HOME                                  PROBLEM

We have always thought that some of the water from different places was disgusting! So we wondered how unhealthy for us this water actually was. We decided to collect samples of all different types of water and test it. We also wanted to know if bottled water was actually better for us like we are led to believe. People also often talked about how Avonlea water was better than Ashley’s water and she figured this was her chance to prove her water better! We wanted to know how safe the water directly out of a spring is, or if we should even be drinking it. So from all of this we decided to do our experiment. Each thing we tested has a different purpose whether it be good or bad, we have to explain the 7 chemicals for you to understand. pH is a measurement of acid that is often shown on a line.      

0 is the highest number for an acid and 14 is the highest number for a base, 7 is neutral. You want your water to be somewhere around neutral. Dissolved Oxygen is important for healthy aquatic areas; water with higher Dissolved Oxygen will come from a healthier environment. Nitrate comes from basically dead things and sewage so really you don’t want it in your drinking water. Phosphates you don’t want very many of either, high levels will bring down dissolved oxygen levels and also increase bacteria, you don’t want too much. Coliform Bacteria mostly comes from feces, it grows rapidly and from this I think you know that this is a bad thing. Iron can often give your drinking water some taste, but you don’t want it in your household water because it stains things. Hardness is a debatable thing, some people want it in their water because it adds minerals they say it makes better taste where others prefer no hardness.