AMMONIA

A measure of the reduced form of nitrogen, a basic building block for proteins. Ammonia is the form of fixed nitrogen produce by nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and it is the form in which nitrogen commonly appears in polluted waterways. Ammonia is directly useable by living organisms, and constitutes an essential macronutrient in aquatic ecosystems.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING TEST KIT:

1. Rinse a color viewing tube with river water several times. Fill it to the 5 ml. mark with a sample of river water.

2. Add 3 drops of Nessler's Reagent. Cap and invert several times to mix. Allow at least 10 minutes until a color forms. The sample will turn yellow if ammonia is present. If a precipitate forms, you have an interference problem. In this case, discard the sample and add one drop of Rochelle Salt -- then add 3 drops of Nessler's Reagent.

3. Place the sample in the right opening in the color comparator.

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

5. 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. Ammonia nitrogen in mg/l is indicated in the window at the bottom of the color comparator.

6. To convert to concentration of ammonia in mg/l, multiply by 1.22.

QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT

Is your ammonia level too high?

WHY MIGHT YOU HAVE TOO MUCH?

• Is the area industrial? If so, do any of the industries use ammonia as part of their processes, or do they discharge it routinely?
• Is ammonia released by bacterial breakdown of organic matter in BOD, sediments, or any other natural source?
• Is it carried in by sewer systems?
• Do any of the rural land uses lead to ammonia being washed into the river? For example, is it used as fertilizer in the watershed?

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU HAVE TOO MUCH AMMONIA 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 AN AMMONIA PROBLEM, WHAT DO YOU DO ABOUT IT? TO WHOM DO YOU TALK?

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