Doctors and scientists agree that a good pH balance significantly affects overall health. Your body's pH, or potential hydrogen level, is influenced by the food and drinks you consume. pH measures hydrogen ion concentration.
This measurement is based on a scale that goes from 0 to 14. It is worth taking note that pH levels of seven (7) is the neutral level, under seven (<7) is the acidic, and above seven (>7) is the alkaline. You may have encountered diet fads or special kinds of drinks that claim to be “high alkaline.” What does this mean, and how does pH level have something to do with it?
In this article, we will discuss the pH level more. We will know the recommended pH level for tap, pure, and filtered drinking water. Furthermore, we will discuss the importance of pH in water and determine its difference with alkalinity.
What is pH?
According to Wikipedia, pH is a scale value in chemistry that tells whether an aqueous solution is acidic or basic. The scale ranges from 0 to 14. As mentioned, the lower the scale, the more acidic the solution.
Meanwhile, the higher the scale, the more basic or alkaline it is; the seventh scale is neutral.
Some acidic foods are processed foods like yogurt, fish, and cheese. Meanwhile, some basic foods are highly alkaline vegetables like beets, bell peppers, and kale.
Remember that not all liquids have a pH value. For example, there is no pH value in gasoline, vegetable oil, or pure alcohol.
pH is used in everyday life, even in science and technology. It is used in cooking when baking powder reacts with food to make the goods rise. It is also used to design cocktails, preserve food, and create cleaners.
Finally, pH is important in chemistry, agriculture, medicine, oceanography, engineering, biology, and water purification.
Why Do We Test our Water for Ph?
Again, pH is a numerical value to determine whether water is acidic. The water quality regulations specify that tap water should have a pH level of 6.5 to 9.5.
Water leaving the treatment works should have a pH of 7 and 9. However, this can change as it passes through the network of water mains and reservoirs.
We consume various beverages and foods with a wide range of pH.
For example, citrus fruits like limes, oranges, and lemons are acidic, with a pH of 2.0 to 4.0. Meanwhile, carbonated drinks like cola have a pH level of 4.0 to 4.5.
On the other hand, egg whites are slightly alkaline and have a pH level of 8.0, while magnesia milk has a pH level of 10.
pH and Alkalinity
The acidity of a solution is measured using its pH level, which ranges from 0 to 14. The closer the pH level reaches 0, the more acidic it is. Meanwhile, the closer it reaches 14, the more basic it is.
A pH level of 7 means it is neutral. So basically, those with a pH level below 7 are acidic, and those with a pH level above 7 are alkaline.
Acids and bases are opposing extremes, so mixing acids and bases of equal extremity makes the solution even and neutral, like mixing hot and cold water.
Although some substances differ in acidity by a unit of measurement, their actual difference is about tenfold. Meaning the pH scale is logarithmic. For example, tomato juice with pH 4 is ten times more acidic than black coffee, whose pH level is 5.
The concept behind pH is the existence of Hydrogen (H+) ions that control the acidity level. pH measures the concentration of H+ and Hydroxide (OH-) ions that make up water (H2O): 1H+ + 1OH- = H2O.
If the two ions are of equal concentration, they form water, which is neutral. However, if H+ is greater than OH-, the substance is acidic; otherwise, it’s basic.
What Does pH Have to Do With Water?
The neutral pH of 7, located in the middle of the pH scale, is pure water. Unfortunately, not every kind of water available is pure, and the chance of getting the actual neutral level is rare.
But why do pH levels change? The fluctuation is caused by varying factors affecting the alkalinity and acidity of water.
The primary and most common reason for this is the soil composition and bedrock where the water is located. The rock type can influence the pH of the water, but the acidity can still be neutralized.
Organic material and plant growth near the water can also influence its acidity.
Plants also release carbon dioxide through cell respiration and decomposition. This carbon dioxide reacts with water to increase its acidity. Other factors include acid precipitation, chemical dumping, and coal mine drainage.
Why is pH Important?
Most living things in different bodies of water require a range of pH levels in their habitats for optimal growth, survival, and reproduction. These organisms usually prefer a pH range of 6.5-8.0 for physiological stability.
When the pH levels of their habitats rise or fall below this range, the organisms become stressed and cannot function properly, such as reproduce or survive.
Other features of lake dynamics are also affected by pH levels. Low pH can usually cause the release of different toxic elements and compounds from sediments into the water that can be taken in by animals and plants and can harm them.
pH levels can also influence the availability of different plant nutrients in water, such as phosphate, ammonia, iron, and trace metals.
What Affects pH?
Many factors affect pH, including a location's bedrock. Regions with glaciated areas have more acidic water (lower pH) than those with limestone bedrock, including Lincoln, Rhode Island, whose water has higher pH levels (more basic).
Another factor is atmospheric deposition (acid rain), which lowers the pH levels in lakes, making them more acidic.
Human water use also affects the pH level of water. Most water suppliers raise the pH level of potable water to pH 9 to prevent the corrosion of the supply pipes.
Similarly, soap-based substances are discharged into lakes, which are mostly alkaline and increase the water's pH level.
Conversely, wastewater treatment facilities must adjust the pH levels of wastewater outside acceptable limits (U.S. E.P.A. range 5 – 10) before it is discharged into streams or estuaries.
The day a lake or pond also changes in response to CO2 levels. CO2 dissolved in water forms a mild acid. The higher the CO2 level in the atmosphere, the lower the pH (more acidic).
In the morning, CO2 levels are high due to the respiration of different living beings in the pond or lake overnight.
As the sun rises, plants and algae begin photosynthesis and consume CO2, causing the pH to rise (more basic) as the day progresses. Algal blooms can also significantly increase this effect.
How is pH Measured?
Three methods are normally used to monitor the quality of water: a laboratory-quality pH meter and electrode, pH “pocket pals,” and multi-parameter probes and color comparators/pH strips.
The pH meter and electrode offer the highest degree of accuracy and precision. They measure the electric potential, a function of the H+ activity in the sampled water. Two buffer solutions calibrate them.
The URI Watershed Watch (URIWW) uses a pH meter and electrode to measure the pH of lakes and streams.
The other two methods are usually used in the field. The pH “pocket pals” and multi-parameter probes are electronic testers that can be easily carried and dipped directly into the water body. They provide a digital output of the pH level of the tested water. Pocket pals are typically calibrated with one buffer.
Conversely, a reagent is added to the water sample, which is then colored using color comparators to make a visual comparison.
PH strips are dipped into water samples, and their color changes depending on the sample's pH level. The changed color of the strip is then compared on a pH chart, at which point the sample's pH level is determined.
Common Water pH Levels
|
Type of water |
pH level |
|
Tap water |
Varies; typically about 7.5 |
|
Distilled reverse osmosis water |
5 to 7 |
|
Common bottled waters |
6.5 to 7.5 |
|
Bottled waters labeled as alkaline |
8 to 9 |
|
Ocean water |
About 8 |
|
Acid rain |
5 to 5.5 |
What is the pH of RI Inland Waterways?
The pH level in the lakes and ponds of Rhode Island usually decreases from North to South. As monitored by URIWW in 2003, the pH range of inland waterways was 5.1 - 8.2
The pH Level of Drinking Water
Although its pH level is not a health concern, acidic water corrodes plumbing pipes and harbors harmful metals that humans may consume.
You can visit the website: “Healthy Drinking Waters for Rhode Islanders: pH-Acidity of Private Drinking Water Wells,” a publication of the RI Department of Health and URI Cooperative Extension, for more inquiries about the pH level in private drinking water wells.
What is Alkalinity?
Alkalinity is the capacity of a body of water to neutralize acidity and basicity to stabilize its pH level. Alkaline water contains compounds that combine with H+ ions from the water, raising the pH level of the water and making it basic. It is the buffering capacity of water to do so. Without these compounds, any acid poured into a lake would immediately lower its pH level.
Why is Alkalinity Important?
Organisms that reside in bodies of water always benefit from a steady pH level in their optimal range.
Higher alkalinity is preferred to maintain a constant pH in water. Water's high alkalinity allows it to neutralize any acidic pollution from different sources, such as rainfall or basic inputs from wastewater.
As previously discussed, once a lake is well buffered, its daily fluctuations of CO2 concentrations have little effect on pH levels throughout the day.
What Affects Alkalinity?
The alkalinity of a body of water is affected by compounds found in rocks and soils, its salinity from plant activities, and the wastewater that may contain soap-based products that are disposed into the water.
In an area that is majorly composed of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) or limestone, the bodies of water tend to have high alkalinity. In areas like Rhode Island, granite bedrock is abundant. It is deficient in alkaline materials to buffer acidic inputs. That’s why the water in these parts has lower pH levels.
Correspondingly, for homeowners, the lime added as a soil amendment to decrease the acidity in home lawns can run into the surface waters and increase alkalinity.
What are the Water Quality Standards for Alkalinity?
The U.S. EPA has developed six categories to describe the alkalinity of lakes and ponds. The alkalinity increases proportionally with the concentration of CaCO3 while the risk of acidification decreases.
How is Alkalinity Measured?
The unit of mg/L CaCO3 (milligrams of Calcium carbonate per liter of water) measures alkalinity as the amount of acid (e.g., Sulfuric acid) needed to bring a water sample to a pH level of 4.2.
At this pH level, all the alkaline compounds of the sample are “used up.” Lab technicians use laboratory equipment to dispense the Sulfuric acid drop by drop into the water sample. At the same time, the change in pH is closely monitored with a pH meter and electrode or pH “pocket pal.”
Field kits are also available but typically target a higher alkalinity range than Rhode Island waterways.
What is the Alkalinity of RI Lakes and Ponds?
URIWW monitors alkalinity thrice annually during data gathering. A few ponds are acidified, which appears to be a natural condition for these lakes.
Lakes' alkalinity is proportionally equal to the number of nutrients in them. A lower amount of nutrients also means lower alkalinity, while a higher amount means higher alkalinity.
Overall, most regions stay within the same category of pH level yearly.
Alkaline Water: Newest Trends
One of the newest trends today is the use of alkaline water. It has now made its way to the overcrowded health and wellness world.
Some say that drinking alkaline water can offer various health benefits. It helps slow the aging process, regulates the body's pH level, and prevents various chronic diseases.
Alkaline water can neutralize the body's acid levels, which normal water cannot. This process can prevent various diseases. Indeed, various health experts have argued for this controversial health practice.
Alkaline water refers to water that has been ionized, which means that the water's pH level has been increased. Indeed, there are various ways to increase the alkaline properties of water, such as using special filters, additives, and faucet attachments, which can raise the pH levels.
This will make the normal tap water go from neutral pH to alkaline.
Our body secretes various acidic juices. Thus, alkaline water will neutralize the acid that our body releases. Consuming 70% alkaline and 30% acidic foods is recommended, and once you consume them, the body's pH level will be neutral. Consuming alkaline water is best if you consume food that does not balance the body's pH.
Does the Theory of Alkaline Water Work?
In general, regular water is best for people of all ages. However, no scientific evidence verifies the claim of alkaline water supporters.
A study published in the Annals of Otology, Rhinology, and Laryngology found that alkaline water with a pH of 8.8 might soothe acid reflux. The higher pH level can kill pepsin, an enzyme that breaks down food proteins. Indeed, pepsin is the main cause of acid reflux.
Another study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found a significant difference in whole blood viscosity after working out when consuming high-pH water compared to regular water.
A study published in the Shanghai Journal of Preventive Medicine states that drinking alkaline water can benefit people with cardiovascular diseases, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Benefits of Drinking Alkaline Water
Indeed, there is still a lack of proven research about the health benefits of alkaline water. But various proponents claim that various benefits of drinking alkaline water:
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Alkaline water has ultra-hydrating properties compared to normal water. This can be very helpful for people who work out daily and need to drink lots of water to nourish their bodies. Science proves that the water molecules in alkaline water are smaller. The cells can readily absorb it, rehydrating the body quickly.
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Alkaline water can boost the body’s immune system. This can help neutralize the body's acidity. Stress, environmental toxins, and poor diet sometimes cause this.
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Alkaline water includes various minerals, such as calcium and magnesium. Both are very important for maintaining healthy bones.
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Alkaline water contains various potent antioxidants that can prevent the growth of cell-damaging free radicals in the body, which can accelerate the aging process.
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Finally, alkaline water can neutralize the body's acidity and lower the excessive acidic content in the gastrointestinal tract or stomach.
The Side Effects of the Alkaline Water
In general, alkaline water is safe for consumption but has negative side effects. Yes, it may be alkalizing the body. But there is a chance that its excessive consumption can ruin the natural acids of your stomach, which can kill the good bacteria.
Moreover, excessive alkalinity in your body can lead to problems in the skin and the gastrointestinal tract.
How to Make Alkaline Water
Making Alkaline Water with a Baking Soda
To make alkaline water, use baking soda, which is alkaline and has a pH level of 9.
Mix half a tablespoon of baking soda with about four liters of clean drinking water.
Shake the water until the baking soda completely dissolves.
As soon as it is dissolved, you can drink the water.
Making Alkaline Water with Lemon
Lemon is acidic, and it has a pH level of below 7. It will be alkalized when added to water, fully metabolized, and consumed.
Thus, it will raise the pH level in the body, which is above 7, and it is now alkaline. This is why drinking a glass of water with lemon every morning is recommended to power up our day.
What is the Best pH Level for Drinking Water?
Tap Water
The common pH level of tap water, generally coming from groundwater systems, is 6-8.5. Environmental Protection Agency or EPA considers tap water drinkable. However, it can cause different problems.
For instance, chlorine is not good for human consumption, but the human body can technically tolerate it. But, it would become carcinogenic (leads to cancer) and other health complications. Lead is another risk in tap water in your home due to the lead in the pipes.
The tap water originates from the Potomac or Patuxent Rivers in the Washington, DC territory. This water is processed with essential filtration methods like flocculation, which adds chemicals to the water to get particles to coagulate and coast to be removed; sand filtration, which filters out large pieces of debris; or chlorination, which adds chlorine to eliminate bacteria and other microorganisms.
Filtered Water
Filtered water is common in many households and is part of daily life. Most people filter tap water from a dam, a public source, or sometimes from a desalination plant. In this case, the water travels miles and miles of metal pipes to reach tap water in your home.
Filtered water's pH level can vary from acidic to slightly alkaline. Consuming water with a higher pH level helps the body effectively eliminate toxins.
A good pH level is 8.0. This is not too alkaline and not acidic. Higher than that may cause detoxing effects like nausea, light-headedness, and others. Short-term consumption can be okay if you are acidic.
Otherwise, you may experience what is mentioned above. Very high pH levels may also increase the free radicals more than your body needs, which can risk your healthy cells.
Fluoride is added to the water supply to help prevent dental decay. However, it can also pollute the water, and most water filters do not remove all contaminants.
Furthermore, filters are the perfect breeding ground for microorganisms, including algae and mold. So, it is necessary to change your water filter regularly.
Otherwise, your water quality could be worse than that of tap water. If you have a poor water supply, your water quality will also be poor.
Pure Water
When water from a water source is removed of all impurities, it is called pure water or purified water. Pure water can be purified by micro-porous filtration, carbon filtration, or ultraviolet oxidation. Distilled water is the most common kind of pure water.
In some places, purification processes combine with any of the others. Pure water can be used in laboratories for drinking, cooking, and scientific studies.
Pure water is characterized by the quality and level of its impurities. For water to be legally defined as “purified water,” impurities must be reduced to an extremely low level if not removed at all costs.
The purified water's impurity level of dissolved solids must not exceed ten parts per million. It is inherently purer than tap, filtered, or spring water if it meets this limit.
Drinking-Water
According to EPA standards, drinking water must have a pH of 6.5-8.5. They firmly indicated that a slight change in the high- or low-pH water pH could be unappealing even within the acceptable range.
High-pH water may taste like baking soda, be slippery, and leave deposits on fixtures. This is according to the EPA's website. However, low-pH water may be bitter or metallic in taste, which may also contribute to fixture corrosion.
The EPA monitors and checks the pH levels of drinking water, which must remain stable. Consuming excessively alkaline or acidic water can have harmful effects if it is not carefully regulated.
When the pH level reaches lower than 7.0, it can lead to the corrosive quality of the water. It contains zinc, iron, copper, and lead from plumping and different metal fixtures. Thus, there is a metallic or bitter taste in the water.
High alkaline water does not cause serious health problems, except for aesthetic ones. Thus, it tastes like baking soda and feels slippery. It also forms scale or pipe precipitates on fixtures, dishes, and utensils.
Optimum Body pH
The typical definition of “optimum body pH” refers to the blood's pH. However, different body parts need different optimal pH levels to function properly.
For instance, gastric juice in the stomach should have a pH between 1.5 and 3.5 to be correctly digested. Blood, on the other hand, should have a pH level of 7.36.
What Happens If Your Body Isn't Balanced
Just as the saying goes, too much of something is bad. Being too acidic or too alkaline can cause health problems. If your diet is too acidic, it may cause you to gain weight, have a slower immune response, and become susceptible to infections.
However, if your diet is too alkaline, it may let you slow down your metabolism, especially in absorbing key nutrients. Fortunately, our body strives to keep the pH level constantly balanced.
What contributes to our pH level is what we take in, such as the liquids we drink, the foods we eat, and even the emotions we feel.
The Health Effects of pH
It is named a secondary drinking water contaminant with aesthetic effects. Be that as it may, the EPA suggests that open water systems maintain pH levels of 6.5 to 8.5, a great guide for individual well water owners.
Water with a low pH can be acidic, which is normally delicate and corrosive. Acidic water can filter metals, such as copper, lead, and zinc, from funnels and fixtures.
It can likewise harm metal pipes and cause aesthetic issues, for example, a metallic or harsh taste, clothing recoloring, or blue-green stains in sinks and drains.
Water with a low pH may contain metals like what is already mentioned copper, lead, and zinc. Drinking water with a pH level over 8.5 shows that an abnormal state of alkalinity minerals is available. High alkalinity does not represent a health hazard but can cause aesthetic issues.
For example, a soluble alkali taste in the water influences coffee to taste bitter, and scale develops in pipes. It brings down the productivity of electric water warmers.
How to Test the pH Value
Contact your state or local health officer for a list of certified laboratories that can test your water's pH level. If your water is acidic (under seven pH), you may have issues with copper and lead leaching from your pipes.
If the pH test demonstrates that your water is exceptionally acidic, consider testing for copper and lead. If testing demonstrates that your water has a high pH, consider testing for alkalinity and hardness, as these can also be related to high-pH water.
In any case, the primary method for treating low-pH water is using a neutralizer. The neutralizer encourages adding a solution to the water to prevent it from reacting with the house pipes or contributing to electrolytic corrosion.
A common neutralizing substance is soda ash, which builds up the sodium content of the water.
What are the Treatments for pH in Drinking Water?
Two home treatment techniques to alter pH are acid-neutralizing filters and chemical feed pump systems infusing a neutralizing solution. An acid-neutralizing filter utilizes calcite or ground limestone (calcium carbonate) for normal pH correction.
Yet, if the pH is low, it could incorporate a mix of magnesium oxide and calcite. The water ingesting these minerals through the channel will raise the alkalinity and hardness.
Hardness is effortlessly treated with a water softener that uses an ion exchange process to put off hard minerals. A chemical feed pump solution is made with well water and soda ash (similar to baking soda) and blended in a solution tank.
The total dissolved solids (TDS) and carbon dioxide levels in the water should be considered when choosing the pH treatment method.
For instance, acid-neutralizing filters are less viable in raising pH when the water contains extreme TDS or carbon dioxide levels. Suppose the pH level of the well water is more noteworthy than 8.5.
In that case, you can lessen the impacts of extreme alkalinity by introducing either a special ion exchange unit intended to diminish alkalinity or a substance-nourishing pump framework that infuses a weak acid solution. This system is more complex. If high pH is an issue, please contact your local water specialist for detailed advice.
Neutralizing Filters
A neutralizing filter is used in the water if it is acidic or has a low pH. This is a simple device that can raise the pH level of the water by adding a neutralizing material.
These filters are point-of-entry devices that can raise the water's pH level to neutral, preventing corrosion or plumbing problems. Calcium carbonate can treat water with a pH greater than 6, while synthetic magnesium oxide will treat water with a low pH level.
The untreated water will flow through the filter, which is now filled with limestone, calcium carbonate, or a synthetic magnesium oxide medium. This material will dissolve in the water, raising the pH level.
Soda Ash or Sodium Hydroxide Injection
This is used whenever the water is acidic or has a low pH. Sodium carbonate or soda ash is injected into the water system to raise the pH to near neutral. Unlike neutralizing filters, this does not cause hardness problems in the treated water.
Remember that the injection systems are point-of-entry systems. A corrosion-resistant chemical feed pumps or injects sodium hydroxide or soda ash solution into the water, raising the pH level. The solution must be directly fed into the well, protecting the pump from corrosion.
If the water needs to be disinfected or neutralized, the injection system can be dual-treated by adding a chlorine solution of sodium hypochlorite with the neutralizing chemical.
Acid Injection
The acid injection lowers the pH level of water to 7, treating it with a high pH level. This can eliminate the taste of soda and improve the effectiveness of chlorination. It can also reduce the potential for pipe corrosion, as water with a pH above nine can corrode metals like zinc, copper, brass, iron, and aluminum.
Other Effects on Humans
Exposure to extreme pH values irritates the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes. Eye irritation and complications of skin disorders have been associated with pH values of more than 11.
Furthermore, pH 10– 12.5 solutions have been accounted for to swell hair strands. In insensitive people, gastrointestinal irritation may likewise happen. The introduction of low pH esteems can also have related effects.
Eye redness and irritation have been reported at pH levels below 4, the severity of which increases with diminishing pH. At pH levels below 2.5, harm to the epithelium is irreversible and intense.
Moreover, since pH can influence the erosion of metals and disinfection efficiency, it might indirectly affect health.
Conclusions
Although pH generally does not immediately affect water consumers, it is an essential water-quality parameter. Careful attention to pH control is crucial at all stages of water treatment to guarantee tasteful water clarification and disinfection.
The pH of water entering the distribution system should ideally be under 8 for effective chlorine cleansing. Controlling the pH of household water systems' mains and pipes will also limit erosion.
The inability to do so can contaminate drinking water and have awful effects on its taste, scent, and appearance. The ideal pH will vary in various sources, as indicated by the composition of the water and the nature of the construction materials used in the distribution system.
However, it is frequently in the range of 6.5– 9.5. Higher pH values can result from accidental spills, treatment breakdowns, and unfixed cement mortar pipe linings.
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