Water quality does not always meet established safety standards. Determining the quality of drinking water is especially important, since the content of certain chemical elements, toxins, microorganisms can cause significant harm to health.
It is a mistake to believe that the definition of water quality based on its physical qualities (transparency, color, taste, smell,) is sufficient.
Chemical analysis of water allows you to determine how its composition meets the standards, whether additional purification is needed and what methods to use for this.
Modern measuring equipment allows you to analyze the sample by 150 parameters. In deciphering the analysis of drinking water, the main indicators are:
• Acidity – saturation of water with acids; the amount of substances capable of reacting with hydrogen hydroxide ions.
• Salinity (mineralization) – the total amount of substances dissolved in water. According to SanPiN norms for drinking water, this criterion should not exceed 1000 mg/l.
• General hardness – the concentration of magnesium and calcium in the composition of the water. For drinking samples, indicators up to 7 mg-eq / l are acceptable.
• Permanganate oxidizability – the amount of organic substances that are oxidized under the influence of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate). The maximum allowable organic contamination is 5.0 mg О2/l.
• Redox potential (Eh) – the difference in electrical potential between oxidizing and reducing substances. It is expressed in millivolts and is an indicator of the acidic or alkaline quality of the sample. The Eh norm for potable running water is from +80 mV to +300 mV.
• Alkalinity – the saturation of the sample with alkalis that bind with hydrogen ions (up to 7 mg/l).
• Hydrogen index (pH) – a criterion that allows you to determine the acid-base balance of water. Below pH 7, the sample is considered acidic; above 7, it is considered alkaline. A solution with pH=7 is neutral.
• Total iron – concentration of metal ions in mg/l. The norm is not more than 0.3 mg / l. Brown spots on linen after washing, rusty deposits on pipes, frequent breakdown of plumbing are signs of an increased dosage of iron.
• Oxygen saturation is a factor that depends on temperature, salinity and atmospheric pressure. Water supersaturated with oxygen provokes corrosion of metal pipes
After the analysis, the actual parameters are compared with the standards specified in the sanitary standards, the specialist makes a conclusion about the possibility of drinking water. If an excess of the content of certain substances is detected, additional cleaning is required.