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Water Quality Standards

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Submitted By Catort7779
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Water Quality Standards
Catherine Ortiz
Everest

Water Quality Standards
Having water quality standards is important because it helps ensure that the water condition is good. Depending on what the water will be used for; the standards change. For example, the standard for drinking water is a lot higher than the standards for water that we would use to water our lawn. “The EPA has listed 167 chemicals and substances as criteria pollutants.”(Wright & Boorse, 2014, p. 515) These chemicals are not allowed to remain in the water. The water would need to be conditioned to make it meet the standards of not having any of those chemicals and substances in it. “The list identifies the pollutant and then recommends concentrations for freshwater, saltwater and human consumption.”(Wright & Boorse, 2014, p. 515)
Criteria pollutants are chemicals found in water. “The majority of these are toxic chemicals, but many are also natural chemicals or conditions that describe the state of the water, such as nutrients, hardness (a general measure of dissolved calcium and magnesium salts) and pH (a measure of the acidity of the water).”(Wright & Boorse, 2014, p. 515) The maximum contaminant levels or MCL are the levels of toxins that are at acceptable amounts, found in the water. For example, “the CMC and CCC values for arsenic are 340 µg/L and 150 µg/L (1 µg/L = part per billion) for freshwater bodies and 69 µg/L and 36 µg/L for saltwater bodies. The drinking water MCL concentration, however, is 10 µg/L.”(Wright & Boorse, 2014, p. 515)
This shows us that having standards for water quality is necessary. It helps protect our health and eliminates any chemicals or pollutants that could cause us harm. Even if the water still contains some of the pollutants or chemicals, it would have to be below a certain amount to ensure we are not ingesting dangerous

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