{"id":7293,"date":"2022-11-04T11:40:40","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T11:40:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aquaread.com\/blog\/?p=7293"},"modified":"2024-01-22T10:37:49","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T10:37:49","slug":"understanding-turbidity-tds-tss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aquaread.com\/blog\/understanding-turbidity-tds-tss\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Turbidity, TDS, and TSS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Imagine if your drinking water was as murky as the water in your local river after heavy rainfall. Apart from wanting to drink one and not the other, a key difference between the two is turbidity \u2014 with the murkier water being described as more turbid.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This important <\/span>water quality<\/span><\/a> factor refers to the <\/span>clarity of water<\/span><\/a>. But you might be wondering what the difference is between turbidity, TDS, and TSS? Let\u2019s start by looking more closely at turbidity<\/span><\/p>\n

What is turbidity?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Turbidity is an optical characteristic of water and, to quantify it, you need to measure the amount of light that can shine through a water sample.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The higher the turbidity of water, the cloudier it is. This hazy quality happens because of a large number of particles that are generally not visible to the human eye \u2014 comparable to smoke in air.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When solids enter water, they either sink or float depending on their size and agitation. So if currents are stronger or a storm has just occurred, turbidity is often higher. But turbidity can still be high in <\/span>still<\/span><\/i> bodies of water if they\u2019re polluted \u2014 hence why this is a great <\/span>general measure of water quality<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why is turbidity important?<\/span><\/h3>\n

Turbidity can have many implications and causes. For example, it can be caused by high levels of phytoplankton, nearby disturbances like construction, agriculture, and <\/span>mining<\/span><\/a>, and stormwater run-off containing pollutants.<\/span><\/p>\n

Water bodies with higher consistent levels of turbidity can become dead zones, as the murkiness of the water prevents light from reaching the depths. This impacts the growth of aquatic plants and, in turn, of the species that depend on eating the plants. In the worst cases of turbidity, the particles can clog up the gills of fish that live there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As for drinking water, only a certain amount of turbidity is permitted, because the risk of gastrointestinal diseases goes up as turbidity does.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is TDS?<\/span><\/h2>\n

TDS (total dissolved solids), on the other hand, is not an optical characteristic but a measure of the combined dissolved contents of water. Such particles include:<\/span><\/p>\n