Good drinking water quality is essential for the well being of all population. The object of this study was to assess the quality of drinking water in the city of Sulaimaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan. A total of 2342 water samples from various sources providing water to the city collected during 2014 were analyzed for physiochemical and biological parameters using standard methods. Fifty percent of the samples were from, Dukan project after treatment, 26% from Dukan project before treatment, 8% from Sarchinar, 6% from city storage tanks and networks and 10% were brought by citizens from various sources.The total hardness of the city water at source after treatment was 186.3 (95% CI 179.6, 192.8), TDS was 150.6 (95% CI 149.5, 151.7), and PH was 7.74(95% CI 7.36, 8.12). The total hardness, TDS, turbidity and Calcium were considerably higher in Sarchinar than Dukan (231 vs. 161, 242 vs. 147, 2.7 vs. 1.8 and 72.9 vs. 44.5 mg/l respectively), while Sodium and Potassium were higher in Dukan than Sarchinar (3.4 vs. 1.4 and 1.4 vs. 0.08 mg/l respectively). Samples from the two supply lines from filtrated Dukan water project were compared in relation to physic-chemical characteristics and there were no significant differences in any of the parameters except PH, TDS and turbidity which were different. TDS of Dukan 1 project was slightly higher than Dukan 2 (148.9 vs. 145.9 respectively). Similarly turbidity of Dukan 1 was twice that of Dukan 2 (2.4 vs. 1.2). Overall, the parameter values were within standard ranges except Cl1- which was 19.8 (Iraqi standard 10 ppm) and dissolved oxygen which was 9 ppm (Iraqi standard 7-8 ppm). Microbiological results showed that 973 of the samples (91%) had an MPN of zero, 61 (5.7%) had an MPN of 2.2 and 35 (3.3%) had a higher MPN. The mean chlorination level for all samples was 1.12 (SD 0.44) .We can conclude that both Sarchinar and Dukan waters are acceptable for drinking purposes according to the parameters evaluated. We recommend to include monitoring heavy metals like Hg, Pb, Ni, Cr, Cd, Ag in the future; to consolidate the existing reporting system and to included samples from household tap water for analysis.

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The quality of drinking water is a crucial factor for human health. The objective of this study was to assess the physico chemical and biological characteristics of the various sources of drinking water in the city of Halabja, Iraqi Kurdistan. Forty water samples were collected and analyzed for physic-chemical and biological characteristics. The study included 27 samples from municipality wells and 13 samples from household tap water. Analysis was done for physico-chemical parameters including pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness (TH), Chloride (Cl) , Alkality M, Alkality P, Aluminum (Al) , Copper (Cu) , Calcium (Ca) , Boron (B) and MPN .The results were compared with the standards prescribed by World Health Organization (WHO). All the physico-chemical parameters were found to be within allowable limits. It can, therefore, be concluded that the groundwater in the study area is suitable for drinking and other household purposes. But From the pH values it is clear that the ground water of the study area is alkaline in nature and the total hardness varies between 203-323 mg/l which indicate that water in the deep aquifer is hard hence suggested to Halabjah water director to soften the tube well water before consumption. There were no statistically significant differences between water samples from wells and households in terms of these parameters. Although the drinking water of the area is considered safe. Nevertheless biological surveillance is need especially in hot weather.