Water quality index along the Euphrates between the cities of Al-Qaim and Falluja: A comparative study

Abstract

Water Quality Index (WQI) is a useful and unique method of measuring water quality. It is often used to determine the status of water quality in simple terms (e.g. good or bad, usable or unusable) to assess water quality and evaluate its suitability for different purposes. The research objectives are to assess the spatial variability of the water quality index (WQI) and make comparisons among monitors sites on the Euphrates River in Anbar Governorate. The monitoring and assessment were carried out on eleven sampling sites along the Euphrates River between the cities of Al-Qaim and Fallujah, spatially and temporally, over a period of 4 years from 2010 to 2013. To calculate the WQI, several Physico-chemical parameters, namely, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness (T.H), turbidity (TUR), dissolved oxygen (DO), alkalinity (Alk.), calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), chloride ion (Cl-), sulphate ion (SO42-) and nitrate ion (NO3-) were analysed in line with the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Water Quality Index methodology (CCME WQI). The water quality index values in these stations on the Euphrates River in the study area ranged from fair to a marginal category in the study period. The current results concluded that the alterations existed in the concentration of the Physico-chemical parameters in most months, except January and September, along the Euphrates between the cities of Al-Qaim and Fallujah, as a result of harmful practices. The present study revealed that the Euphrates River water is polluted due to human activities, agricultural run-off, the release of inadequately treated wastewater, making it unsuitable for human consumption unless treated properly.

Evaluation of the Environmental Integrity of the Al-Dujaila River by Using the Weight Water Quality Index

“…2d), and a low value (7.4) was detected in the dry season at site 3. pH can determine the safety of the aquatic system entirely. Many Iraqi researchers proved that the Iraqi's waters are alkaline to sub-alkaline (Prambudy et al, 2019;Mohammed et al, 2021;Saod et al, 2021). From Table (3), it was noticed that pH value in the dry season is less from the wet season; this is due to the decomposition of some phytoplankton and aquatic plants and the production of carbon dioxide and organic materials, and the increase in the pH in the wet season may be due to the rise in the water level due to rainfall and low temperatures, and this subsequently leads to an increase in the basal increase (Abbas & Sharaq, 2022).…”

Water Quality Assessment of Euphrates River Within Fallujah City Using Water Quality Indices Technique

“…The Euphrates river and its branches extend into the major cities of the Anbar Governorate, such as Ramadi and Fallujah, and it is a major source of water as the residents of these areas depend on it for drinking, agriculture, and industrial purposes in addition to being a drain for sewage after the treatment process, especially in Fallujah city, which is one of the largest cities in Anbar Governorate in western Iraq, which is about 47 km east of the city of Ramadi and 60 km west of Baghdad. The river water in the study area is also affected by human activities represented by industrial, domestic, and agricultural activities [15][16][17].…”

Water Quality Assessment of Euphrates River Using Heavy Metal Pollution Indices Within Fallujah City Reach, Anbar Province, Iraq

“…The river flows through the Anbar governorate and crosses the Syrian border, and it is a major water supplier for two large cities (Ramadi and Fallujah) as well as some villages and towns [19]. Where the river represents the main source of drinking water as well as being used in industrial and agricultural activities, it represents an estuary for water treatment plants and sewage plants [20,21].…”