WATER QUALITY

When examining water quality there are three categories that hydrologists look for.

1. Biological Assessment
2. Chemical Assessment
3. Physical Assessment 

Click here for a basic understanding of these important assessments on water quality. Its hard to believe water to be so fragile due to the fact that around 97% of planet Earth is made of water. But when take into consideration of the salt water and water trapped in ice this only leaves 1% of drinkable water. And this is not even counting the percent in which humans have contaminated drinking water to not make it unsafe for human consumption, but also for the organisms that live within or around the water.

Websites:

Exploring the Environment: Water Quality - This is a great website that gives just enough detail for middle school and high school students to be introduced to the topic of water quality. If you click on teacher pages near the Exploring the Environment title it will take you to lesson plans and ideas on how to teach different environmental concepts.

MWRA: Water Quality Testing Manual - This is a great resource for teachers to help explain the importance of temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Nitrates, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Salinity, Turbidity, and Coliform Bacteria. The site allows you to download certain chapters so that you do not need to download or even read the whole book. Chapter 6 explains in great detail on the importance of the eight tests performed for water quality.

Vernier: Water Quality - This site offers advice on how to use Vernier software for water quality testing. You can download only previews of the lab, but you can purchase the manual. The instructions are easy for any student to understand and they are direct to the point.