Document Type : Original articles
Authors
1
Elkafrawey Street, New Damietta City, Damietta - Egypt
2
Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science Damietta University.
3
Department of Environmental Sciences,Faculty of Science, Damietta University
4
Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Damietta University
Abstract
The quality of drinking water is an important indicator of human health. Therefore, a study was conducted to evaluate the physico-chemical and biological quality of tap water at various network points in the Damietta governorate, where the water is distributed to consumers. Nine samples of three distribution networks for three treatment plants located on the Nile were collected seasonally during the year 2022 and subjected to analysis for different physico-chemical and biological characteristics, in addition to some heavy metals. Metrics of heavy metal pollution (PI) and water quality (WQI) were applied to evaluate the water status. Moreover, a one-way ANOVA was implemented to compare the temporal and spatial variation of WQI. The result showed that the mean values of turbidity, electrical conductivity, pH, total dissolved solids, and total hardness of tap water were 0.2±0.6 NTU, 296.2±19.8 µmohs/cm, 7.2±0.14, 183.3±4.3, and 528±212 mg/l, respectively. In addition, ammonia, residual chlorine, chlorides, sulphates, calcium, magnesium, iron, lead, cadmium, and zinc concentrations were 0.014±0.01, 0.5±0.5,35.3±6.3, 34.1±5.7,63.4±17,23.2±4.8, 0.02±0.01, 0.01±0.01, 0.003±0.005, and 0.07±0.03 mg/l, respectively. The total plate count was 23.4±8.1 CFU/100 ml. The obtained results revealed that all the measured parameters were within permissible limits, according to WHO (2017). The Average Water Quality Index (AWQI) values (56.6, 56.58, and 52.9, respectively) of distribution networks 1, 2, and 3 confirmed that the tap water in the study area was of good quality. This study recommends the continuous upkeep of water pipes throughout distribution networks to avoid water contamination and ensure compliance with international standards.
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