Jun. 7 — Surface water and water wells near pending natural gas drilling operations should be tested before any drilling starts, Scott Fickbohm, manager of Otsego County’s Soil & Water District, said.

“We need baseline tests if we’re going to be able to show that any changes have occurred,” Fickbohm said Friday.

In his agency, he and one other staff member could work part-time at monitoring surface water in the county, he said. The Soil & Water District does not have the means to test thousands of water wells, “but I’m working on a database to try to let people know where they can get their water tested, and how much it will cost,” he said.

Costs will depend on how comprehensive the tests are. “I’ve heard everything from hundreds to thousands of dollars,” he said.

…

The state may mandate that drilling firms pay for baseline testing of water wells within a certain distance of a drilling operation, he noted.

Although the state’s rules have yet to be issued, Soil & Water is preparing for its upcoming duties because it cannot wait, Fickbohm said.

“We’re taking our lead from the SRBC,” he said.

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission is monitoring the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania for conductivity and Ph values because when these values change they may indicate the river is being polluted, he said.

“Conductivity is the presence of ions in the water, and that’s likely to pick up any change in salinity,” he said.

In their quest for shale gas, companies are drilling thousands of feet down into a zone where there are pockets of saline water, Fickbohm said. A change in the river’s saline levels might mean that brackish water from the depths has reached the river, the largest source of fresh water in the Chesapeake Bay. ( source )

Testing for Conductivity

Conductivity testing typically gets done with the use of a conductivity meter. You will find examples of several popular conductivity meters below.

Product Name	Model
Conductivity Meter: Digital 0 to 1999 µS Water Quality Meter (WA300) with Remote Sensor Probe & 36″ Lead	WA300
Conductivity Meter: Digital 0 to 1999µS (PWA-301) with Integral Sensor Tip & Protective Cap	PWA-301
Conductivity Meter: Digital Pen Style 10 to 9990 µS/cm (CO502) ATC with Calibration Solution, Screwdriver & Hard Case	CO502
Conductivity TDS Meter: Digital (CDM22CT) with Built-In Thermometer	DCM22CT
Electrical Conductivity EC Meter: Digital 0 to 20.0 EC (EC506) ATC with Calibration Solution, Screwdriver & Hard Case	EC506
pH/ORP/Temperature Conductivity Combination Digital Water Testing Meter (DPHO1380K) with Software & Carrying Case	DPHO1380K

While this article mentioned conductivity as a means of testing for changes in surface water’s salinity, other testing methods such as TDS meters, salt (chloride) meters and/or chloride test strips may work as well, but their effectiveness, we believe, may get limited by their detection ranges.

For those who would like a definition of pH and an explanation of why testing for pH matters, take a look at one of our previous blog entries: “Testing for pH Levels and Why pH Matters“.

Since we have not, as of yet, posted a blog entry specifically about alkalinity, we figure we will take care of that matter right now by including a basic definition of alkalinity in this blog entry:

In a nutshell, alkalinity refers to water’s ability to resist sudden changes to its pH and to measure alkalinity we measure the amount of CaCO₃ in the water. In nature CaCO₃ typically comes from rocks and soil that water passes over in its travels.

Pool and spa owners will add CaCO₃, sometimes referred to as “Alkalinity Increaser, to counteract the basic (high pH) nature of liquid chlorine and/or the acidic (low pH) nature of most chlorine tablets and sticks.

Since pH and alkalinity have such a close relationship, and it would make sense to measure one if you planned to measure the other, the makers of the WaterWorks brand of water quality test strips created the pH and Total Alkalinity Test Strip which measures both water quality parameters simultaneously and gives accurate, repeatable results in under 30 seconds.

Directions:

1. Dip 1 test strip into a water sample for 10 seconds, then remove.
2. Immediately match pH color, then match alkalinity test pad color.

Detection Levels:

• pH: 6.0, 6.5, 7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 8.5, 9.0
• Total Alkalinity: 0, 80, 120, 180, 240, 360 ppm (mg/L)

I want to know more about the water parameter tests such as turbidity, pH, chlorine, and calcium.

What is the common testing method that should be done?

Thank you for your question TeddyGurl. We will address each part of your inquiry separately.

Turbidity refers to the level of cloudiness or haziness in a liquid caused by concentrations of small particles, also known as suspended solids. The higher the concentration of these particles, the greater the turbidity of the liquid and more cloudy it appears.

To measure turbidity, one typically uses a meter of some sort. The eXact Water Testing Meter has a detection range of 3 to 580 NTU.

For the record, water with a turbidity reading of around 500 NTU will appear milky to the naked eye and water with a turbidity reading of around 50 NTU will appear cloudy, but still allow light to pass through.

pH refers to the measure of how acidic or basic a solution is. Its scale runs from 0.0 to 14.0 with 7.0 as its neutral (not acidic and not basic) value. Solutions with pH values greater than 7.0 get labeled as basic and solutions with pH values less than 7.0 get labeled as acidic.

To measure pH, one has several options: liquid/powder/tablet based test kits, test strips and electronic meters.

Chlorine gets added to drinking water as a disinfectant (an antimicrobial agent used on non-living objects to eradicate and destroy microorganisms which can cause infection). The United States Environmental Agency has set the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for chlorine at 4.0 ppm (parts per million), or 4.0 mg/L (milligrams per liter).

When testing for chlorine in water, one can choose between liquid/powder/tablet based test kits, test strips and electronic meters.

Calcium has the atomic number of 20 and ranks as the fifth most abundant element in the Earth’s crust. When it comes to drinking water, calcium acts to ‘harden’ the water and so therefore when one measures the hardness of water, one actually measures the calcium (and magnesium to a lesser extent) concentration in the water.

To measure the calcium content in water, one can choose between liquid/powder/tablet based test kits, test strips and electronic meters.

The term pH refers to the concentration of hydrogen ions in water. Measured on a scale of 0 to 14, neutral water has a pH of 7, acids have a pH of less than 7, and bases have a pH greater than 7.

While the desired pH for drinking water typically hovers around 7.0, the acceptable range for the pH of drinking water is between 6.5 and 8.5.

Why Does pH Matter?

Water with low pH tends to corrode metals. This can lead to premature wear and tear on plumbing fixtures and more importantly, it also means the water may now contain potentially harmful metals such as lead, copper, iron, etc.

Water with a high pH can leave deposits and cause sanitizers/disinfectants like chlorine to not work as well as they would in water with a lower pH.

Acids and Bases in the Real World?

Many popular drain cleaners make use of a very strong base called NaOH (sodium hydroxide). Other common bases in everyday life include baking soda and ammonia.

Common acids in everyday life include soda, vinegar and lemon juice.

Testing for pH with a Meter

Most times when recording extremely accurate pH levels matters, technicians and scientists will use pH meters since meters typically can give more precise readings than a person can get by taking a visual reading.

Chlorine & pH Meter: Analog pH 5.5 to 9.0, Chlorine 0.2 to 3.0 (CPH12101) Pool & Spa Tester with 3′ Coiled Cable Probe	CPH12101
eXact® Micro 7+ Kit for Water Quality Testing (486691-K) pH, Calcium Hardness, Total Alkalinity, Cyanuric Acid, Copper, Free & Total Chlorine	486991-K
pH Test Meter: Digital, Pen Style 0 to 14 pH (DPH8690) with Thermometer, ATC & Holster	DPH8690
pH Test Meter: Digital, Pen Style 0 to 14 pH (PH501) ATC with Calibration Solution, Screwdriver & Hard Case	PH501
pH/ORP/Temperature Conductivity Combination Digital Water Testing Meter (DPHO1380K) with Software & Carrying Case	DPHO1380K

Note: Before using a pH meter, make sure you calibrate the meter properly using the correct pH calibration solutions and/or factory suggested calibration procedures.

Other Ways to Test for pH

Often times people do not require precise pH readings and instead just need an approximate pH reading. For times like that a simple dip’n’read pH test strip such as pH Check will work just fine.