Regulating Water Quality

1. Regulating Water Quality

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2. Water quality

Water quality is commonly defined by its physical,
chemical, biological and aesthetic (appearance and
smell) characteristics.
Water may be used for drinking, irrigating crops and
watering stock, industrial processes, production of
fish, shellfish and crustaceans, wildlife habitats,
protection of aquatic ecosystems, navigation and
shipping, recreation (swimming, boating), and
scientific study and education.
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3. Protecting aquatic ecosystems

• Aquatic ecosystems are an integral part of our environment.
They need to be maintained if the environment is to continue
to support people. World conservation strategies stress the
importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems and genetic
diversity.
• Aquatic ecosystems play an important role in maintaining
water quality and are a valuable indicator of water quality and
the suitability of the water for other uses.
• Aquatic ecosystems are valuable resources. Aquatic life is a
major source of protein for humans. In most countries, like
Portugal, commercial and sport fishing is economically
important.
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4. The physicochemical indicators can be classified into two groups:

● Those which have direct toxic effects on the
biota (e.g., heavy metals, salinity, pesticides,
and temperature)
● Those which affect ecosystems indirectly (e.g.,
nutrients, turbidity, and excess organic
matter)
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5. The quality of the aquatic environment is a broader issue which can be described in terms of:

• water quality,
• the composition and state of the biological life
present in the water body,
• the nature of the particulate matter present,
• the physical description of the water body
(hydrology, dimensions, nature of lake bottom
or river bed, etc.).
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6. This can be achieved through:

• chemical analyses of water, particulate matter and aquatic
organisms (such as planktonic algae and selected parts of
organisms such as fish muscle),
• biological tests, such as toxicity tests and measurements of
enzyme activities,
• descriptions of aquatic organisms, including their occurrence,
density, biomass, physiology and diversity (from which, for
example, a biotic index may be developed or microbiological
characteristics determined),
• physical measurements of water temperature, pH, conductivity,
light penetration, particle size of suspended and deposited
material, dimensions of the water body, flow velocity,
hydrological balance, etc.
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7. Water quality indicators

• Biological: algae, bacteria
• Physical: temperature, turbidity and clarity, color,
salinity, suspended solids, dissolved solids, sediment
• Chemical: pH, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen
demand, nutrients (including nitrogen and
phosphorus), organic and inorganic compounds
(including toxicants)
• Aesthetic: odors, taints, color, floating matter
• Radioactive: alpha, beta and gamma radiation
emitters.
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8. Freshwater quality deterioration at the global level

xxx Globally occurring, or locally
severe deterioration;
xx Important deterioration;
x Occasional or regional
deterioration;
o Rare deterioration;
oo Not relevant;
1This is an estimate. At the
regional level, these ranks may
vary greatly according to the
degree of economic development
and the types of land use ;
2 Mostly in small and shallow
water bodies
3 Other than that resulting from
aquatic primary production
4 Algae and macrophytes
5 From landfills and mine tailings
6 Water diversion, damming,
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over-pumping, etc.

9. Sources and significance of pollutants resulting from human activities

x Low local significance
xx Moderate local or regional significance
xxx High local or regional significance
G Global significance
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10. Number of stations and of observations of water quality parameters separated by class and geographic region (August 1, 2006).

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11. Types of Stations

Baseline Stations are typically located in headwater lakes, undisturbed upstream
river stretches, and in aquifers where no known direct diffuse or pointsources of pollutants are likely to be found. They are used to establish natural
water quality conditions; to provide a basis for comparison with trend and flux
stations; and to determine, through trend analysis, the influence of long-range
transport of contaminants and of climatic changes.
Trend Stations are typically located in major river basins, lakes or aquifers. They are
used to track long-term changes in water quality related to pollution sources and
land uses; to provide a basis for identifying causes or influences on measured
conditions or identified trends. Since trend stations are intended to capture
human impacts on water quality, the number of trend stations is relatively higher
than the other types of stations, to cover the variety of water quality issues
facing various basins. Most trend stations are located in basins with a range of
pollution-inducing activities. However , some stations can be located in
basins with single, dominant activities. Some trend stations may also serve as
global river flux stations.
Flux Stations are located at the mouth of rivers as they exit to the coast. They are
used to determine integrated annual fluxes of pollutants from river basins to
oceans or regional seas, thereby contributing to geochemical cycles. For
calculating chemical fluxes, water flow measurements must be obtained at the
location of the global river flux stations.
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12. Physicochemical Indicators

• Color (this can influence primary production)
• Dissolved oxygen (this can adversely affect fish and invertebrates)
• Nutrients (in excess, these can result in cyanobacterial (blue-green algae)
blooms)
• pH (low pH can adversely affect aquatic biota directly and also can result
in release of
• heavy metals from sediments)
• Salinity (high salinity can adversely affect freshwater macrophytes and
other aquatic biota)
• Suspended particulate matter and turbidity (these can influence primary
production)
• Temperature (both high and low temperatures can adversely affect
aquatic biota)
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13. Water quality parameters

• Temperature
• Salinity.
The total dissolved solids (TDS) in water consist
of inorganic salts and dissolved materials.
• Sediment
Sediment is composed of organic and inorganic
particles of various sizes.
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14. Sediment classes.

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15. Water quality parameters

• pH
pH is defined as the negative log-base 10 of the
hydrogen ion activity:
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16. Water quality parameters

• Dissolved oxygen
Dissolved oxygen (DO) refers to the volume of oxygen that is contained in
water.
• Nitrogen
Nitrogen makes up 78% of the atmosphere as gaseous molecular nitrogen,
but most plants can use it only in the fixed forms of nitrate and
ammonium. Nitrate and nitrite are inorganic ions occurring naturally as
part of the nitrogen cycle.
• Phosphorus
Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient for all life forms. It plays a role in
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), ribonucleic acid (RNA),
adenosinediphosphate (ADP), and adenosinetriphosphate (ATP).
Phosphorus is required for these necessary components of life to occur.
• Heavy metals
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17. Toxicants

• Inorganic compounds (e.g., ammonia, cyanide,
and hydrogen sulfide)
• Heavy metals (e.g., copper, cadmium,
mercury, and arsenic)
• Organic compounds (e.g., pesticides, PCBs,
and dioxins)
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18. Biological Indicators

Species richness
Species composition
Primary production
Ecosystem function
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19. Regulating Water Quality

• According to the Sanitary Regulations and
Standards (SanPiN 2.1.4.1074-01), potable
water shall be safe with regard to
epidemiological and radiation properties,
harmless with regard to chemical composition
and shall have favorable organoleptic
properties.
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20. Water quality

• Water quality means its content and properties, which
determine its applicability within certain types of water
use; however, quality indices are properties, which allow
assessment of the water quality.
• Sanitary properties help establish microbiological and
parasitologic properties of water (amount of
microorganisms and bacteria of the colon bacillus group
per volume unit). Toxicological properties of water,
characterizing safety of its chemical composition, are
determined depending on a composition of substances, the
amount of which shall not exceed the established
standards. And the last, but not the least: when assessing
water quality, organoleptic properties (temperature,
transparency, color, taste, hardness.
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21. Water quality

• Sanitary Regulations and Standards SanPiN
2.1.4.1175-02 establish requirements to water
supplied through non-central supply systems,
regulating smell, taste, color, turbidity, and
specifying that the content of chemical
substances shall not exceed rates established
through relevant standards.
• Just like for the atmospheric air, water quality is
regulated through maximum permissible
concentrations (MPCs).
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22. Maximum permissible concentration

• Maximum permissible concentration for household
and cultural and general water use (MPCw) is a
concentration of a harmful substance in the water,
which should not produce direct or indirect effect on
the human being throughout life or on health of the
next generations, and which should not worsen
hygienic conditions of the water use.
• Maximum permissible concentration in a piece of
water, used for fishery (MPCf) is a concentration of
harmful substances in water, which should produce no
harmful effect on fish stock, and, notably, commercial
fish stock.
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23. MPC

MPCf is often considered as an environmental standard, which
is not correct. Practically, MPCf is the concentration of a
harmful substance in water, which effect on the
environment is accompanied with the following conditions:
• No fish or organisms, being the fodder base, die;
• No species of fish, which earlier inhabited the waters,
disappear; no fish or organisms, valuable as fodder, are
replaced with species, inappropriate for food;
• No damage to commercial properties of the fish is
observed,
• No changes, which may potentially result in death of fish,
replacement of fodder or loss of commercial properties of
the species, occur.
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24. MPC

• MPCsf are usually more stringent, than MPCsw.
• It should be emphasized, that it is fishery and
consumer protection in the first place, although certain
principles of environmental water protection, have
been considered within the standards.
• However, since they are established for Russia (or the
USSR), they are not based upon the characteristics of
geographical zones, biogeochemical provinces,
hydrological conditions, etc, which speaks for
commerce being the priority.
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25. Ratio between MPCs of some substances in water

Substance
MPCf, mg/dm3
MPCw.,
mg/dm3
Mercury and
other nonorganic
compounds
(Hg)
Ammonium
fluoride
0,0001
0,0005
0,05
0,7
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26. Pollution rate and water quality class are sometimes determined upon microbiological properties

Rate of
pollution and
water quality
classes
microbiological indices
Total amount of
bacteria,
106 cells/cm3
Amount of
saprophytic
bacteria,
1000 cells/cm3
Very clean, I
Clean, II
Moderately
contaminated,
III
<0,5
0,5–1,0
1,1–1,3
<0,5
0,5–5,0
5,1–10,0
Ratio between
the total
amount of
bacteria and
saprophytic
bacteria
<1000
>1000
1000–100
Contaminated,
IV
Polluted, V
Heavily polluted,
VI
3,1–5,0
10,1–50,0
<100
5,1–10,0 5
>10,0
0,1–100,0
>1000
<100
<100
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27. Water Pollution Index

As it is with the atmospheric air, various indices are used to
ensure comparative analysis of water pollution. These
indices allow analysis of several polluting substances. The
most commonly used index is the complex hydrochemical
Water Pollution Index (referred to as WPI in formulas). It is
obtained through the following formula:
WPI = ∑Ci ∙MPCi / N, where
• Ci — concentration of the component (or parameter value);
• MPCi — the established value for the relevant type of the
piece of water
• N — number of properties, used to calculate the index
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28. Water Pollution Index

• Normally, Water Pollution Indices are
calculated upon six or seven hydrochemical
properties, including content of dissolved
oxygen [O2], рН, biological consumption of
oxygen.
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29. Depending on Water Pollution Index, areas of water pieces are divided in classes

Waters
Very clean
Clean
Moderately polluted
Contaminated
Polluted
Very polluted
Exceptionally polluted
Water Pollution
Index
Up to 0,2
0,2–1,0
1,0–2,0
2,0–4,0
4,0–6,0
6,0–10,0
>10,0
Water quality classes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
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30. Water Pollution Index

The grade of excess MPCf is calculated for each ingredient on the basis
of actual concentration (Кi) and frequency of occurrence (Нi), as
well as the general assessment grade (Bi).
• Ki = Ci / MPCi
• Hi = (N MPCi/Ni)∙100%
• Bi = Ki * Hi
where Сi — is the concentration of i ingredient,
MPCi — maximum permissible concentration of i ingredient for waters
used for commercial 11 fishery;
N MPCi — number of frequencies of MPC excess (i ingredient);
Ni — total number of measurements of the i ingredient
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31. Combinative Pollution Index

• Ingredients, for which the value of the general
assessment grade is over or equal to 11,
limitative pollution index (LPI) is determined.
Combinative Pollution Index (referred to as
CPI in the formula below) is calculated as the
total amount of assessment grades of all
ingredients. Combinative Index helps establish
water pollution class:
• CPI = ∑Si
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32. Combinative Pollution Index

• Combinative Pollution Index is applicable only when the
impact effect is aggravated through parallel impact
produced by several substances.
• Apart from approaches to regulating water quality upon
hydrochemical properties, there is a different approach,
based on bioindication. This approach implies analysis of
the presence and amount of organisms of certain species,
inhabiting the environment, as the indicators of natural
processes, conditions or man-caused changes in the
habitat.
• In Russia, hydrobiological assessment of water quality is
based mainly on the saprobity index and Woodiviss and
Mayer index.
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33. Saprobity Index

• Integral characteristics of the quality also include the
saprobity index, which is calculated onthe basis of
individual properties of the species saprobity, present in
various aquatic communities (phytoplankton, periphyton):
• S = ∑Si∙hi / hi
Where Si – is the value of the individual saprobity index of the
i-th aquatic organism, which is established through special
reference tables;
hi – relative frequency of occurrence of indicative organisms
(when under the microscope);
N – number of indicative organisms selected (usually, N>30)
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34. Saprobity Index

• The Si value represents the aggregate of the
physiological and biochemical properties of an
aquatic organisms, which pre-condition its
ability to inhabit in water, containing a certain
amount of organic substances. Therefore, the
index characterizes the nutritional status of
the water body. Water quality is regulated
according to the value of S
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35. Saprobity Index

Rate of
pollution
Zones
Saprobity
indices, S
Water quality
classes
Very clean
Xenosaprobic
Up to 0,50
1
Clean
Oligosaprobic
0,50–1,50
2
Moderately
contaminated
amesosaprobic
1,51–2,50
3
Heavily
contaminated
bmesosaprobic
2,51–3,50
4
Very heavily
contaminated
Polysaprobic
3,51–4,00
5
Very polluted
Polysaprobic
>4,00
6
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36. Integral Indices

integral indices as such are not the assessment of the mancaused
environmental load.
High values of water pollution indices can also be preconditioned by natural
properties of the catchment area (for instance, by ashen-gray soils, peats,
which condition high content of organic substances in water, identified as
oil products through some techniques, high natural content of cuprum,
ore, manganese, low value of dissolved oxygen concentration, etc).
In this case, even rivers, experiencing minor mancaused loads, will be referred
to as exceedingly polluted or polluted on the basis of water pollution
indices.
Thus, state reports cover the case of the Pra river, which basin lies within the
protected areas of Meschyora and Meschyorskiy national parks. Mancaused load isminor, certain sections of the river are included in the list of
wetlands of international significance as home for rare water fauna
species.
Therefore, one shall be careful assessing environmental load on the basis
values, grounded upon the MPC system. These values are expedient for
assessment of tendencies towards time changes or for comparison of
various sections of the water body.
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