This book covers water quality indices (WQI) in depth – it describes what purpose they serve, how they are generated, what are their strengths and weaknesses, and how to make the best use of them. It is a concise and unique guide to WQIs for chemists, chemical/environmental engineers and government officials. Whereas it is easy to express the quantity of water, it is very difficult to express its quality because a large number of variables determine the water quality. WQIs seek to resolve the difficulty by translating a set of a large number of variables to a one-digit or a two-digit numeral. They are essential in communicating the status of different water resources in terms of water quality and the impact of various factors on it to policy makers, service personnel, and the lay public. Further they are exceedingly useful in the monitoring and management of water quality. With the importance of water and water quality increasing exponentially, the importance of this topic is also set to increase enormously because only with the use of indices is it possible to assess, express, communicate, and monitor the overall quality of any water source. Provides a concise guide to WQIs: their purpose and generation Compares existing methods and WQIs and outlines strengths and weaknesses Makes recommendations on how the indices should be used and under what circumstances they apply

Researchers and agencies collect reams of objective data and authors publish volumes of subjective prose in attempts to explain what is meant by environmental quality. Still, we have no universally recognized methods for combining our quantitative measures with our qualitative concepts of environ ment. Not all of our environmental goals should be reduced to mere numbers, but many of them can be; and without these quantitative terms, we have no way of defining our present position nor of selecting positions we wish to attain on any logically established scale of environmen tal values. Stated simply, in our zeal to measure our environment we often forget that masses of numbers describing a system are insufficient to understand it or to be used in selecting goals and priorities for expending our economic and human resources. Attempts at quantitatively describing environmental quality, rather than merely measuring different environmental variables, are relatively recent. This condensing of data into the optimum number of terms with maximum information content is a truly interdisciplinary challenge. When Oak Ridge National Laboratory initiated its Environmental Program in early 1970 under a grant from the National Science Foundation, the usefulness of environmental indicators in assessing the effects of technology was included as one of the initial areas for investigation. James L. Liverman, through his encouragement and firm belief that these indicators are indispensable if we are to resolve our complex environmental problems, deserves much of the credit for the publication of this book.

Water Quality Data emphasizes the interpretation of a water analysis or a group of analyses, with major applications on ground-water pollution or contaminant transport. A companion computer program aids in obtaining accurate, reproducible results, and alleviates some of the drudgery involved in water chemistry calculations. The text is divided into nine chapters and includes computer programs applicable to all the main concepts presented. After introducing the fundamental aspects of water chemistry, the book focuses on the interpretation of water chemical data. The interrelationships between the various aspects of geochemistry and between chemistry and geology are discussed. The book describes the origin and interpretation of the major elements, and some minor ones, that affect water quality. Readers are introduced to the elementary thermodynamics necessary to understand the use and results from water equilibrium computer programs. The book includes a detailed overview of organic chemistry and identifies the simpler and environmentally important organic chemicals. Methods are given to estimate the distribution of organic chemicals in the environment. The author fully explains all accompanying computer programs and presents this complex topic in a style that is interesting and easy to grasp for anyone.

Part 1: Water Quality Indices Based Predominantly on Physico-chemical characteristics -- Part 2: Water Quality Indices Based on Bioassessment -- Part 3: Looking Back, Looking Ahead.