ISSN 2756-3820
International Journal of Medical Sociology and Anthropology ISSN 2756-3820 Vol. 10 (4), pp. 001-012, April, 2021. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Physiochemical evaluation of the drinking water sources from district Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Naeem Khan1,2*, Syed Tasleem Hussain 1, Javid Hussain1, Nargis Jamila3, Shabir Ahmed1, Riaz Ullah1,4, Zain Ullah5, and Abdus Saboor1,6
1Department of Chemistry, Kohat University of Science & Technology, Kohat-26000, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
2Department of Food and Nutrition, Chosun University, Dong-gu, Gwangju, 501-759, Republic of Korea.
3School of Chemical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, 11800, Malaysia.
4College of Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, King Saud University Riyadh Saudi Arabia.
5Department of Chemistry, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
6UNICEF, UNOCA Compound, Jalalabad Road, Kabul, 54, Afghanistan.
Accepted 18 January, 2021
Abstract
Safe drinking water is a high priority issue for safeguarding health and well-being of humans all over the world. Both in the urban and rural areas of Pakistan, the quality of drinking water are not being managed properly. Results of various studies provide evidence that most of the drinking-water supplies are physiochemically contaminated. In this study, a detailed investigation of the drinking water sources of both urban and rural areas of Kohat district was carried out to evaluate their suitability for drinking purpose. A total of 54 water samples were collected from the hand pumps, streams, tanks, tube wells and wells, at 15 sampling sites selected of the main population zones. Also, 6 bottled water samples were taken from the market. All these were analyzed for physicochemical parameters including pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), total solids (TS), chloride (Cl−), calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), hardness, and alkalinity. The results of parameters showed variations from the WHO and Pakistan standard values for drinking water. Most polluted areas were Shakardara, Lachi and Ara Khail. Among the various sources, wells and tanks were highly polluted while tube wells were found to be the most suitable source for drinking water. The main purpose of this research was to make public awareness of the study areas, to avoid usage of contaminated water for drinking or other domestic uses and to reduce health risks.
Key words: Drinking water, sources, physiochemical evaluation, Kohat.