IRON

A measure of the most common industrial metal in northeast Ohio. Iron is also found naturally in many of the rocks in this area, and it is a major actor in natural "scavenging" of nutrients (notably phosphorus) from solution in river water.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING TEST KIT:

1. Rinse a viewing tube with river water. Fill it to the 5 ml. mark with river water.

2. Add the contents of one Hach FerroVer powder pillow, stopper, and invert several times to mix. The sample will turn orange if iron is present. Allow at least 3 minutes for color to develop fully, but no longer than 30 minutes. 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. Iron concentration in mg/l can be read directly at the window at the bottom of the color comparator.

5. Where large amounts of iron are suspected (i.e. greater than 30 mg/l), the color development may be inhibited, so that the resulting color may be substantially less than would show up on the color comparator as 5 mg/l. In such cases, try repeating the procedure with half river water and half demineralized water. Multiply the resulting answer by 2 to obtain the actual iron concentration.

QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT:

If your iron concentration is higher than a few parts per million, the water quality will suffer, although iron is a natural constituent of many natural waters.

EFFECTS OF TOO HIGH IRON CONCENTRATIONS

• Increase in Turbidity
• Stains plumbing fixtures, laundry and cooking utensils
• Gives an unpleasant taste to water
• Stains clothes, foods and drinks

IF YOUR IRON LEVEL IS HIGH, WHAT IS CAUSING IT?

• Where is the closest steel mill?
• Are there old storage tanks by the river?
• Look in the water for any old pieces of metal.
• What kinds of rocks are by the stream? Do they contain iron minerals?
• Has there been a rainstorm recently, or is the water level unusually high for any other reason?
• Do any of the rocks look rusty?
  

*IS YOUR IRON LEVEL NATURALLY HIGH? IS THE IRON LEVEL TOTALLY ARTIFICIAL? HOW CAN YOU TRY TO SOLVE THIS?

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