Effect of certain physical and chemical parameters on analytical data for the White River

Currently it is common practice to conduct the environmental analysis of river water on randomly collected samples. Since rivers are considered to be continuously mixing, these waters are assumed to be homogeneous and therefore, the samples representative. This sampling parameter study was established to test that assumption.Three proximal points were established on the White River at Muncie, Indiana and sampled daily for twenty-five days. The samples were monitored for twenty-one different constituents: Alkalinity, chloride, color, calcium hardness, magnesium hardness, total hardness, total iron, ammonia nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, nitrite nitrogen, dissolved oxygen, pH, orthophosphate, total phosphate, specific conductance, sulfate, turbidity, and temperature, using the Hach DR/EL-2 water analysis kit.The results indicated that thorough mixing is present and that homogeneity does exist for some constituents. However, the data also indicate that for some constituents homogeneity within the river does not exist. The significance of sampling frequency and the correlation of some of the interrelated chemical changes which occurred during the study are also discussed.Thesis (M.S.