Water Quality Index for Abu Zark Marsh

Abstract

The marshlands are among the richest ecosystems of biological diversity. The two main issues affecting the marshlands are human activity and climate change. Therefore, the health of the marsh depends on the evaluation of the water quality. The water quality at Abu Zark Marsh, which is in southern Iraq, was assessed and analyzed in accordance with both Iraqi and WHO standards. The study employed the following available data for Abu Zark Marsh: dissolved oxygen, power of hydrogen, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, and turbidity. This study included three methodologies: The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Water Quality Index (CCME WQI), the Weighted Arithmetic Water Quality Index (WA WQI), and the National Sanitation Foundation Water Quality Index (NSF WQI). The results show that the best water quality index for Abu Zark marsh was with using the NSF WQI method compared with other methods because the NSF WQI method allowed for flexibility in determining variable weights according to their importance.