Magnitude and variation of the manganese, iron and ammonia in drinking water from Timis county, Romania

MAGNITUDE AND VARIATION OF THE MANGANESE, IRON AND AMMONIA IN DRINKING WATER FROM TIMIS COUNTY, ROMANIA (Abstract): The aim of the performed study was to investigate the magnitude and variation of the manganese, iron and ammonia, as identified key issues, considering presence/absence of chlorination, area, property and time when the samples were collected. Material and methods: The observational case-study was conducted for 2 years (2016-2017) on a sample of 1,086 water sources in Timis County. A statistically significant difference (p<0.001) resulted between chlorinated and non-chlorinated sources for manganese and for iron mean-concentrations, Timisoara and Timis County (rural) public wells for manganese and for iron mean concentrations, and public and companies` wells in Timisoara for manganese. Results: Statistically significant differences of ammonia mean concentrations were also found between Timis County and Timisoara for public wells (p<0.001) and for companies (p=0.002), in non-chlorinated water. Calculated medians of manganese concentrations in well water were high in Timisoara (200 µg/L) and in Timis County (95 µg/L) and exceeded MAC (50 µg/L). The highest concentration of manganese (500 µg/L) was recorded in Timisoara, in 2016. Median of iron (93 µg/L) concentrations in public wells in Timis-County (rural) was much higher than median (50 µg/L) in public wells in Timisoara. Both median values didn`t exceed MAC (200 µg/L). Still, the highest mean concentration of iron (3,780 µg/L) was found in a public well from Timisoara, in 2016. Median of ammonia concentrations in public wells (non-chlorinated water) in Lugoj (0.6 mg/L) also surpassed MAC (0.5 mg/L). Conclusions: excessive concentrations of manganese, iron and ammonia were found in drinking water in Timis County, with significant variation in space, time and depending on property and chlorination.