Ammonia is a colorless, pungent gaseous compound, extremely soluble in water. It is a biologically active compound found in most waters as a normal biological degradation product of nitrogenous organic matter. It also may find its way to ground and surface waters through discharge of industrial process wastes containing ammonia and fertilizers. Ammonia can cause toxicity to aquatic animals and high levels of it can potentially kill aquatic organisms. Various methods can be used for the determination of ammonia in water, but the most common and cheapest among of it is the ammonia-selective electrode method.
