pH

pH is a measure of how acidic/basic water is.  The range goes from 0 - 14, with 7 being neutral. pHs of less than 7 indicate acidity, whereas a pH of greater than 7 indicates a base. pH is really a measure of the relative amount of free hydrogen and hydroxyl ions in the water.  Water that has more free hydrogen ions is acidic, whereas water that has more free hydroxyl ions is basic.  Since pH can be affected by chemicals in the water, pH is an important indicator of water that is changing chemically.  pH is reported in "logarithmic units".  Each number represents a 10-fold change in the acidity/basicness of the water.  Water with a pH of five is ten times more acidic than water having a pH of six.

More Information

See USGS pH Scale