Fishing Jetty

Our first station was the Fishing Jetty. Then, we did a water quality testing there. We learnt that clean water is essential for living organisms in the water to thrive and that quality of water affects not only the health of Eco-systems but also whether it is safe for human to consume the water.

The Fishing Jetty!

Firstly, we collected water from the reservoir.

Water collected from the reservoir! :)

Then, we observed and smelt the water. We learnt that smelling the water could give us basic information about the water quality. On its own, water does not have any smell. The smell of the collected water could give a a rough indication of pollution sources. The water had little or almost no particles at all and there was no debris on the water surface. The water was also odorless. Our conclusion was that the water was clean as it had no debris, little or no particles and was odourless.

We then observed the colour of the water as colours could give us clues as to what may be in the water, like dissolved pollutants or bacteria. But coloured water did not necessarily mean the water was polluted. We observed that the was greenish-yellow, which meant that there was an algae bloom that was usually caused by high nutrients in the water, fertilisers or organic matters.

Then, we observed the turbidity of the water. Turbidity is the level of "murkiness"of the water. It meant that there are particles suspended in the water. Turbidity affects the amount of light that can penetrate through the water, which determines the water level reaching the different depths of the reservoir. This in turn affects the aquatic plant life. We observed that the results were 40 JIU, which meant that the water was slightly turbid. 

Next, we tested the temperature of the water. The temperature of the water will vary with the weather and time of sampling. The temperature of the water affects the amount of dissolved oxygen. The temperature that we took was 30 degree Celsius, meaning that it was in the acceptable range. 

We also tested for dissolved oxygen. Dissolved oxygen is the amount of oxygen dissolved in a given volume of water, at a given temperature and atmospheric pressure. The minimum amount of dissolved oxygen need to sustain fish life is about 4mg/l (milligrams per litres). The results were 4ppm, which we analysed that the amount of dissolved oxygen was sufficient and acceptable. 

Then we tested the pH of the water.

pH of the water!

The pH of the water was actually pH 10 when we tested it but according to the seniors its supposed to be between pH 8-9, which means neutral to basic.

In conclusion, the overall quality of the water was quite clean. However, we could not drink the water directly from the reservoir as there is bacteria and other minerals in the water. Also, the water quality of our reservoirs is considered rather clean as compared to water with chemical waste in it, which is renderd toxic even after it has been treated.

Our beautiful reservoir :)