Water-Quality Observations at Home

You don't need to be a marine scientist to make water-quality observations. There's a lot you can examine also on your own. Check out the instructions below and start making your own water-quality observations.

Basic equipment:

• A small glass jar (e.g. a baby food jar)
• Paper or a notebook
• Pen

Basic set of rules:

• Take the water sample at about 20 cm’s depth
• Choose a location, where the water hasn’t been muddled recently

Smell

Take the sample. Close the jar and shake it heavily. Open the jar and smell the water. Estimate the strength and quality of the smell. Make a note of the smell in your observation paper or notebook.

The water can smell of e.g. mud, bog, rotten fish, rotten eggs, oil or other. The strength of the smell can be estimated on a scale of no smell, weak smell, clear smell and strong smell.

The smell of the water and the strength of the smell tell us about the biomass, its amount, byproducts and the state of the sea. A strong smell could come from e.g. hydrogen sulfides indicating an asphyxiated sea bed and eutrophication . It’s worth noting that all kinds of waters have their own smell depending on various factors such as salinity, oxygen levels, and soil and water organisms of the area. Seasonal variations in water cycles affect the smell, too.

Color

Take the sample. Place the glass jar on a white sheet of paper. Estimate the color of the water by looking it against the paper from above. Make a note of the color in your paper or notebook.

The color scale is: blue-green – yellowish green – yellowish brown – brown – dark brown.

If the water is brownish, there’s humus in the water. The more humus there is in the water, the more the water is prone to eutrophication. The amount of humus depends on the soil and run-off. Seasonal variations and the prevailing weather have a huge impact on the humus contents.

Turbidity

Examine the turbidity in your water sample. Is the water clear, slightly turbid, turbid or very turbid? Make a note of your observation to your notebook.

Water turbidity is dependent on many different factors, such as humus contents, soil type and amount of phytoplankton and pollen in the water. The more we have the abovementioned, the more turbid the water. Seasonal changes and prevailing weather have also a huge effect on water turbidity even if the sample location remains the same.

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