Using of nemerow’s pollution index (NPI)‎ for water quality assessment of some Basrah marshes, South of Iraq

Abstract EN

The current research was proposed to evaluate the surface water quality for drinking and irrigation purposes.

The study aimed to identify principal pollutants of surface water by using the method named Nemerow’s Pollution Index (NPI) in some marshes of Basrah province.

The water samples were collected from the monitoring stations and analyzed for thirteen physico-chemical parameters included pH, dissolved oxygen, phosphate, nitrate, calcium, magnesium, total hardness, potassium, sodium, sulphate, chloride, total dissolved solid, and electrical conductivity.

Based on data monitored and recorded at five monitoring stations in the study area during cool and hot seasons in 2014, water quality of the marshes was assessed through Nemerow pollution index method.

The results are compared with Iraqi and WHO standards.

Water analyses presented undesirable values for almost all physico-chemical parameters, according to Iraqi and WHO standard limits for drinking and irrigations.

Thus, all sampling stations reported high NPI value and water samples belonged to not clean water．