Evaluation of water quality in the households of Baniyas Region, Abu Dhabi using multivariate statistical approach

Abstract

The assurance of water quality is a measure of a nation’s health. The main source of water supply to the household in the United Arab Emirates is the municipal water distribution. Since the water quality has a significant impact on human health, it demands compulsory continuous monitoring to ensure the water quality. The residents of the United Arab Emirates collect and store water in the storage tanks for a significant period of time. The current study investigates the water quality parameters of 30 houses from Baniyas region in Abu Dhabi Emirate. The samples were collected in two phases from four different stations in the same house, such as source, water tank, tap water, and kitchen. A total of 1200 samples were analysed in both phases. In each phase, 120 samples for physicochemical parameters, 120 samples for heavy metal parameters, and 240 samples for microbial parameters were analysed. The 18 physicochemical parameters do not show any remarkable quality issues. However, the heavy metal and microbial analysis show serious contamination issues. The presence of Arsenic, Cadmium, and lead in the water samples are exceeding the desirable water quality standards of UAE. The microbial activities of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Total Coliform and E-coli were also noticed high. Presence of this contamination in the household water is an indication of pollution. To identify the source of contamination and to classify them accordingly, correlation analysis and cluster analysis have been carried out. From the correlation matrix of both heavy metal and microbial parameters, it is clear that the possible source of contamination is the pipeline distribution. Cluster analysis grouped the 30 houses into small clusters as per the similarities of contamination. This study will help to do cost effective and quick water quality assessment in case of emergency. An adequate water quality assessment is highly demanding in the current study area to ensure safe/wholesome water to the public.