Results: Since there is no Canadian Drinking Water Guideline for Ammonia you will compare results to the European Union limit. The standard should give a result very close to the 0.5 mg/L colour; if the colour is darker then it DOES NOT meet the guidelines.
To allow students to run tests on five different sources of water. Students are expected to collect three samples of water: Urban and Rural (includes Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities) treated waters, and a Raw Source Water.
1. One bottle contains 5 micrograms/L arsenic. Put 100 mL of water sample in the second plastic bottle with lid (not the flip top type). Water should be room temperature (20-25 degrees C).
Students enter their results for the tests: alkalinity, ammonia, colour, copper, pH, sulphate, total chlorine, and total hardness. Students compare their results to the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality.
Copper is naturally present in the environment, but the levels of contamination can be increased around agricultural land (manure spreading), near smelting facilities, and phosphate fertilizer plants, there is also significant amounts of copper released from wastewater treatment plants. The copper piping in most buildings that we consume water from also can contribute to our intake, depending on the corrosiveness of the water.
The direct health implications of iron are very limited, there are however indirect problems some of which are: colour, which comes from iron in a particulate form which is too small to filter so you get “coloured water”, iron bacteria, this is when bacteria and iron form a slime which can lead to poor pipe flow, this can occur when the iron concentration exceeds 0.3 mg/L, the Canadian Drinking Water Guideline (CGLS).
Most countries, including Canada, have set an aesthetic rather than a health guideline for manganese. The reason for this is that levels above the guideline can stain porcelain and laundry, drinks such as coffee and tea can become cloudy and taste funny. High manganese levels can also cause diarrhea.
There are many negative health effects related to Nitrate, some of which include blood deficiencies, thyroid problems, decreased vitamin A, and cancer. It is, however, rare that nitrate levels are above the Canadian Water Quality Guideline for drinking water. Contaminated private wells are likely the most common place where high levels of nitrate are found.
