THE EVALUATION OF GROUNDWATER QUALITY AT ALSAYYADAH AREA, IBB CITY, YEMEN

Abstract

Groundwater samples were collected from Al-Sayyadah area in three different seasons to study the suitability of groundwater for drinking water. The objective of the study is to determine the physiochemical and microbiological parameters at Al-Sayyadah area, Ibb city, the Republic of Yemen. The concentrations of various physiochemical parameters include pH, temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), and dissolved oxygen (DO), heavy metals (Pb,  Zn, Ni, Cr, Cd, Cu), anions and nutrients (F-, Cl-, SO4-2, NO-2, NO3-, NH3-N), major cations (Fe, Na, K, Ca, Mg), and coliform group bacteria were measured from the groundwater samples. Seven boreholes were selected for this study. The results show that, all boreholes are suitable for drinking water compared to the standard acceptable levels which are required for drinking water adapted by Yemen's Ministry of Water and Environment (YMWE, 1999) and WHO (2004). The variations in concentrations of the physiochemical parameters can be attributed to the nature of the geological and chemical  structure of the soil and rocks, the depth of the boreholes, and the dilution of the boreholes especially in main wet season.