CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Porous media refers to a substance that has tiny pores, or air spaces between solid material through which liquid and gas can pass. Examples of naturally occurring porous media include soil, and sometypes of stone, such as pumice and sandstone. Sponges, ceramics, and reticulated foam are also manufactured for use as porous media. The possible applications of these materials in science, industry, and everyday life are vast, although they are perhaps most commonly used as filters (Dullien, 1992).
Physically, a porous medium can be distinguished from other materials including other porous media by its porosity, or the size of its pores. Materials with low porosity are less permeable and typically have smaller pores, making it more difficult for gas or liquid to pass through them, while materials with high porosity have large pores and are easily permeated (Dullien, 1992). Porosity is an important consideration in filtering, since if enough to effectively trap them. Geologists also consider the porosity of the surrounding stone and soil when conducting observations of soil and natural gas reservoirs. Natural gas trapped in low-porosity stone is known as “tight gas” and is more difficult to access than other reserves (Athy, 1930).
Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, biological and radiological characteristics of water. It is a measure of the condition of water relative to the requirements of one or more biotic species and or to any human need or purpose. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance can be assessed. The most common standards used to assess water quality relate to health of ecosystems, safety of human contact, and drinking water.
1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Porosity or void fraction is a measure of void (i.e. “empty”) spaces in a material, and is a fraction of volume of voids over the total volume, between 0 and 1, or as a percentage between 0 and 100%. There are many ways to test porosity in a substance or part, such as industrial CT scanning.
The term porosity is used in multiple fields including pharmaceutics, ceramics, metallurgy, materials, manufacturing, earth science, soil mechanics and engineering
Soil can be described in many different ways, such as heavy, light, sandy, clay, loam, poor or good. The relative proportion of sand, silt, clay determines soil texture and small rocks (pebbles) found in a given sample. The soil sample gotten from the urban-rural location was found to be gritty. The sample gotten from the Rural location was found to be smooth and slippery to the touch when wet and the individual particles are much smaller than those of the Urban. These individual particles can only be seen with the aid of a microscope. Clay is sticky and plastic like to handle when wet.
Porosity is an important measurement in areas where drinking water is provided by groundwater reserves (Horgan, 1998).
Testing the water allows a knowledgeable approach to address the specific problems of a water supply. This helps ensure that the water source is being properly protected from potential contamination, and that an appropriate treatment system is selected and is operating properly.
It is important to test the suitability of your water quality for its intended purpose, whether it is livestock watering, irrigation, spraying, or drinking water. This will assist you in making informed decisions about your water and how you use it. The purpose of this section of RWQIT is to provide water quality testing information that will assist rural residents using a private water supply. It provides information on the importance of water quality monitoring and how you can get it tested.
1.2 AIM AND OBJECTIVES
The aim of this project is to determine porosity of the three main soil types which were gotten from three different land uses: urban, rural and urban rural. Determine the water quality gotten from three different well locations (urban, rural and urban-rural). Comparethese samples if they have same porosity and water quality in their different land uses.