ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at general chemical parameter categories such as dissolved oxygen organics (i.e., biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand), synthetic organic chemicals, volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), total dissolved solids, fluoride, metals, and nutrients—the major chemical parameters of concern. Organic matter causes: “color formation, taste and odor problems, oxygen depletion in streams, interference with water treatment process, and the formation of halogenated compounds when chlorine is added to disinfect water”. VOCs are absorbed through the skin during contact with water—as in shower or bath. In aquatic environments, phosphorus is found in form of phosphate and is limiting nutrient. If all phosphorus is used up, plant growth ceases, no matter the amount of nitrogen available. The biological, physical, and chemical condition of our water is of enormous concern to us all, because we must live in such intimate contact with water. When these parameters shift and change, these changes affect us, often in ways science cannot yet define for us.
