Water samples were taken from two local waterways which feed the Belmont Water Supply: Indian Creek and the Schuylkill River. Water samples were also taken from the Saint Joseph's University (SJU) Campus. The Belmont reservoir is the water supply for West Philadelphia, including parts of the SJU Campus. Using Standard Methods, water samples were analyzed for phosphorous, iron, lead, copper, cadmium, zinc, and aluminum on a PerkinElmer ICP. Water hardness was also determined. One sample from each site was treated through a water filter system: Brita� or Zerowater�. It was shown that household water filters were effective at removing the ions that may contribute to poor water quality.It was observed that the unfiltered tap water samples had higher concentrations of copper and phosphorus than that of the creek/river water samples. Lead was not detected in any of the water samples. Indian Creek and the Schuylkill River were classified as moderately hard water. The concentrations of iron, lead, zinc aluminum, and cadmium were all below the detection limit. The phosphorus content of tap water samples treated through the Brita� filter increased, while the ZeroWater� filter decreased phosphorus levels to below the detectable range of 0.1500 mg/L. It is believed that the increase in the detection of phosphorus after treatment through the Brita filter is due to the makeup of the activated carbon in the Brita� water filter. Activated carbon water filters can leach small amounts of phosphorus into water.

Determination of water hardness, phosphorus, and heavy metal concentrations in the Schuylkill River and surrounding tributaries

247th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.