Assessment of spring water quality at selected locations around Duhok city, Iraq
Spring water is the common source of public water supply in most village communities of... See more
Spring water is the common source of public water supply in most village communities of developing countries
such as Duhok city. The water samples were taken from the main water sources where maximum peoples were
using them for drinking purpose. The objective of this research is to assess the suitability of spring water quality
for drinking purpose at selected sites around Duhok city. Spring water samples were collected from Duske District
and have been analyzed for physical and chemical parameters such as, Temperature, total alkalinity, total hardness
(TH), total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC),, pH, Chlorides (Cl-), Nitrite( NO3 -), Dissolved
Oxygen (DO), Ca2+, Mg2+ and SO4 2- using American Public Health Association standard methods . The
obtained values of each parameter were compared with the standard values set by World Health Organization.
Monthly samples were collected from the springs during the period from April to October 2017. The statistical
analysis of the experimentally estimated water quality parameters on water samples yielded the range of the
variation, mean, standard deviation, co-efficient of variation, The results of analysis carried out showed that the
following mean values of, Temperature ranges from(18.900± 1.575) °C to (19.95± 2.02)°C, dissolved oxygen
ranges from (6.375±0.330)( 7.725±0.435)mg/l, ( NO3 -), from (1.175± 0.275) to (2.875 ± 1.506)mg/l, sulfate from
( 25.57±2.35) to (69.45±7.07)mg/l, magnesium from (75.00±16.87) to (124.50±15.00)mg/l, Ca2+, from (243.0
±55.6) to (341.8±48.7)mg/l, total hardness from (300.8±65.1)to( 454.0 ±48.4)mg/l, chloride from( 51.40 ±2.12)to
(126.43 ±11.26)mg/l, (TDS), from (359.8 ±34.1) to (822.0 ±87.0) mg/l, (EC) from (562.8±53.3) to (1284.8±135.9)
μs/cm and pH from (7.3750 ±0.1500) to (8.1500 ±0.1291). About the total hardness it was found that all of the
water quality characteristics were above the permissible limit but within the maximum permissible limit values.
Calcium and magnesium were above the permissible limit. The results show that the concentrations of TDS are
above the permissible limits at 6 locations. About sulfate, dissolved oxygen and (NO3 -),it was found that all of the
water quality parameters were within the permissible limit. The study recommends that most of the spring water
needs treatment to protect the households from drinking water.
Keywords: spring water, statistical analysis, water quality, Duhok city, Kurdistan region.
2018-12