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Water Quality Factsheets
- How does water quality effect the user?
- Typical surface water quality problems
- Typical ground water quality problems
- Water quality classification and guidelines
- Chemical water quality
- Physical water quality
- Microbial water quality

How does water quality effect the user?
Water quality affects the domestic user in terms of health, aesthetics and economics.

Typical surface water quality problems
Most of the surface waters in South Africa is of good quality and requires only clarification. There are however a few notable exceptions such as:
• Faecal pollution
• Colour and stability
• Salt concentrations and
• Eutrophication

Typical ground water quality problems
The most common problems in groundwater are:
• Salinity
• Fluoride
• Sulphate and Chloride
• Calcium and Magnesium
• Irons and /or Manganese
Water quality classification and guidelines
- Why classify water?
- How does the classifications system work?
- When is water safe for use?
- Substances which are general indicators of water quality.
- Substances which may lead to health problems.
- Substances which are of concern to the domestic user.

Why classify water?
Water is classified to;
• establish how suitable it is for the various domestic uses, namely drinking, food preparation, bathing and for washing clothes.
• Make it easy to communicate water quality information to the public and other role players
• Aid in decision-making regarding the management of the quality of domestic water supplies.

How does the classifications system work?
The classification system describes the effects of increasing concentrations of each of the substances considered important for domestic use. The system uses a simple colour and number code ranging from ideal to unacceptable water quality.

When is water safe for use?
People differ widely in their responses to water quality. What is safe for one person is not necessarily safe for another. Even in the Blue (ideal) class, there may be a few individuals who show some negative response. Where a few individuals may experience negative effects, these individuals have been identified as “sensitive groups”.

Substances which are general indicators of water quality
A great many substances can be found in water. However, only a few of these commonly occur in concentrations high enough to be of concern to domestic water users. The most important substances to measure are those that often occur in concentrations high enough to cause health, aesthetic or other problems. The following substances are of concern to the domestic user and are general indicators of water quality.

Substances which may lead to health problems
A great many substances can be found in water. However, only a few of these occur commonly in concentrations high enough to be of concern to domestic water users. The following substances are of concern to the domestic user and are commonly present at concentrations which may lead to health problems.

Substances which are of concern to the domestic user
A great many substances can be found in water. However, only a few of these commonly occur in concentrations high enough to be of concern to domestic water users. The most important substances to measure are those that often occur in concentrations high enough to cause health, aesthetic or other problems.
Chemical Water Quality
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Physical Water Quality
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Microbial Water Quality
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