental monitoring, Freshwater environmental quality parameters den Bioindicator.
• wastewater – how polluted water be (domestic sewage anaa industrial waste) before treatment anaa after treatment. See Environmental chemistry den Wastewater quality indicators.
• "raw water" quality – how water source be before treatment for domestic use (drinking water). See Bacteriological water analysis den specific tests like turbidity den hard water.
• "finished" water quality – water wey dem treat for municipal water purification plant. See Bacteriological water analysis den Category:Water quality indicators.
• whether water fit serve for industrial uses like laboratory work, manufacturing anss equipment cooling. See purified water.

Government regulation

Government rules wey relate to water testing den water quality for some major countries dey below.

China

Ministry of Environmental Protection

Ministry of Environmental Protection of People's Republic of China be de country environmental protection department wey dey handle protection of air, water den land from pollution. E dey under State Council,wey by law e get power to enforce environmental policies den regulations. E sanso dey support research den development.

Regulatory challenges den debates

For late 2009, survey wey China Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development do show say water quality of urban supply for cities no meet standard for at least 1,000 water treatment plants out of over 4,000 wey dem check. The result no release officially, but later Century Weekly publish am for 2012. Government official later talk say 80% of urban tap water dey okay based on pilot data from 2011.

China new drinking water standard get 106 indicators. But only 40% of 35 major cities fit test all 106 indicators. Some agencies dey negotiate results for over 60 indicators, so dem no dey test everything strictly. Water quality grading dey based on average 95% compliance. Inspection dey happen twice every year.

Pakistan

Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources

Dis organization start for 1964. E dey conduct, organize den promote research for all water resources areas. E dey focus on applied and basic research for water sector development.

Recent developments

For March 2013, minister for Science and Technology talk say only 15–18% groundwater samples for Pakistan dey safe for drinking. Government set up 24 water testing labs, produce water test kits, filters den treatment sachets, and train over 2,660 professionals. Dem sanso survey 10,000 out of 12,000 water supply systems.

United Kingdom

Drinking Water Inspectorate

Drinking Water Inspectorate be department under Environment, Food and Rural Affairs wey dey regulate public water supply companies for England den Wales. Local environmental health offices sanso fit carry out water testing.

United States

Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. EPA scientist dey inspect water sample

Main federal laws wey control water testing be Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) den Clean Water Act. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dey set rules den test methods under dese laws.

Drinking water analysis

Under SDWA, public water systems must regularly test treated water for contaminants using EPA-approved methods. Only certified labs fit do de testing. Revised Total Coliform Rule (2013) den 1989 version apply to all public water systems. Dem control microbial contamination den require reporting of Escherichia coli wen e exceed safe level.

Acute toxicity testing fit take 24–96 hours to detect contamination.

Wastewater analysis

All facilities wey dey discharge wastewater into rivers, lakes anaa sea must get permit under National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). Dem must test wastewater regularly den report results.

Private wells

Private wells no get federal regulation. Owners dem be responsible for testing their water. Some states fit require testing for bacteria like coliform den E. coli den other contaminants like nitrates anaa arsenic.

Publication of test methods

Test methods dey published by government agencies, research organizations den international bodies. Approved methods must be used for regulatory compliance.

Homeland security

EPA dey responsible for water sector security under U.S. homeland security policies. Threats fit include chemical contamination anaa physical attack on water systems.

Regulatory challenges

Hydraulic fracturing

Some oil den gas companies no dey fully disclose chemicals used insyd hydraulic fracturing secof legal exemptions. Dis dey raise concerns about water safety. Studies later link some groundwater contamination to fracking activities in some regions.

Pharmaceuticals den personal care products

Small traces of pharmaceuticals dey insyd drinking water, but most treatment systems no fully remove am. No strong federal limits exist yet for most of these chemicals.

International organizations

International Maritime Organization dey handle water-related environmental issues like ballast water management to prevent spread of invasive species.

Water test initiatives

EarthEcho Water Challenge

EarthEcho Water Challenge be global program wey dey encourage people test local water bodies den report results like pH, temperature, turbidity den dissolved oxygen.

Water test market

Market size and structure

Global water testing market around 2009 worth about US$3.6 billion, wey dey include labs, instruments den monitoring systems.

Product offering

Market include analytical systems, instruments and chemical reagents used for testing water quality. Equipment include field devices den advanced lab machines like mass spectrometry, gas chromatography denand liquid chromatography systems.

New developments

Digital sensors and improved dissolved oxygen meters dey replace older technologies.

"Razor and Razor-blade" business model

Companies dey make money from both equipment den consumables like reagents, which people dey use repeatedly for testing.

Suppliers

Major suppliers include Lovibond, Merck, LaMotte, Siemens, Hach den Thermo Scientific.

Water testing facilities

Two main types of labs dey: commercial labs den in-house labs.

In-house laboratories

Dese dey insyd water plants, breweries den industries. Dem handle about half of all tests.

Commercial laboratories

Small private labs dey do testing for clients. Big groups also exist and handle large share of tests.