ABSTRACT
This chapter presents water and wastewater characteristics that can be expressed by mathematical equations or models and then formulated into workable computer programs. It also includes computer programs that deal with water resources or sources, usage, and groundwater flow. The chapter talks about the characteristics of water or wastewater are important for various purposes. The most important physical parameters include temperature, turbidity, taste, odor, color, conductivity, salinity, solids content, viscosity, and moisture content. Water and wastewater may experience variations in temperature due to climatic influences, hot discharges, and industrial discharges. Generally, solutions of most inorganic acids, bases, and salts are relatively good conductors. Viscosity is the property that relates the applied forces to the rates of deformation of the fluid. Radioactivity arises from the spontaneous breaking up of certain heavy atoms into other atoms, which themselves might be radioactive.
