COPPER

A measure of a major industrial metal in northeast Ohio. Copper is not common naturally in the rocks of this area, but there are many industrial or other human sources for it.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING TEST KIT:

1. Rinse and fill a viewing tube to the 5 ml. mark with river water.

2. Add the contents of one Hach free copper reagent powder pillow (the red pillow in the total copper test kit), stopper, and invert several times to mix. The sample will turn purple if copper is present. Allow at least 2 minutes for color to develop fully. Place it in the right opening in the color comparator.

3. Take a second tube and fill it full of river water. Stopper it, and place it in the left opening of the color comparator.

4. Hold the color comparator up to a bright light, and rotate the color wheel until the color of the wheel matches the color of the sample. Free copper concentration in mg/l can be read directly at the window at the bottom of the color comparator.

5. Now add the contents of one Hydrosulfite reagent powder pillow (the clear pillow in the total copper test kit) to the sample tube containing the free copper reagent. Stopper it and invert the tube several times to mix. Again, allow at least 2 minutes for color to develop fully. Place it in the right opening in the color comparator. Leave the sample of untreated river water in the left opening.

QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT:

Is your copper level above 1 ppm? If so, you have a problem

WHY YOU HAVE TOO MUCH

• Is the area industrial? If so, do any of the industries use copper as part of their processes?
• Is there copper in the rocks of the area?
• Is it carried in by sewer systems?
• Do any of the rural land uses lead to copper being washed into the river?
• Are there water-supply reservoirs using copper sulfate as an algicide?

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU HAVE TOO MUCH COPPER IN THE WATER?

• To the river, to the plants and animals living there, or to the river's state of nutrition?
• To the lake, as the body of water that receives all of the river water?
• To people in and around the watershed?

*IF YOU HAVE A COPPER ( OR ANY OTHER INDUSTRIAL METAL) PROBLEM, WHAT DO YOU DO ABOUT IT? TO WHOM DO YOU TALK?

*Click here to return to the Water Quality Index Menu

*Click here to return to the NORP Main Menu