Abstract: 2310 A. Introduction
Acidity of a water is its quantitative capacity to react with a strong base to a designated pH. The measured value may vary significantly with the endpoint pH used in the determination. Acidity is a measured aggregate property of water and can be interpreted in terms of specific substances only when the chemical composition of the sample is known. Strong mineral acids, weak acids such as carbonic and acetic, and hydrolyzing salts such as iron or aluminum sulfates may contribute to the measured acidity according to the method of determination.
Acids contribute to corrosiveness and influence chemical reaction rates, chemical speciation, and biological processes. The measurement also reflects a change in the quality of the source water.