CONTENT

No. CONTENT PAGES

1. Group member

2

2. Introduction 3

3. Objective 4

4. Basic Element Of Water Quality Standards

4-5

5. Water Classification And Uses 6-7

6 Advantages And Disadvantages Of Water Quality

Standards

8

7 Water Quality Test 9-16

6. Conclusion 17

GROUP MEMBERS

GROUP LEADER

Mohd Shafiq Bin Mohd Rosli

DF 130016

017 - 3927036

MEMBER 1

Tuan Muhammad Syahid Bin Tuan Ibrahim

DF 130083

014 – 8140798

MEMBER 2

MohdAmirul Hakim Bin MohdZailani

DF 130014

013 – 7678406

MEMBER 3

Mohd Amir Azizi Bin Kasin

DF 130013

013 – 7187852

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INTRODUCTION

We were given a task to choose one subtopics in chapter 1, chapter 2 or chapter 3 for the purpose

of reviewing the subtopics. This project was conducted to fulfill the requirement of this subject

“Environmental Engineering, BFC 32403. The task is to study the importance of subtopics both

in terms of its role, its advantages and disadvantages and their use to society and state. So we

decided to choose subtopics 1.9 (Water Quality Standards) to be our topics in this project.

With number of 4 people in a group, we need to analyze the requirement that have been given.

This aim of this project is to expose students with industrial practice by using their skills and

knowledge from what we had learned in the class. In industrial we as an engineer need to know

about the basics knowledge of the environment to give something extra to become an excellent

engineer.

Water Quality Standards

Water quality standards are the foundation of the water quality based control that

guidelines under World Health Organization (WHO). Besides, a water quality standard is

developed to help protect and maintain water quality necessary to meet and maintain designated

or assigned uses, such as swimming, recreation, public water supply, and/or aquatic life. Water

quality standards in the context of the supply of drinking water is the water supply by drinking

water standards set by World Health Organization (WHO) and Minister of Health (MOH).

Water quality supplied by water treatment plant (WTP) operators and the treated water

quality in the distribution system are both monitored by Minister of Health (MOH) by way of

sampling and testing. There are five (5) main key parameters (i.e. E.Coli& residual chlorine,

turbidity, aluminium and residual chlorine) covered and tracked under the MOH’s Quality

Assurance Programme (QAP). Samples are taken from the various sampling stations (SPA)

which are stationed at the treatment plants, service reservoirs and also in the distribution system.

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OBJECTIVE

Objective of having Water Quality Standard is stated below:

Guidelines for continual quality of water supplied to public.

Ensure effective protection of public health.

Improve the management of the water utilities.

Ensure that the drinking water is safe to drink and not hazardous to health or

objectionable to the physical senses of consumer.

BASIC ELEMENT OF WATER QUALITY STANDARDS

To design a water quality standard, there are few basic element need to be followed. The

elements are stated below:

Designated uses of the water body (e.g., public water supply, aquatic life, recreation)

Water quality criteria to protect designated uses by limiting chemical constituents that

may be present in the water body. The criteria consist of numeric concentrations and/or

narrative requirements.

An anti-degradation policy to maintain and protect existing uses and high quality

waters.

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MINIMUM QUALITY STANDARDS BY SYARIKAT AIR JOHOR (SAJ)

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WATER CLASSIFICATION AND USES

Control of water pollution has reached primary importance in developed and a number of

developing countries. The prevention of pollution at source, the precautionary principle and the

prior licensing wastewater discharges by competent authorities have become key element of

successful policies for preventing, controlling and reducing inputs of hazardous substances,

nutrients and other water pollutants from point sources into aquatic ecosystems.

It is important to maintain high quality level for natural water. The government has set

up the minimum quality standard that reflects its beneficial use. The more stringent standard has

been used for stream that use for water sources for municipal purposed as in Malaysia Interim

National Water Quality Standard (INWQS).

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Table 1.2 (Malaysian National Standard for Drinking Water Quality)

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ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF WATER QUALITY

STANDARDS

Advantages:

Provide a good quality of water supplied to consumers. 

Provide drinking water safe to drink and not hazardous to health or objectionable to the

physical senses of consumer.

Arrange to eliminate pollution, kill all organisms, especially those potentially carrying the

disease with the purpose of obtaining good water quality.

Disadvantages:

Can cause a variety of diseases such as E.coli.

Consumer will feel uncomfortable to use water that has high hardness that does not meet

the conditions required by the WHO.

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WATER QUALITY TEST

Water quality test is to determine dissolve oxygen, turbidity, total solid, pH level, temperature

and flow rate, nitrates, fecal coliform, biochemical oxygen and phosphorous in water. There are

several test can be conducted. The test conducted as below :

a) Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

o The objective is to measure the strength of the water sample ( water, wastewater,

etc) based on the amount of oxygen needed to stabilize the organic matter in the

sample.

o It is a common environmental procedure for determining the extent to which

oxygen within a sample can support microbial life.

o BOD test is perform over five day period.

b) Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)

o The objective is to measure the effectiveness of waste water sample (usually

industrial waste water) through the oxidation and reduction reaction.

o COD is the total measurement of all chemicals in the water that can be oxidized.

o COD is used as a measurement of pollutants in natural and waste waters to assess

the strength of discharged waste such as sewage and industrial effluent waters.

o The dichromate reflux method is preferred over procedures using other oxidants

because of superior oxidizing ability, applicable to a wide variety samples and

ease of manipulation.

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Wastewater and Blank Sample Sample Undergo Rapid Temperature

Increase

c) Total Solid Determination

o The objective is to determine the total solid is water sample.

o Solid refer to matter suspended or dissolved in water or waste water. Solid may

affect water or effluent quality adversely in a number of ways.

o Water with high dissolved solids generally are of inferior palatability

o Solid analysis are important in the control of biological and physical wastewater

treatment process and for assessing compliance with regulatory agency

o Total solid is the term applied to the material residue left in the dishes after

evaporation of a sample at 103°C to 105°C

o Total solid include total suspended solid and total dissolved solids.

o Total suspended solid is the portion of total solid retained by filter

o Total dissolved solid is the portion of solid that passess through a filter of 2.0 μm

nominal pore size under specified condition

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d) Jar Test

o The objective of jar test is to determine the optimal coagulant dose which will

produce the highest removal of a given water turbidity

o Raw water and waste water are normally turbid containing solid particles of

varying sizes.

o The settling velocities of colloidal particles of sizes less than 50μm.

o The particles are encouraged to collide leading to coalescence of particle to form

flocs particles, which are bigger and heavier.

o Coagulant process is by adding chemical coagulant to the raw water or

wastewater.

o Coagulant that normally used are salts of aluminium namely aluminiumsulphate

or ferric salts namely ferrous sulphate or ferric chloride.

o Next process is flocculation.

o Process promote particles collision due to gentle agitation resulting in

agglomeration of smaller non-settleable particles into flocs (bigger particles)

which settles easily to produce clarified water.

Reagent : AluminiumSulphate Coagulant and Flocculation Process

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e) Bacteria Counts

o Water treatment plants monitor the effectiveness of their sterilization process.

o Very few of the thing we eat or drink are bacteria free.

o Bacteria are remarkable adaptable to diverse environmental conditions. There are

found in the bodies of all living organisms and on all parts of the earth.

o For example, the standard plate count method is an indirect measurement of cell

density and reveals information related only to live bacteria.

o The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through Water Quality Standard

imposed that for the recreational waters (freshwater) the geometric mean of the

indicated bacterial densities should not exceed one or the other of the following

two selected bacteria that is E. coli 126 per 100 ml or Enterococci 33 per 100 ml.

o (Escherichia coli (or E.coli) is the most prevalent infecting organism in the

familu of gram-negative bacteria known as enterobacteriaceae) that causing

food poisoning.

Meat extract, Agar & Peptone

Preparing Samples Using Total

Plate Count

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f) Dissolve Oxygen

o This test is the most important of the water quality test to measure water’s ability

to support plants and animals.

o Example factors that affect the amount of dissolved oxygen in water is water

temperature.

o Temperature rises, less gas will dissolve.

g) Turbidity

o Turbidity measurs water clarity, which allow sunlight to penetrate to a greater

depth.

o The main sources of turbidity are erosion, living organisms and those from human

behavior.

Checking Turbidity Instrument

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h) pH Level

o pH level can be determine using pH meter

o The pH of water is important to aquatic life. If the pH falls below 4 or above 9

everything is dead

Checking pH

i) Temperature and Flowrate

o Temperature of water may harm river’s ecology.

o There are many natural and human factors that can affect a river’s temperature in

example human factors include industry, development and dams.

o To measure temperature and flow rate we need to find two places along the river

that are about 1.6km apart that have the same conditions.

o Then measure the temperature at approximately the same time.

o If the difference is greater than 2°C, then there is thermal pollution.

o To find flow rate we use buoyant object, orange and float it down the river

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WAYS TO INCREASE WATER QUALITY

“We are killing the lakes and wetlands in our neighborhood. Each of us, with our seemingly

harmless everyday yard work, has a small part in it, but together the efeect are becoming very

significant” a special quoater by Jim Perry, H.T. Morse Professor of Water Quality, Head

Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology University of Minnesota.

There are solutions available to help in saving our local lakes and wetlands. The example is state

below :

1) Managing Stormwater

If left unmanaged, stormwater can wash harmful pollutants from urban areas into our

waterways and bays. However, water sensitive urban design techniques can capture

stormwater, clean it and put it to good use – such as watering green spaces in our

community.

2) River Flows – Managing Water For The Environment

Rivers and creeks have natural patterns of high and low flows, which plants and animals

rely on to reproduce and survive. This pattern can be distrupted by human activities such

as developing land or taking river water to irrigate crops.

3) Enforcing Laws and Regulation

Enforcing laws and regulation to protect our waterways.People illegally taking water

from waterways.Besides compliance with planning schemes or conditions of planning

permits.

4) Developing Plans, Strategies and Guidelines

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Develop plans, strategies and guidelines to protect and manage our waterways.

Implemanting laws and state direction in the development of regional plans and creating

strategies and guidelines to deliver these outcomes. Providing input to regional plans –

such as specialist technical advice to local government an undertaking flood studies.

5) Use Environmentally Safe Cleaning Products

Safer substitutes, lie vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, salt, borax, olive oil and cedar

chips can get the job done just as well as their more hazardous counterparts.

6) Use zero-phosphorous Fertilizer

Do not use fertilizer that contains phosphorous. Phosphorous that accelerates algae

growth in our lakes and wetlands. Consider one pound of phosphorous in runoff can

result in 500 pounds of algae growth.

7) Properly Dispose of Household Hazardous Waste

Do not pour old gasoline onto the street or wash paint brushes at the end of your work.

Properly dispose of household hazardous wastes. Whether gasoline, paint, persticides,

antifreeze, motor oil or other like, dispose of them at your country waste site. Their effect

on our waters can be devastating.

8) Increased Monitoring And Notification

It is needed to understand the health of the river, to track down specific causes of

exceedences, and to enable regulators to inform the public with more timely and accurate

information. Investment in wastewater infrastructure is needed to ensure the lasting

protection of water quality. Better water quality policies are needed to improve the

quality of treatment and overall water management.

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CONCLUSION

Fresh water is one of our most vital resources, and when our water is polluted it is not

only devasting to the environment, but also to human health. Much of water comes from rivers,

lakes and other surface water sources. Before it is delivered to our homes, it is treated to remove

chemicals, particulates (e.g. soot and silt) and bacteria. This clean potable water is the used for

cooking, drinking, cleaning, bathing, watering our lawn and so forth. That is the reason Water

Quality Standard was introduced by our government to manage and to help protect and maintain

water quality necessary to meet and maintain designated or assigned uses, such as swimming,

recreation, public water supply, and/or aquatic life.

The prevention of pollution at source, the precautionary principle and the prior licensing

wastewater discharges by competent authorities have become key element of successful policies

for preventing, controlling and reducing inputs of hazardous substances, nutrients and other

water pollutants from point sources into aquatic ecosystems. As a conclusion, water quality

standard act as a guidelines for continual quality of water supplied to public. Besides, it is to

ensure effective protection of public health and improve the management of the water utilities.

Lastly, it is to ensure that the drinking water is safe to drink and not hazardous to health or

objectionable to the physical senses of consumer.

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