A comparison between weighted arithmetic and Canadian methods for a drinking water quality index at selected locations in shatt al-kufa

2nd International Conference on Engineering Sciences

Kizar, F.M.^1

University of Kufa, College of Engineering, Iraq^1

关键词: Canadian method;    Kufa;    Shatt Al-Kufa;    Water quality indexes;    Weighted Arithmetic method;   

Others  :  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/433/1/012026/pdf
DOI  :  10.1088/1757-899X/433/1/012026

来源: IOP

【 摘 要 】

Shatt Al-Kufa (Kufa River) is the major supply of surface waters in Najaf; the length and width of the river are 73 km and about 100 m respectively. In the various seasons of the year, the water level at the river is unstable, and population increases and higher living standards are likely to cause increased demand for the river water; thus, river water quality is a key concern, especially for drinking purposes. Water Quality Index (WQI) is defined as a rating reflecting the compound effects of various water quality determinants on the total quality of water. WQI is a mathematical tool used to convert large amounts of water quality data into a single number, providing a simple and explicable tool for managers and decision-makers to use to examine the quality and potential uses of a given body of water. This study is concerned with assessing an appropriate WQI for drinking use at several locations on Shatt Al-Kufa. The twelve water quality parameters of pH, Turbidity (Turb.), Electrical Conductivity (EC), Alkalinity (Alk.), Total Dissolved Solid (TDS), Total Hardness (T.H), Calcium (Ca+2), Magnesium (Mg+2), Sodium (Na+), Potassium (K+), Chlorides (Cl-1) and Sulphate (SO4) were studied over a period of ten months (January to October 2014) for nine selected locations, including Zerkh, Kufa, Manathira, Hira, Mashkhab and Qadisiya on Shatt Al-Kufa. Two methods (Weighted Arithmetic and Canadian) were applied to classify the WQI of the treated river water for drinking use, and then a comparison of the two methods was made to ascertain the difference between them. The Results of the overall and seasonal WQI according to both the Weighted Arithmetic Method and the Canadian method were classified as good (50.1 to 100 and 80 to 94, respectively) in all selected locations with the exception of certain locations in the winter season that applied to both methods. The results indicate that the difference between the two methods is very small; the high values of EC and high concentrations of SO4 were the main reasons lowering the water quality index in all locations according to both methods.