Abstract
Continuous vigilance of water quality is essential throughout water supply and storage systems to ensure safe water quality and safeguard consumer health. In the present study, sixty-three sampling locations in Sharjah, UAE, were assessed for possible water quality variations from water supply through utilized water storage tanks in buildings. All investigated physico-chemical parameters were within national water quality guidelines except for free residual chlorine (< 0.2 mg/L in 30% of samples), mainly in storage tanks. Compliance of metal concentrations varied with metal type, sampling locations, and points. Highest compliance was reported for manganese, copper, nickel, chromium, and least for iron, lead, and cadmium. No major variations in physico-chemical water quality could be statistically observed using analysis of variance when tracing the water from lower tanks to upper tanks, yet significant variations for turbidity (p = 0.006) were observed from mains to lower tanks and for water temperature (p = 0.026), residual chlorine (p = 0.001), turbidity (p = 0.048), chromium (p = 0.019), copper (p = 0.002), manganese (p = 0.012), and zinc and lead (p = 0.000) from mains to upper tanks. As for investigated microbiological parameters, all investigated samples were completely free from total and fecal coliforms and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Exhibited ranges of yeasts and molds (0–28 CFU/100 mL) and heterotrophic plate counts (0–356 CFU/mL), though non-enforceable parameters, were always lower than recommended water quality guidelines. Furthermore, Pearson correlation tests exhibited significant correlations for water temperature versus yeasts and molds and electrical conductivity versus sodium and potassium. Statistically (using t-tests), mean heterotrophic plate counts were slightly higher in lower tanks compared to other sampling points. Additionally, mean heterotrophic plate counts were significantly higher in larger tanks exceeding 2000 gallons, in square/rectangular shaped tanks, in tanks exceeding 10 years of age, and in concrete tanks with higher water temperatures. Re-chlorination, proper cleaning, as well as maintenance or upgrade of water storage tanks remain advisable to ensure safe water at point of use.
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Acknowledgements
The authors extend their gratitude to Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA), namely to the Research and Studies Department as well as technical teams, for their continuous assistance in providing relevant data and facilitating sample collection. The authors highly appreciate the efforts of Ms. Choghik Boulghourjian towards the statistical analysis of data and Ms. Badriah Ibrahim for her assistance in laboratory analyses.
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Funding was granted by the University of Sharjah (Project Grant No. 1601050615-P).
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Lucy Semerjian and Ghaiyth Anas Kassar. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Lucy Semerjian, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Semerjian, L., Al-Bardan, M. & Kassar, M.G.A. Assessment of water quality variations from mains to building storage tanks in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Environ Monit Assess 193, 629 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09409-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09409-z