It is essential to monitor the quality of water to prevent from possible environmental polution and reduce health risks. Water quality is determined by the analysis of various parameters. There are a large number of parameters that need to be taken into account (See File). These issues were discussed in the chapter about drinking water.
Throughout the expedition, the following measures will be made following a specific protocol. As we can not equip ourselves with heavy or large measuring apparatus, we will focus only on a few parameters. 2 of those parameters are:


pH

The pH, or "potential Hydrogen", defines the degree of acidity of water, based on its hydrogen concentration. The pH of balanced water is 7 and is called a neutral pH. A measure less than 7 indicates that the water is acidic, while a measure above 7 indicates that it is alkaline (or base).
Those are the minerals present in water that determine the pH. The influence of minerals on the acidity of water is crucial for humans, because the human body has a natural pH of 7.4 . It requires this level of pH to work efficiently, perpetually seeking to restore it when, for a reason or another, its pH becomes too acidic or too alkaline. The consumption of acid water, meaning containing a small amount of minerals (eg chlorides, sulfates or nitrates) may temporarily disrupt the body. An excess of acid in the body has been associated with the weakening of the immune system. When regulating the pH, the body can also draw on its reserves of essential minerals and store the acid where it is not desirable, as in muscle and fat.
Finally, the consumption of acid water or drinks is a major cause of tooth decay.
In urban areas, one of the risk due to acidic water comes from the risk of corrosion in pipelines, loading water with heavy metals harmful to human health. (More details)


Conductivity or TDS (total dissolved solids)

The conductivity of water provides an indication of the amount of dissolved solids in the water. The measure of conductivity of water depends on a wide variety of substances or inorganic solids dissolved in the water. The common dissolved substances are sodium, chloride, sulphate, calcium, bicarbonate, nitrates, phosphates, iron and magnesium. All these substances at certain concentrations have the ability to drive an electric current.
A too heavily mineralized water is unhealthy for human and cultures. A concentration of salt too high is one of the major problems with the use of water for irrigation. A high concentration of salt in water or soil adversely affects crop yields and cause soil degradation and pollution of groundwater.

Others

At the moment, we can engage ourselves on the feasibility of measuring these two parameters during the expedition. However, we are currently studying the possibility to integrate other measures of physical and chemical parameters.