Turbidity is a common measurement that generalizes the amount of particles in water. Waters with high turbidity are typically cloudy. Water utilizes aim to always have effluent turbidity below 0.5 NTU

Particle Counts can be directly correlated to the turbidity. Knowing the number of particles, and their respective sizes, can inform operators about effluent quality, filter performance, and coagulation effectiveness.

Measuring the headloss across a dual-media filter informs operators about filter run time. As particles are trapped in the filter media, the headloss builds. Eventually the headloss reaches a point where the filter must be backwashed (cleaned) of trapped material.

Charge neutralization is one method for quantifying coagulation effectiveness. Particles in water are (generally) negatively charged, so we add positively charged coagulants aimed at neutralizing the negative particles. The closer to zero the streaming current, the better the observed coagulation.

The type of organic carbon remaining in a sample can be generalized by measuring the samples absorbance at 254 nm wavelength. Lower absorbance values generally suggest lower organics in effluent.

When using a metal pre-oxidant (such as potassium ferrate) or metal coagulant (such as ferric chloride), operators must be cognizant of effluent metal (iron) concentrations. High metal concentrations can be a risk to public health and/or cause water aesthetics issues.