Which water quality characteristic acts as the carrier of many organisms responsible for intestinal diseases?

• A. Turbidity
• B. Pathogens
• C. Dissolved Gases
• D. Hardness

Answer: (B)

Suspended particles in water often serve as homes for microbes. Turbidity measures how cloudy the water is because of these particles. Microorganisms, including the pathogens that cause intestinal diseases, tend to cling to these particles and even shield themselves from disinfection while attached. That means water with higher turbidity can carry more pathogens and allow them to persist and move with the water, making turbidity a good indicator of the potential for microbial contamination.

Pathogens are the disease-causing organisms themselves, not a water quality characteristic that carries other organisms. Dissolved gases have no bearing on carrying microbes, and hardness reflects mineral content rather than microbial transport. So turbidity is the characteristic that best describes the carrier effect for organisms responsible for intestinal diseases.