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0 ~, .... . W r:-. --.I QUALITY OF IIA rr:a m THE ARiv\.NSAS-i'IlIITB-ili:D RIVER BASINS lllTRODUCTION Full development of the .nlter resources of an area requires certain information regarding the quality of water. Impoundments change the charac- teristics of a stream so that it may either be improved or it may be rendered unsuitable for many uses. The terra "quality of .nlter" refers to properties either biological, chemical, or physical which affect the vmter's fitness for use. The amount of suspended solids, dissolved minerals, the character and amount of municipal and industrial wastes, the numbers and kinds of bacteria and other biological life all affect the quality of water. The various effluents, municipal, industrial, and others which collectively cOI:lprise 3tream pollutants may render water unsuitable for municipal, industrial, fish and .Qldlife, recreational, agricultural, navigation, and power uses, 'l';1ese ./astes may destroy fish and other aquatic life, either indirectly through quantitative alterations in those substances which give fresh ,vaters t;.wix inherent characteristics, as dissolved oxygen, hydrogen ions, carbo- nates, etc., or directly because of specific physiological and tOY~C effects. Industry uses water in so many ways that it is virtually :ilJIpossible to clas- sify ';mter as to its industrial quality except with reference to a particular 'lSC. For some purpoees sea ,,-ater is satisfactory, while for other purposes triple distilled ,vater may be required, However, in most instances, mter 1nlich is satisfactory for public water supplies can be made satisfactory for ii1dllstry. Water may be suitable for many industries and yet not support aquatic life. Or aquatic life may thrive in vlater which would be unsafe for hill"Bn consumption due to the presence of pathogenic organisms or certain com- pmmds harmful to man, such as the wes tern alkalies. IrriGation accounts for by far the largest amount of vmter consumed in parts of the Arkansa3-i'lhite-l1ed River basins, The successful use of ~ter for ixrigation depends not only on the kind and amounts of dissolved salts, but also on the amount of v/ater used, crops grown, rainfall, drainage, and the nature of the soil, 'flater 1'lhich cannot be used successfully for con- tinued irrieation in one area may prove very satisfactory at a locality where conditions are more favorable. Hater with a high total salt content depresses plant growth, although the salts generally present are not individually poisonous. Water which has a hi~l sodium percentage reacts with the soil so that it gradually becomes less able to absorb applied irrigation water. Boron affects the growth of many planGS and water containing more than small amounts (1 to 2 ppm) boron is frequently unsatisfactary for irrigation. Quality of water studies are an essential part of any water resources development and must be tied in with quantity of water data. The determina- tion that an adequate quantity of ";later will be available for a proposed use does not give a complete picture. Biological and chemical analyses are neces- sary to determine whether the 1vater will be satisfactory for the proposed use, or .hether it can be used for any purpose. Pure "NateI' does not exist except in the research laboratoI"J' Rain water <:>.l..-,J.Ys contains some dissolved and suspended substances derived from 5-1