Quality of drinking water of Canakkale Province, Turkey

Concentrations of arsenic cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc in the first flush and post-first flush of tap water were determined. Further, the tap water was allowed to run at least 3 minutes and samples were analyzed for bacteriological quality. The analysis showed that Cd and Pb concentrations in the first and second forty samples collected were under the detection limits of the analytical method employed. The concentration ranges of As, Cu, and Zn in the first forty samples were 0.95-11.9 µg/L, 0.011-0.58, and 0.04-5.29 mg/L, respectively. Lower ranges of Cu and Zn levels of 0.010-0.343 and 0.008-4.546 mg/L, respectively, were found in the second forty samples. Total aerobic mesophilic bacteria, total coliform and Escherichia coli were detected in 28, 18 and 1 out of 40 water samples, respectively. Our results show that some of the water samples that contained high levels of bacterial colonies were collected from four buildings, situated at two faculties of the university, a cafeteria and a bakery. These findings indicate that the distribution system and drinking water of Canakkale needs improvement.