3.2. Importance of Source and Intended Use

This is a very, it’s a bit, it’s it’s not a very from a scientific or rational point of view, you know that the answer could be wrong, but at least you have some sense of what is happening, what is there and whether where you should put your these things, okay. So, from a screening point of view, this is when we get to the classification of what are pollutants, what what kind of, where should where we should put our efforts.

Screening for water quality is a preliminary analysis that helps determine the overall safety of water without extensive testing. It provides a quick assessment that is not scientifically exhaustive but gives a general sense of water quality. This process involves categorizing water pollutants to focus remediation efforts effectively and prioritize more thorough investigations.

Imagine you’re buying fruit at a market. You can’t check every fruit for bruises, but you can visually inspect them for freshness and smell. Similarly, screening gives an initial assessment of water safety, allowing for quick decisions on whether it should be investigated further.

What will you look for in drinking water? When somebody gives you a glass of water, when will you not drink the glass of water? If it is coloured, if it is turbid, it means it is just not clear. Coloured it’s clear, but it is not colorless, it is something. Then smell, when you smells, it looks it looks clean and it looks clear, but it smells, something is smelling, yeah. Then all these three are good, then you take it in your mouth, it does not taste good. Beyond these, these are visible parameters.

When assessing drinking water, initial physical indicators include color, clarity (turbidity), odor, and taste. Clear and colorless water that lacks odor is more likely to be safe. Any deviation from these visual or olfactory indicators may suggest the presence of harmful contaminants.

Think of tasting food; if food looks spoiled or smells off, you won’t want to eat it. Similarly, if water appears cloudy or has a strange smell, it's best to avoid drinking it since these signs could indicate contamination.

You have to make very clear distinction between a few things here. Dissolve is it is in the structure of the water and I think it does not form any precipitate, it is dissolved, clean, clear. Salt water for example, if you dissolve salt or sugar, it is dissolved. Turbid is not dissolved. The technical term that we use for this is Suspended Solids, something is suspended, means it just floats in the water.

A distinction must be made between dissolved and suspended solids in water. Dissolved solids remain integrated within the water, like salt in saltwater, resulting in a clear solution. In contrast, suspended solids, like dirt or silt, float in the water and contribute to turbidity, meaning they're visible and not part of the water's chemical structure.

Consider making a cup of tea. The sugar you dissolve disappears in the liquid, but if you drop in some sand, it remains visible on the bottom, showing how suspended materials can alter the clarity of water.

Total dissolved solids. See the word solids is a very it is a misnomer here, it is not a it’s not an insoluble solid, it’s a solid. People have used this term, it is called as TDS and the other one is total suspended solids TSS.

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) refer to all dissolved substances in water, both organic and inorganic, which affect water quality. Although the term solids suggests that they might be visible or particulate, it in fact includes solutes like salts and minerals that contribute to the overall quality of the water. TDS can provide a quick reference for assessing water quality.

Think about making a smoothie. You add various ingredients, and while they may all dissolve or blend together smoothly, their collective presence contributes to the smoothie’s flavor and texture, just as dissolved solids influence water quality.

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