Physical and Chemical Status of Drinking Water from Water Treatment Plants on Greater Zab River

The contamination of surface waters through human activities has been intensified over the past years as the population density has increased. In order to ascertain the drinking water quality of Greater Zab river in Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq, for human consumptions, water samples were collected from three water treatment plants (WTP) on that river. The following water quality parameters were determined which were chosen as the major indicators namely PH, Total Dissolved Solid(TDS), Electrical conductivity(EC), Total Hardness(TH), Cl^- , F^-, Na⁺ , K⁺ , Ca⁺² , Mg⁺², NO^3-, SO4^-2 , PO4^-3 and the concentration of eight heavy metals (Fe, Pb, Hg, Zn, Cd, Ni, Cu, and Ag. Concentrations of the metals in the water samples were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The research Results showed that efficiency of filtration unit of the three WTPs was: Efraz 1> Efraz 2> Efraz 3. Most of the parameters analyzed in this study were within the guidelines given by WHO or US EPA for drinking water while few others were not. @ JASEM