MOBILE NOTE 50

Measuring the turbidity

of water supplies

Introduction
Measuring the turbidity of water is
an important test of its quality as it
is one of the methods of determining
whether or not it is safe to drink –
pathogens harmful to human health
can be suspended in turbid water.

This mobile note is the transcript

from the WEDC film of the same
title, available from: http://wedc.lu/
measuring-the-turbidity-of-water
Contents
Introduction.....................................................1
What is turbidity?............................................3
Methods of measurement..............................4
The Tyndall Effect............................................5
The turbidity tube............................................9
The Chinese Method.....................................13
Turbidity meters............................................17
If there is no specialist equipment...................
available.........................................................26
About this note..............................................30
What is turbidity?
Turbidity is the cloudiness of a liquid
caused by particles that are usually
invisible to the naked eye.

Turbidity can vary: some waters can be

very clear, others can be very cloudy.

For example, the turbidity would be

high in a river full of mud and silt where
it would be near impossible to see
through the water (Figure 1), whereas
by comparison, it would be low in clear
spring water (Figure 2).

Figure 1. A high level of turbidity

Figure 2. A low level of turbidity

The World Health Organization also notes

that managing turbidity affects both the
acceptability of water to consumers, and
the selection and efficiency of treatment
processes, particularly the efficiency of
disinfection with chlorine.

Methods of measurement
Three methods of measuring turbidity in
the field are discussed in this note:

1. Measuring turbidity with a turbidity

tube
2. The Chinese Method

3. Measuring turbidity using a turbidity

meter

The first two methods are simple means

of measurement. The third involves the
use of an electronic device that is more
complex to use but is a more accurate
means of measurement.

If no equipment is available as may be

the case in an emergency, there is an
additional method for making a rough
estimate of the turbidity levels of water
sources. (See the last section of this
note: ‘If no specialist equipment is
available’)

The Tyndall Effect

First, however, it may be important
to know whether a water sample is a
solution or a suspension. There is a
rudimentary means of determining
whether a liquid is one or the other by
shining a light through it. This is known
as ‘The Tyndall Effect’.

Named after the 19th-century physicist

John Tyndall, The Tyndall Effect relates
to the scattering of light by particles in a
suspension.

Discolouration in water can be caused

either by suspended or dissolved
materials.

Dissolved materials cannot be removed

as easily as suspended materials
that can be removed by filtration or
settlement.

If a liquid is a solution, such as a jar

containing fluorescein (Figure 3), the
light from the laser is not scattered. It
passes straight through.

We cannot see the beam of light. The

solution is coloured, but the colour
doesn’t scatter the light.
Figure 3. A jar containing fluorescein: light
passing through is not scattered

If we look at milk in water, this is not a

solution, it’s a suspension. There are tiny
globules of fat suspended in the water
so, as we shine a light through it, we
notice the light is scattered, confirming
that it’s a suspension and not a solution
(Figure 4).

Figure 4. Light is scattered through the

suspension (milk)
Figure 5 shows iron in water which is
also a suspension. It looks coloured
and again, as we shine light through
it, the light scatters. It’s rather like
car headlights on a misty evening. You
can follow where your headlights are
pointing because the tiny water droplets
in the atmosphere scatter the light.

So, with a solution there is no scattering

of light. Light is scattered though a
suspension.

Figure 5. Light is scattered through the

suspension (iron)

Whilst the Tyndall Effect is useful

for determining whether a liquid is a
solution or a suspension and may help
us to decide how to treat the water, it
does not tell us how turbid the water is.

We turn now to the three methods of

measuring turbidity.

The turbidity tube

We’ll look at the first means of
measuring turbidity using a conventional
turbidity tube.

Figure 6. A turbidity tube

Figure 6 shows what a turbidity tube is —
a long thin transparent tube made of two
parts that fit together so that it is easy
to carry.

Note that once it has been assembled,

it should always be held by the bottom
section to prevent the connection coming
loose (Figure 7).

Figure 7. Holding the tube by the lower

section

Nephelometric Turbidity Units

Note from Figure 6 that there are graded
marks etched on the tube. This scale
is not linear. The distance between 5
and 10 is much more than between
100 and 200. This is a scale we use for
taking a reading using the turbidity level.
A typical unit of measurement is the
Nephelometric Turbidity Unit or NTU.
There are others units of measurement,
but we use NTU here, as WHO make
recommendations for drinking-water
quality based on the NTU scale.

For example, WHO recommend that,

for all processes in which disinfection
is used, the turbidity must always be
low — preferably below 1 NTU, and
it is recommended that, for water to
be disinfected, the turbidity should be
consistently less than 5 NTU.

Low values of NTU are an indicator of

clear water.

The black mark

An important component of a turbidity
tube is a ‘black mark’ – usually a cross
or a circle marked on a yellow or white
background located inside the tube at the
base of the lower section (Figure 8).
Figure 8. A black cross marked at the
base of the inside of the tube

The way we measure turbidity is simply

to see at what level the cross or the
circle becomes invisible to the naked eye
(Figure 9).

Figure 9. Checking to see whether the

black cross is visible
We do this by adding incremental
amounts of turbid water into the tube
until this point is reached (Figure 10).
If the water is very turbid, the depth of
the water column inside the tube will be
much shorter than if the water has low
turbidity (Figure 1 and 2).

Figure 10. Adding incremental amounts of

water

The Chinese Method

The Chinese turbidity tube is slightly
different in that it uses a standard depth
of water rather than changing depths
of water. The advantage here is that
the tube can be much smaller than the
conventional turbidity tube, although it
may be less accurate (Figure 11).

Figure 11. The Chinese turbidity tube

A panel of alphabetic characters of

decreasing point size is used over which
the tube is placed (Figure 12).

If the water is very turbid, it may not be

possible to read any characters; and if
the water is very clear it will be easy to
read even the smallest characters.
Figure 12. The panel of letters for use with a
Chinese turbidity tube

Figure 13. Placing the tube over the panel

To use this method, place the tube filled

with your turbid water on top of the
supplied chart of letters, then lean over
and look through the tube at the visible,
larger characters printed on the chart
(Figure 13 and 14).
Figure 14. Looking through the tube to view
the characters

Next, slide the tube carefully across the

chart towards the smaller characters
until the characters can no longer be
seen (Figure 15).

Figure 15. The characters can no longer

be read
Take a reading from the chart at this
point. In this example the reading
suggests that the turbidity is somewhere
between 40 and 50 NTU (Figure 16).

Figure 16. Making a note of the reading

Turbidity meters
To test turbidity to a high degree of
accuracy — less than 5 NTU — then
turbidity meters can be used.

There are various types available on the

market (Figure 17). Some are hand held
for ease of use in the field, but they all
work in a similar way.
Figure 17. Turbidity meters

Figure 18 shows a desk-based turbidity

meter, where everything is done
automatically, eliminating the subjectivity
of the vision of an observer looking
through a tube.

Figure 18. A desk-based turbidity meter

A beam of light is shone through the
water, and the turbidity is calculated
by comparing the intensity of the light
before and after it enters the water
(Figure 19).

Figure 19. A schematic diagram of how the

light in a turbidity meter travels

For this method of testing turbidity you

take a sample of the water to be tested,
placed into a tube that fits snugly into
the machine. Fill the tube with the turbid
water up to the white line near the top
of the tube, and screw the cap onto the
top of the tube (Figures 20 and 21). There
is a small white triangle on one side of
the white line. This triangle should point
towards you when the tube is inserted in
the turbidity meter (Figure 22).

Figure 20. Filling up the tube

Figure 21. Replace the cap

Figure 22. The white triangle should point
towards you as you place the
tube into the meter

Next, clean the exterior of the tube, as

you want to measure the turbidity of
the water and not the cleanliness of the
glass tube (Figure 23).

Figure 23. Cleaning the exterior of the tube

Opening the lid of the turbidity meter,
place the sample tube into the circular
slot provided in the machine, with the
white triangle still facing towards you
Figure 24). Close the lid and wait for
the turbidity reading to appear on the
display.

Figure 24. Placing the tube into the meter

In this example, its records a reading

of 29.4 NTU which is reasonably clear
(Figure 25). Water with a reading less
than about 30 NTU could be treated
by filtration without causing too many
problems. Water having a turbidity of
more than about 30 NTU can cause
filters to clog.
Figure 25. A reading of 29.4

To check that the meter is calibrated

correctly, and therefore to validate
the reading for this sample, take the
sample out of the machine and check the
turbidity meter using one of the boxed
standard control tubes, each of which
has a different NTU value (Figure 26).

Figure 26. One of the boxed, standard

control tubes
This particular standard tube has a
turbidity of 20 NTU. First shake it well to
make sure that the material causing the
turbidity is evenly distributed (Figure 27).

Figure 27. Shake the sample well

Let it stand briefly for any bubbles to

disperse, and also clean the glass.

Again, there is a line and a small triangle

marked on the test tube —this time
in black— and this should face you
(Figure 28).
Figure 28. Face the black triangle to you

This standard tube should have a

turbidity of about 20 NTU (as previously
specified on the label).

Initially it reads 21 but as it settles it

decreases towards 20 (Figure 29).

So this standard tells us that the

turbidity meter is calibrated correctly.

Turbidity is likely to change, and readings

seldom need to be quoted to any great
accuracy.
Figure 29. The sample reading

If there is no specialist
equipment available
If, in the case of an emergency for
example, no specialist equipment is
available it is possible to make a rough
estimate of how turbid a water source is
by using more commonly available items
of equipment including:

• a clean container with a dark-

coloured interior surface – such as
an oil drum or a dustbin – and with a
minimum depth of 50cm;
• a bucket;
• a dull brass or copper coin with an
approximate diameter of 2.5cm; and
• a long measuring pole or steel tape
measure

The method
1. Place the coin in the bottom of the
container.
2. Gently add water drawn from the
well a little at a time (Figure 30a).

(30a)
At regular intervals, wait for the surface
of the water to calm and check to see if
the coin is still visible (Figure 30b).

(30b)

3. When it can no longer be seen

(Figure 30c), measure the depth of
the water (Figure 30d).
• If the depth of the water is less than
32cm, then the turbidity is likely to be
greater than 20NTU.
(30c)

(30d)

Figure 30. Checking the turbidity without

specialist equipment
• If the depth of the water is between
32 and 50cm, then the turbidity is
likely to be between 10 and 20NTU.
• If the depth of the water is greater
than 50cm, then the turbidity is likely
to be less than 10NTU.

About this note

Authors: Brian Reed, Michael Smith
and Rod Shaw
Photographs: Ken Chatterton
Illustrations: Rod Shaw

Designed and produced by WEDC

© WEDC, Loughborough University, 2017

Water, Engineering
and Development Centre (WEDC)
School of Civil and Building Engineering
Loughborough University
Leicestershire LE11 3TU UK

Phone: + 44 (0) 1509 222885

Email: [email protected]
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