Assessment of Water Quality of Al-Sain Lake using the Iranian Water Quality Index (〖IRWQI〗_sc)

Abstract

Water Quality Indicators are considered as reliable tools to judge water demand and supply and an important criterion for any monitoring program of the aquatic environment to manage  and monitor water to ensure it remains within the required quality limits. This research aims to assess the water quality of Al-Sain Lake, which primarily supplies the city of Latakia and part of Tartous. In this study, we investigated a range of physical and chemical factors of the lake water during the years 2021, 2022, and 2023. Samples were taken from three different monitoring sites following an approved program by those responsible for monitoring and protecting the lake. The Iranian Water Quality Index for Surface Water Resources () was utilized to calculate the water quality, considering indicators such as: pH, ammonium (), nitrate (), phosphate (), turbidity (TUR), electrical conductivity (EC), chemical oxygen demand (COD), dissolved oxygen (DO), total hardness (TH) and fecal coliforms (FC). The study results indicated that the water quality in the lake was within the good category at all designated monitoring points during the years 2021, 2022, and 2023, with a slight improvement in quality in 2021 and 2022 and a slight decrease in 2023 while still remaining within the good classification range.