Water quality - definition

 Water quality is the physical, chemical and biological

characteristics of water. Water quantity is about the amount
of water (e.g. volume and flow rate)
 Water quality is a measure of the condition of water relative
to the requirements of
– one or more biotic species and or
– to any human need or purpose.
 It is most frequently used by reference to a set of
standards against which compliance can be assessed.
 The most common standards used to assess water quality
relate to:
– drinking water,
– safety of human contact,
– health of ecosystems.

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 Water quality – content
 point – non point sources
 oxygen depletion / modelling
 regulations

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 Overview sources

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 Point sources & non-point sources
Point Non-point
 sewer  air pollution
 animal manure  agro-chemicals via groundwater
 factory  agro-chemicals via siltation
 gasoline station (surface runoff)
 dry cleaner  urbanisation, many septic tanks
 waste dump
 mining

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 Point sources & non-point sources
Biological Oxygen Demand in the Philippines

 Note: for other pollutants this will be quite different

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 Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
 River health is directly related to Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
levels.
 The critical level of DO for “good” health is 4 to 5 mg/L
(ppm) O2
 When DO concentrations are below this value, many
problems occur.

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 Sources and sinks of oxygen

 Atmospheric reaeration  Discharge of Biological

 Photosynthesis (plants, Oxygen Demand (BOD):
algae) components degradable
 Advection (dilution by by oxygen (mg O2 /L)
inflow of clean water)  Respiration: organisms
using oxygen
 Nitrification: nitrogen
components oxidized to
nitrate

http://www.esac.pt/rnabais/GAREIA2007-2008/STREEPER%20AND%20PHELPS%20EQUATION.pdf

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 Oxygen Resources in Streams
“DO Sag”: 5 zones
Clean Decomposition Sceptic Recovery Clean

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 Streeter-Phelps equation
“DO Sag Curve”

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 Modelling approach
1. Define state variables (here DO and BOD)
2. Define (kinetic) processes
A. Mixing of river and waste water
B. Oxygen use by BOD
C. Reaeration
3. Construct mass balances
4. Solve

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 Streeter-Phelps equation
mixing + oxygen use + reaeration
C. Reaeration

River

Waste
A. Mixing B. BOD degradation using oxygen

Complete transverse and vertical mixing (perpendicular to flow), no mixing in flow direction: plug flow, x

=ut

x = distance (m), u = velocity (m/d), t = time (d)

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 Streeter-Phelps equation
2.A mixing
L and DO
r r L and DO after mixing
river; flow rate Q o o
r
Mass balances:
L and DO
w w
Qr Lr  Qw Lw (Qr  Qw ) Lo in waste stream; flow rate Q
w

Qr DOr  Qw DOw (Qr  Qw ) DOo

Indices:
Q Flow rate m3/s
r River
L BOD mg O /L or gO /m3
2 2
w waste water
DO Dissolved Oxygen mg O /L
2
o out after mixing

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 Streeter-Phelps equation
2. A mixing 2

Example
Calculate
River discharge: 10 m3/s
L and DO
Waste water discharge: 300 L/s o o
BOD River 1 mgO /L
2
BOD waste water 1000 mgO /L
2
DO river 8 mgO /L
2

DO waste water 0 mgO /L

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 Streeter-Phelps equation
2. A mixing 3

Example
Calculate
River discharge: 10 m3/s
L and DO
Waste water discharge: 300 L/s o o
BOD River 1 mgO /L Result
2
BOD waste water 1000 mgO /L L = 30.1 mgO /L
2 o 2
DO river 8 mgO /L
2 DO = 7.8 mgO /L
o 2
DO waste water 0 mgO /L
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 Streeter-Phelps equation
2.B Oxygen use by BOD
BOD + O  CO + H O
2 2 2

 First order reaction, only dependent on BOD

dL
 k d L;
dt
t 0, L Lo

 note independent of O ! Assumption river has O

2 2
Plug flow down stream of discharge point

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 Streeter-Phelps equation
2.B oxygen use by BOD: half life BOD
 Half-life, time needed for the concentration to decrease by a factor 2

Lt Lo e  kd t , ln( L0 / Lt ) k d t ,
ln( 2) 0.693
t1/ 2  
kd kd
t x / u
 Example

Q = 10 m3/s, cross section area A = 200 m2

o
L = 30 mgO /L. K = 0.2 1/day (d-1)
0 2 d
Calculate the location where L = 15 mgO /L
t 2

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 Streeter-Phelps equation
2.B oxygen use by BOD: half life BOD 2
 Lt/L0 = 15 / 30 = ½  find distance after 1 half life

 t1/2=ln(2)/kd= 0.693 / 0.2 d-1 = 3.47 d

 u = Qo/A= 10 m3/s / 200 m2 = 0.05 m/s = 4.32 km/d
 xt1/2= 3.47 d x 4.32 km/d = 15 km

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2012s2 CE48-11-1 18
 2.B River deoxygenation coefficient
(First order decay rate of BOD)

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 Streeter-Phelps equation:
2.C reaeration
Rr k r ( DOs  DO) k r D
R reaeration rate (mgO /L/d)
r 2
k reaeration rate coefficient (d-1)
r
DO saturated dissolved oxygen concentration (mgO /L)
s 2
DO dissolved oxygen concentration in river (mgO /L)
2
D oxygen deficit DO - DO (mgO /L)
s 2

 Oxygen from the air dissolves in water

 The saturation (equilibrium) concentration is determined by Henry’s Law: proportional to partial O

2
pressure in air

 The rate at which O2 is dissolved in water is proportional to the “dissolved oxygen deficit”

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 Streeter-Phelps equation
2.C reaeration data

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 Streeter-Phelps equation
2.C oxygen solubility for rearation
T (oC) DOs (mg/L)
15 10.15
20 9.17
25 8.38
30 7.63
35 7.07

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 Streeter-Phelps equation: 3. Mass balance

Balance DO deficit D for a volume segment in a river (ΔV =AΔx):

Change in mass = mass flow in – mass flow out + mass flow reactions

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 Volume Flow/Concentration/Mass Flow

 Volume flow (flow rate) Q, volume per time in m3/s

 Concentration C, mass per volume in mg/L or g/m3

 Mass flow J, mass per time, g/s

J=QC

 Volume V in m3

 Mass M in g

M=VC

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 Streeter-Phelps equation
3. mass balance

DO
s
Change in Deficit Deficit

Deficit increase decrease

BOD Reaeration

D = DO –DO = deficit
s
x river length (m)

u velocity (m/day),

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 Streeter-Phelps equation
4. Mass balance solution

L BOD after mixing (mgO /L)

0 2
D Oxygen deficit after mixing (mgO /L)
o 2

Note: we derived already the solution for BOD

 kd t
Lt Lo e
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 Streeter-Phelps equation
“DO Sag Curve”

See Streeter-Phelps.xls and try some other

values to see the limitations of this approach

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 Levels of Complexity in Implementing
WASP7 Eutrophication Model
Level of Complexity
Name 1 2 3 4 5 6
Ammonia x x x x x
Nitrate x x x x
Inorganic Phosphorus x x x
Phytoplankton Carbon x x x
Periphyton Carbon x
Carbonaceous BOD x x x x x x
Dissolved Oxygen x x x x x x
Organic Nitrogen x x x x
Organic Phosphorus x x x
Sediment Diagenesis x x
Level Description
1 Streeter-Phelps DO/BOD and Descriptive SOD
2 Modified Streeter-Phelps with NBOD
3 Linear DO Balance with Nitrification
4 Simple Eutrophication with Descriptive SOD
5 Intermediate Eutrophication with Sediment Diagenesis
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6 Advanced Eutrophication with Sediment Diagenesis and Periphyton

 Eutrophication - DO Interactions

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 http://emb.gov.ph/laws-wqm.htm

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 Fresh Water Classification
Public Water Supply Class I. This class is intended primarily for waters
having watersheds which are uninhabited and otherwise protected and which
AA require only approved disinfection in order to meet the National Standards for
Drinking Water (NSDW) of the Philippines.

Public Water Supply Class II. For sources of water supply that will
A require complete treatment (coagulation, sedimentation, filtration and
disinfection) in order to meet the NSDW.
Recreational Water Class I. For primary contact recreation such as
B bathing, swimming, skin diving, etc. (particularly those designated for tourism
purposes).
1) Fishery Water for the propagation and growth of fish and other aquatic
resources;
C 2) Recreational Water Class II (Boatings, etc.)
3) Industrial Water Supply Class I (For manufacturing processes after
treatment).
1) For agriculture, irrigation, livestock watering, etc.
D 2) Industrial Water Supply Class II (e.g. cooling, etc.)
3) Other inland waters, by their quality, belong to this classification
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 Water Quality Criteria for Aesthetics and Oxygen
Demand for Fresh Waters
Parameter Unit AA A B C D
Temp rise C
0
3 3 3 3
pH - 6.5 - 8.5 6.5 - 8.5 6.5 - 8.5 6.5 - 8.5 6.0 - 9.0
DOxygen mg/L 5 5 5 5 3
BOD5 mg/L 1 5 5 7 (10) 10 (15)
Oil/Grease mg/L nil 1 1 2 5
Nitrate mgN/L 1 10 nr 10* -
Phosphate mgP/L nil 0.1* 0.2* 0.4* -
Phenols mg/L nil 0.002 0.005* 0.02* -
T Coliforms NPN/100 ml 50* 1000* 1000* 5000* -
Fecal Coli NPN/100 ml 20 100 200 - -
Chloride mg/L 250 250 - 350
Copper mg/L 1 1 - 0.05*
Selection, *) see notes in DAO 90-34

Use always recent and original tables

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 Water Quality Criteria for Toxic Substances for Fresh
Waters (Protection of Public Health)
Parameter Unit AA A B C D
Arsenic* mg/L 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.01
Cadmium* mg/L 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.05
Chromium VI* mg/L 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 -
Cyanide mg/L 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 -
Lead mg/L 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 -
Tot Mercury mg/L 0.002 0.002 0.002 0.002 0.002
Aldrin mg/L 0.001 0.001 - - -
DDT mg/L 0.05 0.05 - - -
Dieldrin mg/L 0.001 0.001 - - -
Lindane mg/L 0.004 0.004 - - -
Endrin mg/L nil nil - - -
PCB mg/L 0.001 0.001 - - -

Selection, *) see notes in DAO 90-34

Use always recent and original tables

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 Brown print entry are stations With BOD much larger than the guideline value

Red print entry are stations that conform with DO and BOD guideline values

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 http://www.denr.gov.ph/e-library/enr-statistics.html

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 Flow direction

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ENGR. ALEX J. TACBOBO Supervising Environmental Management Specialist Environmental Management Bureau-Region X