How Does PH Affect Drinking Water?
Measurement The balance of acidity and alkalinity in substances is measured as a pH, which stands for potential hydrogen or the activity of hydrogen ions in the substance. The pH scale goes from 0 (most acid) to 14 (most base or alkaline), with a pH of 7 considered neutral. The scale is logarithmic (as is the Richter scale for earthquakes), which means each whole number is 10 times the previous number–so a pH of 5 is 10 times more acidic than a pH of 6. Water free from contaminants has a neutral pH of 7. Most drinking water has a pH range from 6.5 to 8.5, though recently, some municipalities (such as Boston) have started to treat their water to be as alkaline as 9.3 pH. Untreated ground water is likely to be somewhat acidic (pH 6.5 to 6.8) because of minerals in the water and industrial and agricultural pollutants. The pH of water is also affected by temperature; for example, when its temperature goes up by 45ºF (25ºC), the pH decreases by 0.45 (becomes more acid). Comparison The pH o
