Water is an indispensable part of daily life, and campuses are no exception. Water on campus falls into two main categories: domestic water for daily use and wastewater generated after consumption. Both types have corresponding quality indicators. If water fails to meet standards yet is still used or directly discharged into rivers, it will cause harm. This article briefly introduces the water quality monitoring of domestic water and wastewater in schools.

First, let’s talk about domestic water, which is used for drinking, washing and other daily activities. Before being delivered to water pipelines, domestic water is disinfected and sterilized at water plants, and tested by online water quality monitors. It is only supplied after meeting quality standards. Nevertheless, poor water quality may still occur on campus, mostly due to rusted transmission pipelines and residual impurities. Here are simple methods to check if domestic water is safe:

1.Visual inspection: Fill a transparent cup with water and hold it up to the light to check for suspended solids. Let the water stand for a while; if sediment appears, the content of suspended impurities exceeds the standard, and the water must be treated before use.

Brewing tea is another way to assess water quality: if the tea turns dark, the iron and manganese levels in the water are seriously excessive.

You can also judge excessive water hardness by observation. Check the inner wall of electric kettles and other water-heating appliances. A thick yellow scale indicates that water hardness has exceeded the safety limit and requires timely treatment. Tasting is also an effective method: a harsh, astringent taste in plain boiled water means high water hardness.

2.Odor test: Chlorine is commonly used for water disinfection. A strong chlorine odor in the water suggests excessive residual chlorine.

After learning about campus domestic water, we move on to the monitoring and treatment of campus wastewater. Proper treatment of discharged wastewater prevents contamination of clean water sources and damage to the ecological environment.

Campus wastewater mainly comes from dormitories, teaching buildings, canteens, together with rainwater. All of these need treatment before discharge. The treatment process for campus wastewater is as follows:

1.Pretreatment: Canteen wastewater first undergoes oil separation. Mixed wastewater is then sent to septic tanks and filtered through bar screens, before flowing into regulating tanks to balance water volume.

2.Biochemical treatmen: Appropriate treatment technologies can be selected according to actual operational conditions.

It is worth noting that online water quality monitoring runs through the entire wastewater treatment process and serves as a critical link to verify water quality compliance.