Investigation into the quality of water resources in the Pretoria Area and the impact of quality on Environmental Health.
Project Outline:
South Africa is a water scarce country, with Gauteng already transporting water in from other provinces to ensure an adequate supply of water for the population. For this study, water resources include both the natural resources (i.e. rivers and dams) as well as water from boreholes and taps used for domestic purposes.
Water quality refers to the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water. It describes how suitable the water is for its intended purpose in nature or by different water users. Factors influencing water quality can be natural (i.e. geology of formations) or result from human activity. Diffuse pollution results from various land use activities, most significantly agricultural practices and human settlements, as well as the precipitation of pollutants from the air. Deteriorating water quality is one of the major threats to South Africa's capability to provide sufficient water of appropriate quality to meet its needs and to ensure environmental sustainability.
Main Objectives
- Laboratory techniques
- Sampling techniques
- Quality assessment and comparison of 'natural' and tap water:
- Chemical water assessment, e.g. inorganic compounds using precipitation and redox reactions.
- South African water standards
|
