Comparison of fluoride contents in terms of teeth health and water quality in drinking water at the northern and southern regions of Meriç River Basin (Edirne/Turkey)

Abstract

This research was carried out to investigate and compare the fluoride accumulations and some physical and chemical properties (dissolved oxygen, oxygen saturation, pH, oxidation-reduction potential, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solid, salinity, nitrate nitrogen) in the drinking water of Enez and Süloğlu Districts, which are located in the northern and southern parts of the watershed of Meriç River. Water samples used for drinking were taken from tap waters in a total of 22 residential areas in the Enez and Süloğlu Districts at the winter season of 2019. Fluoride levels of water samples were determined by using a spectrophotometer and Principle Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to the results. The detected fluoride amounts and physical/chemical data were also evaluated in terms of teeth health of humans. According to the results obtained, although the detected fluoride accumulations both in the northern and southern part of the basin are slightly below the optimum levels for teeth health, it has been found that fluoride concentrations did not exceed the permitted values for drinking water. The minimum and maximum fluoride levels recorded as min. 0.159 ppm (Süloğlu District)-max. 0.475 ppm (Küküler Village) in the northern part of the basin and recorded as min. 0.068 ppm (Hasköy Village)-max. 0.603 ppm (Karaincirli Village) in the southern part of the basin. As a result of PCA, 2 factors named as "Agricultural Factor" and "Fluoride Factor" explained 79% of the total variance. It was also determined that contamination rates in terms of physicochemical variables of investigated regions were found as South Region of the Basin > North Region of the Basin in general.

Use of Water Quality Index to evaluate the groundwater characteristics of villages located in Edirne Province

“…Water quality assessment has become an important mandatory on all over the world, because of increasing population and need of freshwater. One of the main points on an effective management of freshwater resources is monitoring quality of aquatic habitats (Solak et al, 2007;Çiçek et al, 2013;Tokatlı et al, 2014;Köse et al, 2014;Ustaoğlu et al, 2017;Atıcı et al, 2018;Onur and Tokatlı, 2020).…”