| | Category | EV | L12 | Water Quality: An Analysis of City Water in Bay City, Michigan |
| | Abstract | The purpose of this study was to evaluate causes of the poor water |
| | quality in Bay City found during the previous year’s study of water quality |
| | in the Saginaw Valley. What was determined to be poor water quality in |
| | Bay City may be due to the type of piping in the home from which water |
| | was sampled. Contaminants from the piping could have been released into |
| | water. Therefore, it was hypothesized that the specific home previously |
| | tested is the source of the conclusion that the water quality in Bay City is |
| | poor. |
| | |
| | Twelve houses, three from each of four different quadrants of the city, |
| | were tested for eleven contaminants. Contaminants tested for during this |
| | study included alkalinity, ammonia, total coliform/E. coli, carbon dioxide, |
| | chloride, dissolved oxygen, nitrites, pH, supersaturation, total dissolved |
| | solids and total hardness. All of the tests, except total coliform/E. coli, |
| | supersaturation and total dissolved solids, were conducted three times to |
| | ensure accuracy of the results. |
| | |
| | Following analysis of the data, it was concluded that the original |
| | hypothesis was incorrect. Although the quadrant that the house is located |
| | in had the highest values for several contaminants, the individual house |
| | did not have higher values than any of the other houses tested. |
| | |
| | Based upon the findings of this study, future research is planned related |
| | to the water quality in Bay City. It is recommended that additional testing |
| | be performed to determine the cause of the poor water quality of an |
| | individual home, be it the piping of the home or the pipes leading up to the |
| | home from the water treatment facility. Additional testing may also be |
| | performed to evaluate leaching that occurs with different types of pipes at |
| | different temperatures. |
| | Bibliography | “2007 Water Quality Report.” 2007. City of Bay City Municipal Water |
| | Treatment Plant. 30 January 2008. |
| | <http://www.baycitymi.org/Utilities/water/WaterReport.pdf>. |
| | |
| | “Alkalinity.” Wikipedia. 06 December 2007. 07 December 2007. |
| | <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkalinity>. |
| | |
| | “Bacteria.” Aqua Pure. 07 February 2008. |
| | <http://www.aquapurefilters.com/contaminants/108/bacteria.html>. |
| | |
| | “Chlorite.” Aqua Pure. 07 February 2008. |
| | <http://www.aquapurefilters.com/contaminates/118/chloride.html>. |
| | |
| | “Commonly Found Substances in Drinking Water and Available Treatment.” |
| | Illinois Department of Public Health. 07 December 2007. |
| | <http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/pdf/DrinkingWater.pdf>. |
| | |
| | “Copper Water Pipe Corrosion – Aggressive Water.” Ask the Builder. 06 |
| | July 2001. 26 February 2009. |
| | <http://www.askthebuilder.com/084_Copper_Water_Pipe_Corrosion_- |
| | _Aggressive_Water.shtml>. |