International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 27 Number 1- September 2015
Investigating the Quality of Koya City Drinking Water
Fakhri H. Ibraheem, Fyrad M Shareef, **Rostam S. Aziz, Galawesh B. Bapeer,
Faculty of Engineering, Koya University, Koya, Kurdistan Region – Iraq
*Koya Water Directorate, Koya, Kurdistan Region – Iraq.
**Faculty of Education, Koya University, Koya, Kurdistan Region – Iraq
Abstract— This project is based on the
investigation of drinking water parameters at the city of
Koya in Kurdistan Region. Group of researchers at the
Faculty of Engineering, Koya University are participated in
this study. Water are supplied to houses from two sources
ground and surface water, these are the sources of drinking
water in the majority of countries in the middle east.
Therefore the paper can help the researchers in the region
to use it as reference for their works. As field survey mass
number of samples were collected from water stores and
householders taps. Chemical and physical properties of
water were tested for each sample. The results show that the
surface water is more contaminated than the ground water
due to waste disposal to the rivers. The lack for safe
drinking water in Koya city and the instability of its
physical, chemicals and microbiological aspects is the main
reason for implementing this research. This study show us
clearly the location and how much big is this problem.
Keywords— Drinking water, water quality control, water
standard specifications, Koya city.
I. INTRODUCTION
The tap water in Koya University, Kurdistan
region - Iraq is suffering an acute shortage of drinking
water that meets international standards specifications.
Consequently, the provision of drinking water for
Koya City people and the University students and staff
is an immediate priority. EPA defines a water
contaminant as any physical chemical, biological, or
radiological substance or matter in water. EPA sets
legal limits on the levels of certain contaminants in
drinking water. The legal limits reflect both the level
that protects human health and the level that water
systems can achieve using the best available
technology [1]. Contaminated water serves as a
mechanism to transmit communicable diseases such as
diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid and guinea
worm infection. WHO estimates that in 2008
diarrhoeal disease claimed the lives of 2.5 million
people [2].
The quality of available water sources vary
widely on the location regardless of being sourced
from rivers or ground water. The project aims is to
make survey on the quality of drinking water in all
Koya city strips and how much it is far from standard
specifications and is it suitable for human
consumption. So it is important to identify actual
ISSN: 2231-5381
production amount of drinking water and its qualities
in different locations throughout Koya city.
There are five drinking water resources in
Koya city, Figure 1. Two of them are surface water
from Al-zabe River, Kilesa and Taqtaq and the others
from wells, Haibat-Sultan, Topzawa, and Hamamook.
Figure 2 shows the distribution of ground water wells
in the city. (78) Laboratory water testing was done
from different locations for drinking water samples
during the period from 1st Nov. - 10 Dec. / 2014. The
samples were taken from main storage tanks and from
all Koyas strips tap water. The tests are including
microbiological, chemical and physical tests. It is
shown from the testing results that there are no
microbiological contaminations in all drinking water
points, tanks and taps and fulfill Iraqi Standard
Specification IQS 2270/14/2006. The chemical and
physical test shows bad drinking water quality for
some places and out of IQS 417/ 1974 – 2001. For
drinking water storage tanks, two of them are within
standard specification and two out of standard.
Topzawa is out of standard due to increase TDS value
by 13%. Taqtaq is out of standard due to increase
turbidity by 330%. Generally the water specifications
in tap water are higher than resources tanks especially
in TDS, pH and turbidity. The searching for the
reasons of that deviation is a part of future work in
addition to searching for the suitable technology to
overcome this deviation and improve Koya drinking
water. The pH of Koya city drinking water is alkanet
and it is higher for tap water than resources tanks. The
drinking tap water specifications for eleven strips are
out of standard due to increase turbidity. The Koya
strips can be classified into three sectors. The 1st one
is the strips which represent 25% of Koya city that
suffering from severe effect of turbidity by about
267% from the standard level. The 2nd one is the
strips which represent 30% of Koya city that are out of
standard by about 50%. The 3rd one is the strips
which represent 45% of Koya city and it is within high
level of turbidity standard specification. The
conclusion of that research is that eleven strips in
Koya city have a drinking water not suitable for
human consumption. Eight strips have a drinking
water within the high level of turbidity so it is not safe.
Hamammok strip only has the better water quality
specification and suitable for human consumptions.
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 27 Number 1- September 2015
Fig. 1 Koya city drinking water resources
Fig. 2 Koya city with drinking water wells distribution
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 27 Number 1- September 2015
II. STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS OF DRINKING
WATER
The drinking water is very important food especially
for children due to its highly constituent of valuable
elements and the ability to be modified to better
quality with reference to the human body lack i.e can
be supported by Florien element for tooth buildings or
by iron and so on. The limits of the elements and
compound should be controlled carefully. The
monitoring of microbiological effect is also very
important in order to let water far from pathogenic
bacteria. The Iraqi Standard Specification (IQS)
number 2270/14/2006 shows clearly the allowed
limits of microbial in drinking water [3]. The (IQS)
417/ 1974 – 2001 shows the allowable level for
drinking water physical and chemical specifications
and classified the limits in to two regions, the first one
represent the maximum acceptable limits for drinking
water in the existence of suitable technology for water
industry, and the second for maximum allowable
limits when there is a lack of suitable water sources
and technology. The most important chemicals figure
to be concentrated on in koya city is TDS (Total
Dissolved Salts), turbidity, and the water acidity PH
number. With reference to the first region
specifications, TDS should be not more than 500 ppm,
turbidity below 5 NTU, and the acidity PH limits is (7
- 8.5) [4].
III. THE PRACTICAL WORK
An effective cooperation occurred between Faculty of
Engineering (FoE) – Koya University researchers and
Koya drinking water directorate. The FoE nominates a
research group for that purpose. The research group
held seven meetings, ten visits and 78 laboratory tests.
This work includes the surveying on the water
resources, storage tanks, and all Koyas city strips for
tap water samples. This is done through two months
from 16 oct. – 14 Dec. 2014.
The practical work going on into the following
directions:
a)
The drinking water resources types and
locations with reference to Koya city.
b) The clarification process of each types of
drinking water.
c)
The metal and concrete drinking water
storage tanks situation and locations.
d) The tap water net pipes classified with
reference to Koya city sectors.
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e)
The Microbiological tests for each source of
drinking water in two labs, the 1st one in
Koya Hospital and the 2nd in the Quality
Control Labs (QCL) in Sustainable Industrial
Development Directorate (SIDD) – Ministry
of Trade and Industries (MTI).
f)
Primary chemical and physical tests for each
source of drinking water represented by
electrical conductivity, TDS, minerals,and
turbidity.
IV. WATER RESOURCES
The Koya Drinking Water (KDW) amount from multi
sources equal to 38400 m3/day. The source of KDW
either surface water (Klesa new Project and Taq taq Koya project) which represent about 60 % from total
amount (38400 m3/day) while the other source is
under ground water which represent 40% of the total
amount. i.e the underground water has more effect on
overall KDW specifications. In the existence of
Drinking Water Directorate Representative (DWDR),
the research group gets samples from drinking water
multi sources. It is shown from the visits and available
information and drawings that there is interactions and
connections between the multi drinking water sources
pipes nets that feed Koyas cities. It is also important
to get tap water samples from all Koyas city strips.
V. LABORATORIES TESTS
A. Microbiological Tests
It was done for (28) samples in two labs. Four samples
tested in QCL and (24) samples in Koya hospital.
Eight of these samples are for water from drinking
water resources tanks. ( 20 ) of these samples are for
Koyas strips tap water. Tables 1, 2 show the
microbiological tests for drinking water resources
tanks and tap water respectively.
B. Chemical Tests
It was done for (24) samples in the research center lab
in the faculty of Engineering (FoE)-Koya University
and (18) samples in the college of education labs. The
chemical testes concentrated on
a) Total Dissolved Salts (TDS) ppm.
b) Water acidity pH.
c) Dissolved elements.
TDS or Total Dissolved Solids is a measure of the
total ions in solution. EC is actually a measure of the
ionic activity of a solution in term of its capacity to
transmit current. In dilute solution, TDS and EC are
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 27 Number 1- September 2015
reasonably comparable. The TDS of a water sample
are determined by measuring Electrical Conductivity
EC. To convert the electric conductivity of a water
sample (mS/cm) into the approximate concentration of
total dissolved solids (ppm), the mS/cm is multiplied
by a conversion factor. The conversion factor depends
on the chemical composition of the TDS and can very
between 0.54 – 0.96. A value of 0.67 is commonly
used as an approximation if the actual factor is not
known (TDS)ppm = Conductivity µS/cm x 0.67. [5].
Table (4) shows details of the elements detected by
Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS)
equipment. It has highly accuracy.
C. Physical Tests
It is done for (24) samples in the research center lab in
the faculty of Engineering (FoE)-Koya University.
The Physical testes concentrated on the turbidity.
Table (4) the turbidity values of raw water resources
tanks. Table (5) shows turbidity values for Koya
different places tap water.
Table 3 shows TDS and pH testing results. Table 4:
shows Dissolve elements. It was done for drinking
water resources tanks by a previous research work.
TABLE 1
MICROBIOLOGICAL TESTS RESULTS FOR KOYA DRINKING WATER RESOURCES TANKS AT 12-18 NOV. 2014
Raw Water
Resource
GPS XYZ)
UTM location
462677× 3992674
× 666
Topzawa
Taqtaq
Klesa
Haibatsultan
465538 ×
3993953 × 677
470365 ×
3994148 × 725
468471 ×
3995538 × 727
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Hospital
Lab
QCL
lab
M.P.N. Coli after 48 hrs
< 2.2
---
M.P.N Fecal Coli 48 hrs
< 2.2
---
Items
(ISS)
2270/14/
2006
E. Coli CFU/250 ml
---
Zero
Zero
Total Coliforms Bacteria CFU/250 ml
---
1
2
Pseudomonas aerugenosa CFU/250 ml
---
Zero
2
Fecal streptococcus CFU/250 ml
---
Zero
2
M.P.N. Coli after 48 hrs
< 2.2
---
M.P.N Fecal Coli 48 hrs
< 2.2
---
E. Coli CFU/250 ml
---
Zero
Zero
Total Coliforms Bacteria CFU/250 ml
---
1
2
Pseudomonas aerugenosa CFU/250 ml
---
Zero
2
Fecal streptococcus CFU/250 ml
---
Zero
2
M.P.N. Coli after 48 hrs
< 2.2
---
M.P.N Fecal Coli 48 hrs
< 2.2
---
E. Coli CFU/250 ml
---
Zero
Zero
Total Coliforms Bacteria CFU/250 ml
---
Zero
2
Pseudomonas aerugenosa CFU/250 ml
---
Zero
2
Fecal streptococcus CFU/250 ml
---
Zero
2
M.P.N. Coli after 48 hrs
< 2.2
---
M.P.N Fecal Coli 48 hrs
< 2.2
---
E. Coli CFU/250 ml
---
Zero
Zero
Total Coliforms Bacteria CFU/250 ml
---
Zero
2
Pseudomonas aerugenosa CFU/250 ml
---
Zero
2
Fecal streptococcus CFU/250 ml
---
Zero
2
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 27 Number 1- September 2015
TABLE 2
MICROBIOLOGICAL TESTS RESULTS FOR ALL KOYA CITY SECTORS TAP WATER AT 25 NOV. – 10 DEC.
Koya City Strip
M.P.N. Coli after 48 hrs
M.P.N Fecal Coli 48 hrs
Results
Alieawa
< 2.2
< 2.2
Satisfactory
Kurdi Arabiean
< 2.2
< 2.2
Satisfactory
Sarbag 1
< 2.2
< 2.2
Satisfactory
Sarbag 2
< 2.2
< 2.2
Satisfactory
Jamiea
< 2.2
< 2.2
Satisfactory
Hawawan
< 2.2
< 2.2
Satisfactory
gashtearie
< 2.2
< 2.2
Satisfactory
Haiebat Sultan
< 2.2
< 2.2
Satisfactory
kakoun
< 2.2
< 2.2
Eskan
< 2.2
< 2.2
Satisfactory
Hammamook
< 2.2
< 2.2
Satisfactory
Hamoon
< 2.2
< 2.2
Satisfactory
Fiderally
< 2.2
< 2.2
Satisfactory
Zansite
< 2.2
< 2.2
Satisfactory
Qalat
< 2.2
< 2.2
Satisfactory
Baezhaga
< 2.2
< 2.2
Satisfactory
BafriQundi
< 2.2
< 2.2
Satisfactory
Qundeel
< 2.2
< 2.2
Satisfactory
Azadi
< 2.2
< 2.2
Satisfactory
Kosrat
< 2.2
< 2.2
Satisfactory
Satisfactory
TABLE 3
CHEMICAL TESTS RESULTS FOR KOYA DRINKING WATER RESOURCES TANKS AT 12-18 NOV. 2014
Drinking water
tanks locations
Electrical
Conductivity
µS/cm
Total
Dissolved
Salts TDS
(ppm)
Iraqi Standard Specifications
417 – 1974
pH
TDS (ppm)
Results
pH
Topzawa
840
563
7.8
500
7.0 – 8.5
Reject
Taqtaq
285
191
8.09
500
7.0 – 8.5
Accepted
Klesa
277
186
7.88
500
7.0 – 8.5
Accepted
Haibat sultan
409
274
7.96
500
7.0 – 8.5
Accepted
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 27 Number 1- September 2015
TABLE 4
CHEMICAL TESTS RESULTS FOR ALL KOYA CITY SECTORS TAP WATER 25 NOV 2014 - 8 DEC 2014
Electrical
Conductivity
µS/cm
Koya City Strip
Total
Dissolved
Salts TDS
(ppm)
Iraqi Standard
Specifications
pH
Results
417–1974
TDS (ppm)
pH
Alibawa
740
496
7.84
500
7.0 – 8.5
Accepted (Higher
Level)
Kurdi Arabiean
654
438
8.37
500
7.0 – 8.5
Accepted
Sarbag 1
561
376
8.41
500
7.0 – 8.5
Accepted (Higher
Level)
Sarbag 2
616
413
8.28
500
7.0 – 8.5
Accepted
Jamiea
702
470
8.21
500
7.0 – 8.5
Accepted
Hawawan
734
492
8.38
500
7.0 – 8.5
Accepted (Higher
Level)
gashtearie
607
407
8.36
500
7.0 – 8.5
Accepted
Haiebat Sultan
981
657
8.28
500
7.0 – 8.5
Reject
kakoun
603
404
8.07
500
7.0 – 8.5
Accepted
Eskan
669
448
8.03
500
7.0 – 8.5
Accepted
Hammamook
635
425
7.97
500
7.0 – 8.5
Accepted
Hamoon
460
308
8.35
500
7.0 – 8.5
Accepted
Fiderally
605
405
8.25
500
7.0 – 8.5
Accepted
Zansite
565
379
8.09
500
7.0 – 8.5
Accepted
Qalat
297
200
8.19
500
7.0 – 8.5
Accepted
Baezhaga
317
212
8.09
500
7.0 – 8.5
Accepted
BafriQundi
565
379
7.68
500
7.0 – 8.5
Accepted
Qundeel
874
586
7.88
500
7.0 – 8.5
Reject
Azadi
834
559
8.13
500
7.0 – 8.5
Reject
Kosrat
895
600
7.92
500
7.0 – 8.5
Reject
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 27 Number 1- September 2015
TABLE 5
DISSOLVED IONS TESTS RESULTS IN PPM FOR KOYA DRINKING WATER RESOURCES TANKS *
Haibat
sultan
Iraqi Standard
Specifications
417 – 1974 1
Results
44-59
58.06
75
Accepted
20.73
11.1-13.3
9.85
150
Accepted
4.38
2.48
7.9-8.6
10.6
200
Accepted
K
0.85
0.40
0.9-1.2
2.73
12 WHO
Accepted
Fe
0.111
N. D.
0.24-0.27
0.11
0.3
Accepted
Mn
0.01
N. D.
0.02-0.05
0.01
0.1
Accepted
Ni
N. D.
N. D.
0.0040.005
N. D.
0.02
Accepted
Cu
0.04
N. D.
0.007
0.05
1
Accepted
Cr
N. D.
N. D.
N. D.
0.05
Accepted
Pb
N. D.
N. D.
N. D.
0.01
Accepted
Cd
N. D.
N. D.
N. D.
0.003
Accepted
Zn
HCO3-1 as
CaCO3
SO4-2
N. D.
N. D.
0.02-0.05
N. D.
3
Accepted
130.8
130.80
139-183
134.70
----
52.03
68.85
45-51
11.6
200
Accepted
Cl-1
10.14
8.45
12.9-14.1
13.52
200
Accepted
NO3-1
1.02
1.21
1.7-5.6
0.08
50
Accepted
N. D.
N. D.
---
N. D.
Drinking water
tanks locations
Topzawa
Taqtaq
Ca
59.08
43.80
Mg
27.64
Na
PO4-3
Total Hardness
TH
Klesa
0.0050.007
0.0040.007
0.0010.002
100-379
* Determination of K and Na are done by Flam
Atomic Emission Photometric (F-AES) method.
Determination of Ca, Mg, Cu, Cr, Cd, Pb, Zn, Ni,
Mn, and Fe are done by Flam Atomic Absorption
Spectrophotometer (F-AAS) methods (SP9-PYEUICAM).
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Accepted
Accepted
Cl-1, SO4-2, and HCO3-1 are done by ergonometric,
turbidimetric and potentiometric methods respectively.
PO4-3 is done by spectrophotometric method
(JENWAY – 6300) Ascorbic acid method
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 27 Number 1- September 2015
TABLE 6
PHYSICAL TESTS TURBIDITY RESULTS FOR KOYA RESOURCES DRINKING WATER FROM
25 NOV 2014 - 8 DEC 2014
Drinking water
tanks locations
Turbidity
Iraqi Standard Specifications
417 – 1974
Results
NTU
Hamammok
0.88
5
Accepted
Taqtaq
16.5
5
Reject
Klesa
1.64
5
Accepted
Haibat sultan
1.34
5
Accepted
TABLE 7
PHYSICAL TESTS TURBIDITY RESULTS FOR ALL KOYA CITY SECTORS TAP WATER FROM
25 NOV 2014 - 8 DEC 2014
Drinking water
tanks locations
Turbidity
NTU
Iraqi Standard Specifications
417 – 1974
Alibawa
11.5
5
Reject
Kurdi Arabiean
2.54
5
Accepted
Sarbag 1
3.48
5
Accepted
Sarbag 2
10.7
5
Reject
Jamiea
13.3
5
Reject
Hawawan
8.30
5
Reject
gashtearie
8.66
5
Reject
Haiebat Sultan
2.08
5
Accepted
kakoun
14.1
5
Reject
Eskan
6.91
5
Reject
Hammamook
0.36
5
Accepted
Hamoon
2.96
5
Accepted
Fiderally
3.07
5
Accepted
Zansite
8.23
5
Reject
Qalat
4.21
5
Accepted
Baezhaga
6.26
5
Reject
BafriQundi
17.2
5
Reject
Qundeel
2.35
5
Accepted
Azadi
2.58
5
Accepted
Kosrat
6.73
5
Reject
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Results
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 27 Number 1- September 2015
a.
VI.
1.
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
Microbiological tests: Tables 1 and 2 shows
that
there
are
no
microbiological
contaminations in drinking water storage
tanks or in the all Koya city strips tap water
in this period of year (Nov. and Dec.).
2. Chemical tests: In order to get full idea about
the drinking water chemical specifications in
different locations, it is important to
classified the water according to its location
as follows:
2.1 Resources water storage tanks:
a. Table 3: shows two drinking water
resources tanks are satisfied ISS
417/ 1974 – 2001 but two sources
are unsatisfied. The unsatisfied
drinking water source is Topzawa
due to increase TDS by 13% and
Taqtaq due to increase turbidity by
267% .
b. The best drinking water resource
tank is klesa. Klesa project is new
modern efficient technology.
2.2 Tap water for all Koya city strips:
a. Table 4: Shows there are 20 strips in
Koya city. The TDS tests for 16
strips are satisfied the ISS 417/
1974 – 2001 but 4 strips are out of
standard.
b. There are 3 strips near high accepted
level of TDS like Alibawa and
Hawawan strips, and pH like
Sarbag 1.
c. The general pH of water in Koya is
alkalinity, often more than 8 pH.
d. Generally the TDS and pH for tap
water is higher than resources tanks
by about 25%.
e. Table 5: shows there are no poisons
in resource tank drinking water by
any element. All the elements
below the standard level.
3.
The turbidity of three sources is
satisfied and only Taqtaq source is
out of standard by 300%.
3.2 Tap water for all Koya city strips:
a. 11 Strips from total 20 strips in
Koya city are out of standard in
turbidity.
b. 5 strips suffer from sever effect. The
average turbidity is 13.4 which
have 267% deviation from standard
level 5.
c. 6 Strips have 50% deviation from
standard level.
d. 9 Strips within the standard limit but
its recognized as high limits. Its
average value 2.63.
e. Figure 3: shows the turbidity profile
of tap water for different Koya
strips through the period Nov. and
Dec. 2014.
Physical tests: The physical test includes
the turbidity, color and taste. The turbidity is
very important and has a direct effect on
color and taste. It is classified into two
locations:
3.1 Resources water storage tank
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VII.
CONCLUSIONS
In this study the following are concluded:
a)
The Turbidity of Koya drinking water is
high and above standard specification. The
microbiological tests of all Koyas cities are
within standard specifications.
b)
Koya city divided into 20 strips. The
drinking water of eleven strips is not suitable
for human consumption due to increase
turbidity. The other cities are within the high
level of standard specification. Only
Hammammok has the best quality.
c)
The turbidity of three resources drinking
water tanks is within standard specifications
only Taqtaq is out of standard by 300%.
d)
The general specification of resources
drinking water tanks is better than tap water.
There are two reasons for that deviate. It is
either to higher turbidity in Taqtaq water
resource or to a leakage in drinking water
pipe lines net.
e)
There
is
no
microbiological
contamination in water resources tanks or in
tap water. The free of microbiology is either
because a high amount of chlorine used for
sterilization or because the leakage occurred
far from dirty area or both of them.
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 27 Number 1- September 2015
f)
There are no heavy elements poisons in
Koya drinking water.
Fig. 3 Turbidity in tap water for different Koya city strips through the period Nov. and Dec. 2014
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[2]
[3]
[4]
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WHO, “Consultation on the Development of a Strategy on
Water
Quality
and
Health”
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http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/en/. [Jun.
09,2015].
Central Organization for Standardization and Quality
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Central Organization for Standardization and Quality
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