What is Turbidity?

What is Turbidity? Turbidity is a measure of the clarity of water. Water that has a very high turbidity will appear cloudy or opaque while water with very low turbidity will appear clear or translucent. Turbidity is caused by particles such as silt, clay, microorganisms, and organic matter. [caption id="attachment_1353" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Turbidity examples"][/caption] Turbidity is not a direct measure of these particles but rather a measure of how these particles scatter light. Why is turbidity important to measure? In drinking water, turbidity can indicate the presence of high bacteria levels, pathogens, or particles that can shelter harmful organisms from disinfection processes. Therefore water treatment plants constantly monitor turbidity levels to ensure that the water does not exceed safe levels. Turbidity is also important in industry or products where particulates can be detrimental to the end use, or are vital ingredients of the product. In either case, turbidity can be used as a quality control measure to monitor the efficiency of the treatment or manufacturing process. Camlab supply a range of instruments to measure turbidity from the simple to accurate lab instruments