Drinking Water Quality Assessment Of Selected Sectors Of Islamabad, Pakistan

Abstract

In this research study, the drinking water quality of different sectors of Islamabad was evaluated. The major sources of water samples were filtration plant water and tube wells. The main goal of this research was to analyze and determine the biological and physico-chemical parameters of drinking water in different sectors of Islamabad and all of the samples were collected through standard protocols. Present results show that pH(ranging from 7.2-8.3), EC( ranging from 20-100), TDS( ranging from 50-250), and Temperature( ranging from 100-850) were within the permissible limits except Salts( ranging from (47-270 ). The chemical parameters showed chloride Cl(mg/l) ranging from 25-140), sodium Na (mg/l) (ranging from 20-85), sodium chloride NaCl(mg/l) (ranging from 44.8-229), and calcium Ca(mg/l) (ranging from 24-116) were within the limits but total hardness (ranging from 110 800), magnesium Mg(mg/l) (ranging from 4-846) and Alkalinity (ranging from 40-280) were above WHO permissible limit. For microbial analysis there was zero bacterial growth in MacConkey Agar but for Nutrient Agar, some samples showed bacterial growth in some mediums that were beyond the permissible limits of WHO. Regular monitoring should be conducted by concerned authorities. The study concludes that water is not safe for direct consumption and needs proper mitigation regarding its quality.