What is TDS?
TDS stands for Total Dissolved Solids and represents the total concentration of dissolved substances in water. TDS is made up of inorganic salts, as well as a small amount of organic matter. Common inorganic salts that can be found in water include calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium, which are all cations, and carbonates, nitrates, bicarbonates, chlorides and sulphates, which are all anions. Cations are positively charged ions and anions are negatively charged ions.
How do these solids end up dissolved in water?
These minerals can originate from a number of sources, both natural and as a result of human activities. Agricultural and urban runoff can carry excess minerals into water sources, as can wastewater discharges, industrial wastewater and salt that is used to de-ice roads.
What happens to the water when the TDS level is high?
Alone, a high concentration of dissolved solids is usually not a health hazard. In fact, many people buy mineral water, which has naturally elevated levels of dissolved solids. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is responsible for drinking water regulations in the United States, includes TDS as a secondary standard, meaning that it is a voluntary guideline in the United States.
Most people think of TDS as being an aesthetic factor. In a study by the World Health Organization, a panel of tasters came to the following conclusions about the preferable level of TDS in water:
However, a very low concentration of TDS has been found to give water a flat taste, which is undesirable to many people.
Increased concentrations of dissolved solids can also have technical effects. Dissolved solids can produce hard water, which leaves deposits and films on fixtures, and on the insides of hot water pipes and boilers. Soaps and detergents do not produce as much lather with hard water as with soft water. As well, high amounts of dissolved solids can stain household fixtures, corrode pipes, and have a metallic taste. Hard water causes water filters to wear out sooner, because of the amount of minerals in the water. The picture below was taken near the Mammoth Hot Springs, in Yellowstone National Park, and shows the effect that water with high concentrations of minerals can have on the landscape. The same minerals that are deposited on these rocks can cause problems when they build up in pipes and fixtures.
How can water treatment facilities remove TDS?
Water treatment facilities can use reverse osmosis to remove the dissolved solids in the water that are responsible for elevated TDS levels. Reverse osmosis removes virtually all dissolved substances, including many harmful minerals, such as salt and lead. It also removes healthy minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, and ideally such water should be filtered through a magnesium and calcium mineral bed to add the minerals to the water. The mineral bed also increases the pH and decreases the corrosive potential of the water.
