Factors Affecting Water Quality

Nowadays, water quality becomes an increasingly important problem and draws more and more public’s attention. Water quality is used to define the chemical, biological, and physical characteristics of water (Diersing, 2009). It is a measure of the water condition relative to the requirements of one or more species and to any human need or purpose such as drinking, swimming, and fishing (Johnson et al., 1997). Degradation of water quality through different channels in different sources and different monitoring methods have been widely considered. This literature review seeks to address the factors that determine the water quality. The following factors are the main factors that influence the water quality: concentrations of nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus, concentration of dissolved oxygen, levels of fecal coliform bacteria from human and animal wastes, temperature of water, and sedimentation.

Anthropogenic inputs of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) to the Earth′s surface water bodies have greatly increased

In addition to its own effects, temperature influences several other parameters and can alter the physical and chemical properties of water. In this regard, water temperature should be accounted for when determining 7: Metabolic rates and photosynthesis production, Compound toxicity, Dissolved oxygen and other dissolved gas concentrations, Conductivity and salinity, Oxidation reduction potential (ORP), pH, Water Density. (Fondriest Environmental, Inc 2014) Temperature is, nevertheless, usually considered part of water quality because it so strongly affects chemical and biochemical equilibria and reaction rates in water – affecting, for example, DO solubility in water and rates of DO consumption by respiration.( Davies-Colley RJ 2013)

Fecal coliform, the human and animal wastes, carried to stream systems are sources of pathogenic or disease-causing, bacteria and viruses. (Divya,