Analysis of water chemistry
Types of water
Types of water
--------------

### Environmental water

[thumb\|An [EPA](/wiki/United_States_Environmental_Protection_Agency "United States Environmental Protection Agency") scientist samples water in Florida [Everglades](/wiki/Everglades "Everglades")](/wiki/File:Everglades_Sampling_Location%2C_September_20%2C_2014_%2815834616445%29.jpg "Everglades Sampling Location, September 20, 2014 (15834616445).jpg")
Samples of water from the natural environment are routinely taken and analyzed as part of a pre\-determined monitoring program by regulatory authorities to ensure that waters remain [unpolluted](/wiki/Water_pollution "Water pollution"), or if polluted, that the levels of pollution are not increasing or are falling in line with an agreed remediation plan. An example of such a scheme is the [harmonized monitoring scheme](/wiki/Harmonised_monitoring_scheme "Harmonised monitoring scheme") operated on all the major river systems in the UK. The parameters analyzed will be highly dependent on nature of the local environment and/or the polluting sources in the area. In many cases the parameters will reflect the national and local [water quality standards](/wiki/Freshwater_environmental_quality_parameters "Freshwater environmental quality parameters") determined by law or other regulations. Typical parameters for ensuring that unpolluted surface waters remain within acceptable chemical standards include [pH](/wiki/PH "PH"), major [cations](/wiki/Cation "Cation") and [anions](/wiki/Anion "Anion") including [ammonia](/wiki/Ammonia "Ammonia"), [nitrate](/wiki/Nitrate "Nitrate"), [nitrite](/wiki/Nitrite "Nitrite"), [phosphate](/wiki/Phosphate "Phosphate"), [conductivity](/wiki/Electrical_conductivity "Electrical conductivity"), [phenol](/wiki/Phenol "Phenol"), [chemical oxygen demand](/wiki/Chemical_oxygen_demand "Chemical oxygen demand") (COD) and [biochemical oxygen demand](/wiki/Biochemical_oxygen_demand "Biochemical oxygen demand") (BOD).

### Drinking water supplies

Surface or ground water abstracted for the supply of drinking water must be capable of meeting rigorous [chemical standards](/wiki/Drinking_water_quality_standards "Drinking water quality standards") following treatment. This requires a detailed knowledge of the water entering the treatment plant. In addition to the normal suite of environmental chemical parameters, other parameters such as [hardness](/wiki/Water_hardness "Water hardness"), [phenol](/wiki/Phenol "Phenol"), [oil](/wiki/Oil "Oil") and in some cases a real\-time organic profile of the incoming water as in the [River Dee regulation scheme](/wiki/Dee_Regulation_Scheme%23Quality_management "Dee Regulation Scheme#Quality management").

### Industrial process water

In industrial process, the control of the quality of process water can be critical to the quality of the end product. Water is often used as a carrier of reagents and the loss of reagent to product must be continuously monitored to ensure that correct replacement rate. Parameters measured relate specifically to the process in use and to any of the expected contaminants that may arise as by\-products. This may include unwanted organic chemicals appearing in an inorganic chemical process through contamination with oils and greases from machinery. Monitoring the quality of the wastewater discharged from industrial premises is a key factor in controlling and minimizing pollution of the environment. In this application monitoring schemes Analyse for all possible contaminants arising within the process and in addition contaminants that may have particularly adverse impacts on the environment such as [cyanide](/wiki/Cyanide "Cyanide") and many organic species such as [pesticides](/wiki/Pesticide "Pesticide"). In the nuclear industry analysis focuses on specific isotopes or elements of interest. Where the nuclear industry makes wastewater discharges to rivers which have drinking water abstraction on them, radioisotopes which could potentially be harmful or those with long [half\-lives](/wiki/Half-life "Half-life") such as [tritium](/wiki/Tritium "Tritium") will form part of the routine monitoring suite.


What parameters are measured in industrial process water control?