Performance Evaluation and Water Quality Index Analysis for Qandil Water Treatment Plant

Abstract

Water treatment plant (WTP) can be described as water processing to attain water quality that meets specific end-user or community objectives. A WTP's performance assessment is a method for measuring functioning efficiencies based on certain performance indices such as degree of removal of pollutants such as turbidity, color, suspended impurities, etc. The present study aimed to evaluate the performance of Qandil WTP units, Erbil City, Iraq. For assessment of the WTP units by turbidity removal efficiency, water samples were collected from raw water, after clarification, after filtration, and storage tank. Obtained removal efficiencies for the sedimentation unit, filtration unit, after disinfection, and the entire Qandil WTP were 86.83 %, 91.28 %, 31.26%, and 99.29 %, respectively. Also, water quality index (WQI) for the WTP was studied. WQI assessment was made by testing 14 physicochemical and bacteriological drinking water quality parameters such as turbidity, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), total alkalinity, total hardness, calcium (Ca), chloride (Cl), Sulfate (SO4), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), potassium (K), Nitrate (NO3), and total Coliform. It has been found that turbidity, EC, total alkalinity, and total hardness had more effect on drinking water quality. WQI for Qandil WTP was 43.29 and it regarded as excellent level.