International Journal of
Physical Sciences

  • Abbreviation: Int. J. Phys. Sci.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1992-1950
  • DOI: 10.5897/IJPS
  • Start Year: 2006
  • Published Articles: 2572

Full Length Research Paper

Physicochemical investigation of the drinking water sources from Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Naeem Khan1, 2*, Syed Tasleem Hussain1, Abdus Saboor1, 3, Nargis Jamila1, 4 and Kyong Su Kim2
1Department of Chemistry, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat-26000, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. 2Department of Food and Nutrition, Chosun University, Dong-gu, Gwangju, 501-759, Republic of Korea. 3UNICEF, UNOCA Compound, Jalalabad Road, Kabul, 54, Afghanistan. 4School of Chemical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, 11800, Malaysia.
Email: [email protected]

  •  Accepted: 04 September 2013
  •  Published: 02 October 2013

Abstract

A total of 39 drinking water sources were analyzed for important physicochemical parameters to evaluate their suitability for human consumption. Samples were collected from the ground water supplies (tube wells, open wells and hand pumps) of highly populated 13 union councils from the urban area of district Mardan. Physical parameters studied include temperature, color, taste, odor, total dissolved solids (TDS), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and turbidity. The chemical parameters analyzed were, total hardness, calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), bicarbonate (HCO3) and alkalinity. Results showed that EC of 38%, taste of 23%, hardness of 20% and TDS of 15% samples were not in the permissible ranges specified by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Pakistan recommended standards for drinking water. The deterioration of various drinking water sources were found to be dependent upon the geological strata of the area, waste sources and damaged outlived distribution system passing through sewage lines.

 

Key words: Drinking water, Mardan, physicochemical investigation, World Health Organization (WHO).

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This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

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