Drinking water that meets quality requirements is essential for humans. The quality of drinking water is assessed by various indicators and monitored in various ways. Pollution of the hydrosphere leads to the need to use unique water treatment methods since water can absorb various pollutants as a universal solvent. The problem of providing the population with high-quality drinking water is further complicated by the shortage of fresh water. This is due to climate change of technogenic origin and other environmental problems. Environmental monitoring of water quality indicates problems associated with the excess content of several chemical elements in drinking water, which negatively affects its consumer properties.
The deterioration of the quality of drinking water due to pollution of the hydrosphere necessitates the development and improvement of water treatment processes, including water filtration. Water that has undergone a water treatment process also requires a study of its parameters.
An analysis of publications indicates that a comprehensive study of water quality indicators is difficult. At the present stage, it is necessary to analyze water's physical, chemical, and biological characteristics.
From the point of view of the possibility of providing a comprehensive analysis of water quality indicators, the gas-discharge radiation method is promising. Black and white method (Kirlian, 1949, Antonov, Yuskesselieva, 1968, Inyushin et al., 1968, Boyer, Tiller, 1973) or color corona spectral analysis (Ignatov, 2007) is used in medicine, biology, and ecology to study biological and physical objects.
Research method (Pesotskaya, Glukhova, Lapitskiy, 2013) refers to active experiments since it is based on registering a corona discharge, which occurs when an object under study is exposed to a high-frequency pulsed electric discharge. The geometric and photometric parameters of the corona gas-discharge radiation depend on the properties of the experimental object of study. Registration of the corona of gas-discharge radiation can be performed by fixing it in grayscale on X-ray film or as a color image on photographic film.
The physical effects underlying the method are based on the ionization process, which ensures the formation of a sliding gas discharge formation on the dielectric surface. The discharge occurs due to the formation of ionized gas in the form of a conducting plasma. The dynamics of the formation of a gas discharge in the form of a corona, consisting of separate discharge tracks (streamers), correlates with the electromagnetic properties of a water sample. The geometric shape and surface brightness of gas discharges are determined and recorded on photographic material. The described physical effects make it possible to study the properties of an experimental object.