Drinking Water Quality Assessment from Selected Sources of Namli Maira District Abbottabad, Pakistan

Abstract

The current research work involves the assessment of drinking water quality of randomly selected sources of Namli Maira, a union council of district Abbottabad Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Thirty samples were collected randomly in which twenty-five samples were of spring water and five were of stream water, to determine the presence of heavy metals, biological and physicochemical parameters. The selected heavy metals for the study were: arsenic, chromium, iron and lead. The biological parameters for the analysis were: total bacterial count, total coliform count, salmonella shigella. The physicochemical parameters selected for the study were: pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, salinity and estimation of chlorides, carbonates, and bicarbonates, estimation of calcium, magnesium, alkalinity and total hardness. All the samples were analyzed according to standard protocols. The concentration of all the heavy metals were found to be under the acceptable limits of NEQS/Pak EPA. According to results it was found that the selected sources were not contaminated by heavy metals. Results of all the physicochemical parameters were within the permissible limits of National Environmental Quality Standards and World Health Organization. The biological parameters results shows variations due to presence of human activities and no proper sewerage systems. Proper check and awareness among local peoples must be required to keep the quality of water within the drinkable standards.