When water isn’t monitored, many types of contaminants can change its color, flavor, and other attributes. If you fully understand how pollution changes key characteristics of water, you’ll know why consistent monitoring is important.
Taste
As you drink a bottle or glass of regular water, you shouldn’t taste anything. However, when water is contaminated, it usually has foul taste because pollution gradually changes the flavor profile. Typically, most contaminants that dissolve in drinking water can produce the following foul favors:
- Strong and salty: Sulfates and chloride ions can give a batch of drinking water a strong, salty aftertaste. Drinking water that has this type of flavor is usually found in areas where irrigation drainage and industrial waste are found. During each of these operations, a high level of chloride lingers in the environment. Sulfate risks increase throughout locations where there are rocks and soil since sodium and magnesium sulfate generate naturally around these zones. Typically, sulfate contaminates a local water supply gradually by polluting groundwater that drifts on various terrains. Whenever chloride or sulfate causes contamination problems, the salty flavor will result from road salt.
- Odd and sugary: If iron or calcium contaminates a local water supply, the water will taste somewhat sweet. Improper pH levels or inconsistent alkaline levels can lead to this problem as well.
Smell
Most odors that emit from contaminated water are mild, and other aromas are strong and intense. The following environmental hazards can give regular water a noticeable scent:
- Sulfur: When sulfate levels in groundwater are dramatically reduced, you’ll detect a sulfur odor as you hover a glass of water underneath your nose. Although sulfur isn’t dangerous, it can make the process of drinking a refreshing glass of water less enjoyable.
- Sewage: Odors from sewage problems are usually isolated, which is why proper water quality monitor is very important in heavily populated homes and buildings. The strongest scents are caused by bacteria growth on common fixtures, such as drains and hot water heaters. If you perform inspections and implement maintenance procedures regularly, you can prevent bacteria growth and foul sewage odors.
These are just some of the many reasons why water quality monitoring is needed in dozens of business districts, neighborhoods, and suburbs. In rural areas in the United States, there are a variety of programs that are in progress, and each system helps crews maintain clean water in oceans, lakes and coastal zones.
