Water testing

Article summary

Water testing is a broad description for various procedures used to analyze water quality. Millions of water quality tests are carried out daily to fulfil regulatory requirements and to maintain safety. Testing may be performed to evaluate: * ambient or environmental water quality – the ability of a surface water body to support aquatic life as an ecosystem. See Environmental monitoring, Freshwater environmental quality parameters and Bioindicator. * wastewater – characteristics of polluted water (domestic sewage or industrial waste) before treatment or after treatment. See Environmental chemistry and Wastewater quality indicators. * "raw water" quality – characteristics of a water source prior to treatment for domestic consumption (drinking water). See Bacteriological water analysis and specific tests such as turbidity and hard water. * "finished" water quality – water treated at a municipal water purification plant. See Bacteriological water analysis and :Category:Water quality indicators. * suitability of water for industrial uses such as laboratory, manufacturing or equipment cooling. See purified water.

Key claims

1. date of establishment: 1964 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. date of establishment: 1948 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. date of establishment: 2003 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
4. release date: 2012 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
5. release date: 2011 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
6. release date: 2015 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of establishment is "1964". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the date of establishment is "1948". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the date of establishment is "2003". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. The record states that the release date is "2012". What evidence would count against this claim?
6. The record states that the release date is "2011". What evidence would count against this claim?
7. The record states that the release date is "2015". What evidence would count against this claim?
8. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
9. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1374837751