Station 1 : Fishing Jetty

We had to wait for about 10minutes for the previous teams
to finish their station at the Fishing Jetty.

 Our first station was the Fishing Jetty, where we tested the quality of the water in Lower Seletar Reservoir. There were 6 categories to test: Debris and Smell, Colour, Turbidity, Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen and pH level.

From left side: A test tube which contains water from the reservoir. Beside it is the packet of white colour pills which is used to put inside the test tube to show different observations
From right side: It is a bottle which is used to collect the water from the reservoir.
From Below: A chart which indicate readings from the observations in the test tube after putting in the pills.

Debris and Smell

• On its own, water does not have a smell
• The smell of the water will give a rough estimate of pollution sources eg. if you smell mud, it indicates silt is present
• The water sample collected was odourless and had no debris on the water surface

Analysis: Relatively clean

Colour

• Colour of the water can give an indication of what is inside the water eg. dissolved pollutants or bacteria
• Water collected was slightly green

Analysis: There was algae suspended in the water collected

Turbidity

• Turbidity refers to level of “murkiness” of the water ie. how clear the water is
• Turbidity determines the amount of light which can penetrate the water surface and reach the different depths of the reservoir
• Too little light will cause death of aquatic life
• Turbidity of the water was 4 JTU ( Jackson Turbidity Unit)

Analysis: Partially turbid

Temperature

• Temperature of the water varies with the weather and time of sampling
• Temperature is higher near the surface of the water and lowest at the bottom of the water body
• Temperature of the water is 32 degrees celcius

Analysis: The temperature was acceptable. Even though the water temperature seemed a little high, it was a little inaccurate as the water was collected in the afternoon, the hottest time of the day.

The chart which was used to indicate different readings (which are:Dissolved Oxygen, pH level and turbidity of the water) which was observed in the water collected  at LSR and what the reading meant.

Dissolved oxygen

• Dissolved oxygen refers to the amount of oxygen dissolved in a given volume of water.

• Too low of a dissolved oxygen reading is fatal to aquatic life
• The reading was 4 ppm ( parts per million )

Analysis: Dissolved oxygen level is acceptable

pH level

• The water cannot be too acidic or alkali as this will harm aquatic life
• Reading collected is 7-8

Analysis: The pH level is neutral. It is acceptable

Conclusion

• The overall quality of the water is clean
• It is not safe to drink the water from the reservoir as there is presence of bacteria and impurities
• The reason for such a water quality is because most of the water from the reservoir comes from drains and canals, which are not filtered
  
  

Reflection:

Our members completing their relfections of the 'Fishing Jetty'
station after the station master have finished briefing us.

Through this activity of water testing, we learnt that there are different factors which determines how clean the water is.

The factors are namely debris and smell, colour, turbidity, temperature, dissolved oxygen and pH. After conducting the water test, we found out that the water at Lower Seletar Reservoir is relatively clean. 

However, we cannot drink the water directly as it contains many impurities which need to go through the water treatment plant  before consumption.

All the members at the Fishing Jetty

All the members taking a group photo with
the Fishing Jetty in the background