Environmental · Water Quality
Home Water Quality Testing
Beginner 2 weeks 8-12 hours
Test tap, filtered, and bottled water for pH, hardness, chlorine, and nitrates, then compare your results to EPA drinking water limits.
Major
Environmental
Focus area
Water Quality
Total hours
8-12 hours
What you'll need
- multi-parameter drinking water test strips pH hardness chlorine nitrate
- TDS meter digital water quality tester
- glass sample jars with lids 8 oz pack
- waterproof labels and marker set
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Steps
- Pick at least 4 water sources, like tap, filtered tap, bottled, and a friend's house or school fountain.
- Collect samples the same way each time and label each with source, date, and time.
- Run every test 3 times per sample and record the average.
- Build a comparison table and chart in Excel.
- Compare each result to EPA limits and flag anything close to or over the limit.
- Write a one-page summary and document the project for your portfolio.
What to photograph for your portfolio
- Labeled samples lined up
- test strips next to color chart
- results table
- comparison to EPA limits
- one-page summary
Resume bullet starters
Copy one, then swap in your own numbers.
Tested [#] water samples from [#] sources for pH, hardness, chlorine, and nitrates using standard field test methods
Ran triplicate tests on every sample and compared results to EPA drinking water standards
Quantified results with [insert your result, such as removal percentage, accuracy, strength, or cost savings] and summarized findings in a technical report
Skills you'll show off
Water samplingwater chemistryQA/QCdata analysisregulatory standards