River Pollution (help about chemicals)

[rocker9455]

Hey everyone!
Im doing a study on my local stretch of river in hereford (UK) its the river wye. im investigating how land use on the banks affects pollution (if any)

I have taken my measurements:
- GH
- KH
- pH
- DO
- Ammonia (nothing came up)
- Chlorine (" " ")
- Speed
- Tempreture

the whole investigation is part of my GCSE and im in the stage of analysis, im trying to find correlations between chemical reading (such as KH & pH - i need this explaing please!) before i start comparing the actual river banks. . . ideally i should of tken soil samples as well and tested them but its only GCSE and i didnt have that much time. . it will be something to discuss in my evaluation of my method!

So if anyone can help me with how the above chemicals relate to each other i would be very grateful! and if anyones interested in what i have written so far and pictures etc i would be happy to upload all the pictures, data etc so far

p.s
i have been reading this thread:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75895
its of use but not in depth enough really. . .

 

[SubRosa]

Water is chemically speaking hydrogen hydroxide. pH (Latin "pondus hydrogenii" the power of hydrogen) is the ratio expressed logarithmically of hydrogen to hydroxide ions. A preponderance of hydrogen gives an acidic pH, a preponderance of hydroxide gives a basic or alkaline pH.
GH is a measure of the concentration of calcium and magnesium ions in the water, also called the hardness. Higher concentrations cause hard water, lower ones are considered soft.
KH is a measure of the carbonate and bicarbonate ions also called alkalinity. This is also known as the buffering capacity, which is the ability of the water to resist changes in the pH.
DO is dissolved oxygen which is pretty self explanatory. The ability to absorb oxygen is dependent on temp and hardness. Higher temps and more dissolved minerals decrease water's ability to absorb O2, lower levels of these parameters increase it.
Ammonia (NH3) is the primary nitrogenous waste product of fish and a primary nutrient for plants. The toxicity of ammonia to fish is pH dependent. The higher the pH the more toxic any ammonia that is present will be. Below pH 6.5 or so ammonia is reduced to ammonium (NH4) which is much less toxic than ammonia. A level of ammonia that is uncomfortable for fish at a pH of 7 will be lethal at a pH of 8, and almost a non-issue at pH 6. Chlorine is used as a disinfectant to render water safe to drink by killing bacteria and some parasites. The speed of flow will tend to affect the DO, the more water movement the more O2 that is dissolved, within the limits of temp and dissolved minerals of course. Is this waht you needed?

 

[rocker9455]

is the ratio expressed logarithmically of hydrogen to hydroxide ions. A preponderance of hydrogen gives an acidic pH, a preponderance of hydroxide gives a basic or alkaline pH.

GH is a measure of the concentration of calcium and magnesium ions in the water, also called the hardness. Higher concentrations cause hard water, lower ones are considered soft.
KH is a measure of the carbonate and bicarbonate ions also called alkalinity. This is also known as the buffering capacity, which is the ability of the water to resist changes in the pH.
DO is dissolved oxygen which is pretty self explanatory. The ability to absorb oxygen is dependent on temp and hardness. Higher temps and more dissolved minerals decrease water's ability to absorb O2, lower levels of these parameters increase it.

Yup knew that!

Ammonia (NH3) is the primary nitrogenous waste product of fish and a primary nutrient for plants. The toxicity of ammonia to fish is pH dependent. The higher the pH the more toxic any ammonia that is present will be. Below pH 6.5 or so ammonia is reduced to ammonium (NH4) which is much less toxic than ammonia. A level of ammonia that is uncomfortable for fish at a pH of 7 will be lethal at a pH of 8, and almost a non-issue at pH 6. Chlorine is used as a disinfectant to render water safe to drink by killing bacteria and some parasites. The speed of flow will tend to affect the DO, the more water movement the more O2 that is dissolved, within the limits of temp and dissolved minerals of course. Is this waht you needed?

This is more along the right lines! Thanks very much for the reply, i know what all the measurements i have taken show me, what i want to know is how they affect each other, like as people have expressed that KH (? or is it GH) has an effect on pH, i want to know why this is!? any links would be very helpful!

Thanks!
Will