Assessment of disinfection by-products levels in Aga surface water plant and its distribution system, Dakhlia, Egypt

Abstract

Chlorine is the most common disinfectant used in drinking water that can reacts with naturally occurring organic matter to form a number of chemical byproducts as trihalomethanes (THMs). The aims of the present study are to investigate the levels of THMs in Aga surface water plant (ASWP) and its distribution system (DS)during the period between spring 2015 and winter 2016 as well as its levels in tanks in August 2015. Drinking water samples were collected from ASWP, in addition to4 sites away from the plant at different distances. Other parameters as temperature and residual chlorine were measured. The maximum concentrations of THMs in ASWP were detected during summer, 2015 while the minimum concentrations were recorded during autumn 2015. While in DS, the maximum value recorded atsite 4. Generally, all values of THMs during the study lies within the limits of the Egyptian standards 458 decreed in 2007.