WATER
Water used for concrete mixes, washing of aggregates and equipment, wetting of surfaces or ponding during curing or for wetting formwork and washing reinforcement shall conform to the following.
Requirements
Sampling and testing
Quality Control tests for water for use in concrete
Sl. No. |
Test |
Code |
Permissible value |
Minimum frequency of sampling |
1 |
Suspended matter |
IS: 3025 (Part 17) |
2000 mg/litre |
Water from each source before commencement of work and thereafter every three months till completion of work. |
2 |
Organiccontents |
IS: 3025(Part 16) |
200 mg/litre |
- do - |
3 |
Inorganiccontents |
IS: 3025(Part 19) |
3000 mg/litre |
- do - |
4 |
Sulphates(as SO2) |
IS: 3025(Part 24) |
400 mg/litre |
- do - |
5 |
Chlorides(as Cl) |
IS: 3025(Part 32) |
2000 mg/litre (PCC) 500 mg/litre (RCC) |
- do - |
6 |
pH value |
|
Not less than 6 |
- do - |
Tolerance and Classification
As per ISI-IS: 2296-1982, the tolerance limits of parameters are specified as per classified use of water (Table 1,2,3,4,5 below) depending on various uses of water. The following classifications have been adopted in India.
Class of Water
Classification |
Type of use |
Class A |
Drinking water source without conventional treatment but after disinfection |
Class B |
Outdoor bathing |
Class C |
Drinking water source with conventional treatment followed by disinfection. |
Class D |
Fish culture and wild life propagation |
Class E |
Irrigation, industrial cooling or controlled waste disposal |
TOLERANCE LIMITS
TOLERANCE LIMITS FOR INLAND SURFACE WATERS, CLASS – A
S.No. |
Characteristic |
Tolerance |
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(i) |
pH |
6.5 to 8.5 |
(ii) |
Dissolved Oxygen, mg/l, |
6.0 |
(iii) |
Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand |
2.0 |
(iv) |
Total Coliform Organisms, MPN/100 ml, Max |
50 |
(v) |
Colour, Hazen units, Max |
10 |
(vi) |
Odour |
unobjectionable |
(vii) |
Taste |
Agreeable taste |
(viii) |
Total Dissolved Solids, mg/l, Max |
500 |
(ix) |
Total Hardness (as CaCO3), mg/l ,Max |
300 |
(x) |
Calcium Hardness (as CaCO3), mg/l, Max |
200 |
(xi) |
Magnesium (as CaCO3), mg/1,Max |
100 |
(xii) |
Copper (as Cu), mg/l, Max |
1.5 |
(xiii) |
Iron (as Fe), mg/l,Max |
0.3 |
(xiv) |
Manganese (as Mn), mg/1,Max |
0.5 |
(xv) |
Chlorides (as Cl), mg/l,Max |
250 |
(xvi) |
Sulphate (as SO4), mg/l ,Max |
400 |
(xvii) |
Nitrates (as NO2), mg/1,Max |
20 |
(xviii) |
Fluorides (as F,) mg/l,Max |
1.5 |
(xix) |
Phenolic compounds(as C6H5OH), mg/l,Max |
0.002 |
(xx) |
Mercury (as Hg), mg/l ,Max |
0.001 |
(xxi) |
Cadmium (as Cd), mg/1,Max |
0.01 |
(xxii) |
Selenium (as Se), mg/l ,Max |
0.01 |
(xxiii) |
Arsenic (as As), mg/1,Max |
0.05 |
(xxiv) |
Cyanides (as CN), mg/l, Max |
0.05 |
(xxv) |
Lead (as Pb), mg/l, Max |
0.1 |
(xxvi) |
Zinc (as Zn), mg/l, Max |
15 |
(xxvii) |
Chromium (asCr6+ ), mg/l,Max |
0.05 |
(xxviii) |
Anionic detergents, (as MBAS), mg/l ,Max . |
0.2 |
(xxix) |
Poly-nuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), |
0.2 |
(xxx) |
Mineral oil, mg/l ,Max |
0.01 |
(xxxi) |
Barium (as Ba), mg/l ,Max |
1.0 |
(xxxii) |
Silver (as Ag), mg/l Max |
0.05 |
(xxxiii) |
Pesticides |
Absent |
(xxxiv) |
Alpha emitters, µc/ml, Max |
10-9 |
(xxxv) |
Beta emitters, µc/ml, Max |
10-8 |
S.No |
Characteristic |
Tolerance Limit |
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(i) |
pH Value |
6.5 to 8.5 |
(ii) |
Dissolved Oxygen, mg/1,Max |
5.0 |
(iii) |
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (5 days at 20 °C), |
3.0 |
(iv) |
Total Coliform Organisms, MPN/100 ml, Max |
500 |
(v) |
Fluorides (as F) |
1.5 |
(vi) |
Colour, Hazen units, Max |
300 |
(vii) |
Cyanides (as CN), mg/l, Max |
0.05 |
(viii) |
Arsenic (as As), mg/l, Max |
0.2 |
(ix) |
Phenolic Compounds (as C6H5OH) mg/l, Max |
0.005 |
(x) |
Chromium (as Cr6+), mg/l, Max |
1.0 |
(xi) |
Anionic detergents (as MBAS), mg/l, Max |
1.0 |
(xii) |
Alpha emitters, µc/ml, Max |
10-8 |
TOLERANCE LIMITS FOR INLAND SURFACE WATERS, CLASS – C
S.No. |
Characteristic |
Tolerance Limit |
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(i) |
pH Value |
6.5 to 8.5 |
(ii) |
Dissolved Oxygen, mg/l Minimum |
4.0 |
(iii) |
Biochemical Oxygen Demand |
3.0 |
(iv) |
Total coliform organisms, MPN/100 ml, Max |
5000 |
(v) |
Colour, Hazen units, Max |
300 |
(vi) |
Fluorides (as F), mg/l ,Max |
1.5 |
(vii) |
Cadmium (as Cd), mg/l, Max |
0.01 |
(viii) |
Chlorides (as Cl), mg/l, Max |
600 |
(ix) |
Chromium (as Cr6+), mg/l, Max |
0.05 |
(x) |
Cyanides (as CN), mg/l, Max |
0.05 |
(xi) |
Total Dissolved Solids, mg/l, Max |
1500 |
(xii) |
Selenium (as Se), mg/l, Max |
0.05 |
(xiii) |
Sulphates (as SO4), mg/l, Max |
400 |
(xiv) |
Lead (as Pb), mg/l, Max |
0.1 |
(xv) |
Copper (as Cu),mg/l,Max |
1.5 |
(xvi) |
Arsenic (as As), mg/l, Max |
0.2 |
(xvii) |
Iron (as Fe), mg/l, Max |
50 |
(xviii) |
Phenolic compounds (as C6H5OH), mg/l, |
0.005 |
(xix) |
Zinc (as Zn), mg/l, Max |
15 |
(xx) |
Insecticides, mg/l, Max |
Absent |
(xxi) |
Anionic detergents (as MBAS), mg/l, Max |
1.0 |
(xxii) |
Oils and grease, mg/l, Max |
0.1 |
(xxiii) |
Nitrates (as NO3), mg/1,Max |
50 |
(xxiv) |
Alpha emititers, µc/mg, Max |
10-9 |
(xxv) |
Beta emitters, µc/ml, Max |
10-8 |
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