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Turbidity of water

What is turbidity?

Turbidity is a measure of water clarity. Turbid water can look cloudy or opaque and can also affect the colour of the water. A turbidity test will measure the decrease in the passage of light through a water sample based on the amount of floating particles in the water.

Turbidity is an optical measurement that indicates the presence of suspended particles. It's measured by shining light through a sample, and quantifying the suspended particle concentration. The more particles that are in a solution, the higher the turbidity.

At its simplest form, turbidity is just the cloudiness of water. The cloudiness typically comes from particles that are suspended in the water that we can’t see individually. These particles could be algae, dirt, minerals, proteins, oils, or even bacteria.

Importance of turbidity

The primary goal of drinking water treatment is to remove and reduce turbidity. Throughout the treatment process, turbidity is measured at multiple stages to determine treatment efficiency and to ensure compliance with government regulations. Suspended matter (soil, algae, etc.) in water reduces effectiveness of disinfecting chemicals and can act as carriers for bacteria and parasites.

Outside of drinking water, wastewater, and environmental use, measuring turbidity is useful in wineries, as well as other places across the food and beverage industry.

How is Turbidity Measured?

The test is performed in accordance with IS code of turbidity- IS 3025 Part (10) 1984. The best way to measure turbidity in a wide variety of samples is with a nephelometer, also known as a turbidity meter. Turbidity meters utilize a light and photo detector to measure light scatter, and read out in units of turbidity, such as nephelometric turbidity units (NTU) or formazin turbidity units (FTU). Permissible limit of turbidity is 5.

At ProVatsalya, we offer a wide range of water testing services. We have successfully completed 100+ projects related to water testing in terms of both construction water and drinking water. The expertise of our Chief Consultant, Dr. Abhinav Mane drives us to be the best in the service providing reliable and timely services.