Chemical Characteristics of Water:

Chemical characteristics are a result of the solvent properties of water and they are often important in specifying water quality. Some chemical characteristics are due to natural properties but other may be more influenced by external pollution.

PH Value

The pH value is a measurement of acidity or alkalinity of water. It is one of the most important factors in water chemistry because many processes involved in water treatment are pH dependent. Pure water is slightly ionized into positive hydrogen (H⁺) ions and negatively charged hydroxyl (OH)^- moles/l. This neutral point is temperature dependent and occurs at pH 7.0 at25^oC. When the concentration of hydrogen ions exceeds that of the hydroxyl ions, the solution has acidic characteristics and pH value in that case is less than 7 whereas when hydroxyl ions increase, the water is said to be having basic characteristics and pH value is greater than 7.