Assess Turbidity in Water
As explained in @donblair's primer, measuring turbidity means "measuring the amount of suspended solids in water -- solids that haven't fully dissolved". That is, "turbidity, an optical technique for assessing suspended solids in liquid -- is an important water quality parameter. Typically, light is shone into a liquid sample, and the amount of light scattered back out of the sample (off of particles suspended in it) is measured; the intensity of this scattered light is considered to be related to the amount of suspended solids in the sample." (reference)
image credit: https://castlebrookestreamstudy.weebly.com/
This page needs help!
- Info about regulations
- Info about ecological or human health impacts
- Advocacy leverage points
- Constraints we're working within: cost, complexity, sensitivity, time
There are a LOT of resources available on these pages by @donblair and others:
- https://publiclab.org/notes/donblair/08-25-2015/turbidity-001
- https://publiclab.org/wiki/turbidity_sensing
Questions
| Title | Author | Updated | Likes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DFRobot Turbidity Sensor Troubleshooting | @mimiss | about 5 years ago | 2 | 5 |
| Can you relate Secchi disk measurements to turbidity sensor measurements? | @wmacfarl | about 5 years ago | 1 | 7 |
| How can I calibrate a turbidity sensor? | @wmacfarl | almost 5 years ago | 0 | 4 |
| How do I choose a method for monitoring turbidity? | @stevie | over 6 years ago | 1 | 2 |
| Has anyone built a secchi disk before? | @stevie | over 6 years ago | 3 | 4 |
| What should we look for when sourcing turbidity tubes? | @stevie | over 6 years ago | 0 | 7 |
| What are different methods of measuring water turbidity? | @warren | almost 7 years ago | 1 | 3 |
| How is water turbidity regulated? | @warren | almost 7 years ago | 1 | 3 |
| How can we detect contaminants in water samples with a DIY spectrometer using reagents? | @warren | almost 7 years ago | 0 | 1 |
| Can a DIY spectrometer be used to measure water turbidity? | @warren | almost 7 years ago | 0 | 6 |
| Water Filter Effectiveness | @Mempet | about 7 years ago | 1 | 4 |
Sensors
Here's a list of different turbidity sensors and measurement systems. See below for some Do-It-Yourself approaches to measuring turbidity, and this page for more information on how turbidity sensors works.
- Kelley et al., An Affordable Open Source Turbidimeter http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/14/4/7142/pdf
- Hackteria.org, Turbiduino: http://hackteria.org/wiki/DIY_turbidity_meters
- Lambrou et al., A Nephelometric Turbidity System for Monitoring Residential Drinking Water Quality: http://www2.ucy.ac.cy/~faniseng/publications/SENSAPPEAL09.pdf
- Fondriest review: http://www.fondriest.com/environmental-measurements/equipment/measuring-water-quality/turbidity-sensors-meters-and-methods/
- Hach overview: http://www.hach.com/asset-get.download-en.jsa?code=61798
(see Water sensors for more, and click here to add to this table)
Activities
Activities for people to test methods (these develop over time)
| Purpose | Category | Status | Author | Time | Difficulty | Replications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turbidity sensor prototype | - | - | @donblair | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Photometer Kit idea | - | - | @programmer1200 | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Turbidity Sensor | - | - | @bhickman | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Photo Documentation of Turbid Waters for Advocacy | - | - | @gretchengehrke | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Willow Creek Water Quality Monitoring (EC and TDS) | - | - | @MadTinker | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Water Quality Testing At Turkey Creek | - | - | @Delaney | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
Activities should include a materials list, costs and a step-by-step guide to construction with photos. Learn what makes a good activity here.