ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Evaluation of Rainwater Quality in Some Polluted
Locations within Erbil Province
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1
Biology Department, College of Education, Salahaddin University - Erbil, Iraq
2
Department of Environmental Science and Health, College of Science, Salahaddin University - Erbil, Iraq
Submission date: 2023-08-05
Final revision date: 2023-09-25
Acceptance date: 2023-10-10
Online publication date: 2023-12-18
Publication date: 2024-02-09
Corresponding author
Zhian Rashid Salih
Biology, College of Education, Salahaddin University-Erbil, Erbil-Kirkuk road, 964, Erbil, Iraq
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2024;33(2):1839-1848
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ABSTRACT
In this study, the rainwater qualities in eight sites located in the oil refinery region within Erbil
province were evaluated for irrigation and drinking goals. Rainwater specimens (n = 24) were collected
once a time on 21 October 2022. The index for quality of water (WQI), Index for irrigation water
quality (IWQI), also Heavy Metals Pollution Indice (HPI) were used in the current study to evaluate
the rainfall quality for drinking and irrigation purposes. Physical, and chemical parameters and some
heavy metals were determined for assessing the quality of rainwater. The results showed that higher
turbidity, pH, hardness, magnesium, potassium, and phosphate were recorded in the nearest sites
around the polluted region which was considered higher than the guideline of the WHO organization
for drinking uses. The value of the studied heavy metals including iron, manganese, lead, cobalt,
arsenic, mercury, and cadmium was higher than the permissible value for drinking purposes in all sites.
Based on the calculated WQI, 62.5% of sample sites are poor for drinking, and 37.5% of samples are
good for drinking. The nearest sites are poor for drinking water in comparison to remote sites from oil
refineries. The values of IWQI varied from 74.06 (low restriction) in site 2 to 55.10 (moderate restriction)
in site 4 respectively. According to the HPI of the studied area are polluted and unsuitable for drinking
purposes according to the HPI index.