ADOPTING THE WATER QUALITY INDEX TO ASSESS THE VALIDITY OF GROUNDWATER IN AL-ZUBAIR CITY SOUTHERN IRAQ FOR DRINKING AND HUMAN CONSUMPTIONBayan A. Mahdi, Mohammad Salim Moyel and Raghad Shubbar JaafarAbstract Ground water is an alternative source of water in arid and semi-arid area. The present study aimed to assess the suitability of twenty well waters in Al-Zubair area, southern Iraq for drinking and human consumption. Water Quality index (WQI) was adopted to evaluate the water of the studied wells. Water Quality Index (WQI) was calculated depending on a fifteen physiochemical parameter including: pH, Total dissolved solids (TDS), Calcium (Ca+2), Magnesium (Mg+2), Chloride (Cl-), Sulphate (SO4 -2), Nitrate (NO3-), Sodium (Na+), Potassium (K+), Lead (Pb+2), Cadmium (Cd+2), Copper (Cu+2), Zink (Zn+2). Iron (Fe+2) and manganese (Mn+2). Results of WQI values indicated that the wet season has the lowest average of WQI(795.6), with range values from 604 to 1274, while the dry season recorded the highest average of WQI(1372.1), with range values ( 878 â 2997) respectively. The WQI results indicate that groundwater is classified as unfit for drinking and human consumption purpose. This study is useful in the planning and rational management of groundwater resources and their potential for use as drinking water. |