What is turbidity and why is it important?
Turbidity is a measure of water clarity how much the material suspended in water decreases the passage of light through the water. Suspended materials include soil particles (clay, silt, and sand), algae, plankton, microbes, and other substances. These materials are typically in the size range of 0.004 mm (clay) to 1.0 mm (sand). Turbidity can affect the color of the water.
Higher turbidity increases water temperatures because suspended particles absorb more heat. This, in turn, reduces the concentration of dissolved oxygen (DO) because warm water holds less DO than cold. Higher turbidity also reduces the amount of light penetrating the water, which reduces photosynthesis and the production of DO. Suspended materials can clog fish gills, reducing resistance to disease in fish, lowering growth rates, and affecting egg and larval development. As the particles settle, they can blanket the stream bottom, especially in slower waters, and smother fish eggs and benthic macroinvertebrates. Sources of turbidity include:
- Soil erosion
- Waste discharge
- Urban runoff
- Eroding stream banks
- Large numbers of bottom feeders (such as carp), which stir up bottom sediments
- Excessive algal growth
Turbidity can be useful as an indicator of the effects of runoff from construction, agricultural practices, logging activity, discharges, and other sources. Turbidity often increases sharply during a rainfall, especially in developed watersheds, which typically have relatively high proportions of impervious surfaces. The flow of storm water runoff from impervious surfaces rapidly increases stream velocity, which increases the erosion rates of stream banks and channels. Turbidity can also rise sharply during dry weather if earth-disturbing activities are occurring in or near a stream without erosion control practices in place.
Regular monitoring of turbidity can help detect trends that might indicate increasing erosion in developing watersheds. However, turbidity is closely related to stream flow and velocity and should be correlated with these factors. Comparisons of the change in turbidity over time, therefore, should be made at the same point at the same flow.
Turbidity is not a measurement of the amount of suspended solids present or the rate of sedimentation of a steam since it measures only the amount of light that is scattered by suspended particles. Measurement of total solids is a more direct measure of the amount of material suspended and dissolved in water.
Turbidity is generally measured by using a turbidity meter.