Assessment of water quality for Al-Salibat marsh\Southern Iraq

Abstract

The objective of the current study is to assess if water is suitable for drinking, irrigation, and aquatic life. From April 2021 to January 2022, water samples were taken on a monthly basis from three locations in the Salibat marsh. To apply the Canadian index, fourteen variables were tracked, including (Water temperature (WT), pH, Turbidity (Tur), Electrical conductivity (EC), Total dissolved solids (TDS), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biological oxygen demand (BOD5), Total hardness (TH), Nitrate (NO3), Nitrite (NO2), Active Phosphate (PO4), Cadmium (Cd), Lead (Pb) and Zinc (Zn)). The results showed that the water temperature varied from (20.1 to 39) C°. pH values ranged between (7.1-9.5), Turbidity (9.8-54.78) NTU, total hardness that varied from (120 to 560) CaCO3mg/l. Electrical conductivity was between (2650-23220) μs/cm. Total dissolved solids ranged between (1014-9428) mg/l, dissolved oxygen and biological oxygen demand ranged between (5-9.1) (10-18) mg\l respectively. Nitrate, nitrite and phosphate ranged between (0.14-59.10), (0.16-10.13), (0.04-5.65) μg\l, Cadmium, Zinc and Lead (0-0.022)(0-0.50)(0-0.42) mg\l. Results showed that the water quality was varied from marginal to good for irrigation but poor to marginal for aquatic life. It was also poor to marginal for drinking. Results showed that the water was suitable for irrigation, but not for drinking or aquatic life.