Water and Wastewater Terms Beginning T

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

turbidity (ter-BID-it-tee)

The cloudy appearance of water caused by the presence of suspended and colloidal matter. In the water sector, a turbidity measurement is used to indicate the clarity of water. Technically, turbidity is an optical property of the water based on the amount of light reflected by suspended particles. Turbidity cannot be directly equated to suspended solids because white particles reflect more light than dark-colored particles and many small particles will reflect more light than an equivalent large particle.