H2O No, I Can’t Breathe: How pH level affects dissolved oxygen concentration in water

Abstract

Does pH affect a body of water’s dissolved oxygen levels? It has been shown that the presence of power and sewage treatment plants has had an effect on lake’s dissolved oxygen levels as well as general quality of life in the water. To our observation, the more pollution thrown into bodies of water, the less oxygen available; this in turn leads us to conclude that the cause could be that there is an a decrease in algal life from increasing pH level by pollution. We hypothesize that the dissolved oxygen levels decrease due to increasing levels of pH, thus inhibiting aquatic life that keeps dissolved oxygen levels high. This experiment provides a well-tested hypothesis that attempts to shows relationship between pH levels and dissolved oxygen concentration by testing the dissolved oxygen relationship through both basic and acidic water pollution. This research will help others better understand the correlation between pH levels and dissolved oxygen levels of polluted waters.

Keywords: eutrophication, dissolved oxygen, percent hydrogen, pollution, acid, base, chlorella