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Turbidity & Total Dissolved Solids
he next test we performed was determining the amount of total solids and turbidity in the water. Total solids and turbidity are related and were tested together because the more total solids there are in a water, the more turbidity there will be. Total solids are present in two categories: dissolved solids, such as calcium, nitrogen, iron, sulfur, phosphorus, and other ions, and suspended solids, such as silt, plankton, industrial waste, and sewage. Turbidity is the measure of the relative clarity of the water. The greater the turbidity, the murkier the water is. Turbidity increases as the result of suspended solids, such as clay, silt, industrial waste, and sewage. This is because the suspended solids make the water murkier and more cloudy.
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Turbidity and total solids are important in water because at high levels for both, water loses its ability to support a diversity of life. More solids in the water cause the temperature to increase because the particles absorb sunlight. Warmer water causes the oxygen levels to fall, lowering the DO level which has harsh effects on organisms. DO is also lowered from turbidity because less photosynthesis occurs from the sun being unable to penetrate into the water. Solids can also clog fish gills, reduce growth rates, prevent egg development from suffocation, and covering spaces between rocks, which reduces the habitats for organisms. Therefore, turbidity and total solids are crucial in water because they greatly determine the lives and sustainability of organisms present in the water.
Natural sources of total solids include leaves and decayed plants and animals.
Humans have had a big impact on the amount of total solids and levels of turbidity in the water. Waste enters the water when humans wrongly dispose of it. This causes unnatural particles to be present in the water, which adds to the total solids and murkiness of the water. Urban runoff also increases total solids, and this is from agricultural areas such as farms. This runoff could include fertilizer which would lead to algal blooms in the water, another factor that contributes to the amount of total solids. Soil erosion causes the water to become murkier and have more particles in it. This results from human activities became processes such as deforestation increase the soil erosion that enters the water. All of these human activities contribute greatly to the increase of total solids and turbidity in bodies of water.

For turbidity, we obtained the result of 1,038 NTU (NTU is the unit turbidity is measured in). This result gave us a Q value of 4.5/100. This is an extremely terrible result. A Q value between 0-24 results in very bad quality of water. This means that our water is extremely murky and cloudy, which damages the environment and living conditions for organisms. For total solids, we acquired the results of 45 mg, which gives us a Q value of 40. This value is better than the turbidity value, but a Q value of 40 still results in bad quality of water.
We obtained poor results for turbidity and total solids because there is most likely large and active sources of erosion nearby. Since the area we tested was in a savannah with wildlife and plants, it is probable that solid and dirt entered the river from erosion or natural causes. This would add to the presence of total solids, which would create murkiness and cloudiness in the water. Therefore, soil erosion nearby the river resulted in the high amounts of total solids and turbidity.
To test turbidity, we obtained water from the middle of the river and put it in a beaker. By measuring the amount of light that was reflected off of suspended particles, we could determine the turbidity of the water. To measure the total dissolved solids, we took a sample of river water in a beaker and allowed the water to evaporate, leaving the sediments behind.
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