ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Assessing Drinking Water Quality
in Punjab, Pakistan
Naeem Shahid1, Zahida Zia1, Muhammad Shahid1, Hafiz Faiq Bakhat1, Seham Anwar2,
Ghulam Mustafa Shah1, Muhammad Rizwan Ashraf1
1Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Vehari, Pakistan
2College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
Submission date: 2015-03-12
Final revision date: 2015-05-07
Acceptance date: 2015-05-07
Publication date: 2015-11-27
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2015;24(6):2597–2606
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Access to safe drinking water is crucial for healthy human life. Our study aimed to investigate the concentration
of various pollutants in water samples collected from student hostels of the University of the Punjab
in Lahore, Pakistan, and the potential risk of these pollutants for health. A total of 18 samples from 12 different
locations were assessed for physical, biological, and chemical contaminants using standard methods.
The concentrations of arsenic (As) and coliform bacteria were above the international standards given by the
World Health Organization (WHO). The range of As concentration was from 24.92 to 32.72 μg·L-1. Similarly,
the two water samples showed bacterial contamination 38 MPN/100 mL and 21 MPN/100 mL – exceeding
the standard value set by WHO (0 MPN/100 mL). We conclude that drinking water quality was poor, as is evident
from the high concentration of As. Urgent measures are required to prevent such contamination and regular
monitoring of drinking water quality in the study area.
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