Abstract
The concentration of selected inorganic chemicals was determined for 396 samples of bottled water, desalinated water, and groundwater used for drinking and domestic purposes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The objective of this study was to compare the concentrations of inorganic chemicals in different domestic water types used in the UAE with the World Health Organization (WHO) limits for drinking water. Results of the present study revealed a wide variation in the concentrations of major, minor, and trace inorganic chemicals in domestic water of the UAE. For example, the bottled water sold for drinking is depleted in major ions and the total dissolved solids (TDS) in some brands do not exceed 100 mg/l. On the other hand, some of the domestic water used may contain as much as 3,000 mg/l TDS, which is above the WHO recommended limit for drinking water (500–1,500 mg/l TDS). Similarly, while bottled water is almost free of trace ions and minor constituents, some natural groundwater may have concentrations higher than the WHO recommended limits for drinking water. The cause of this variation is related to the different water sources and the large number of companies producing and distributing drinking and domestic water. Moreover, it is clear that the current controls on domestic water quality in some areas, namely conformance of pH and electrical conductivity measurements with prescribed ranges of values, are currently inadequate. These two parameters are not enough to judge if water is suitable for drinking or not and some consumers may receive domestic water of uncertain quality.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adrous, M. H. (1990). Falajs of the Al Ain (1st ed., 109 pp.). Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Al Motanabi Publ. (in Arabic).
Alsharhan, A. S., Rizk, Z. S., Nairn, A. E. M., Bakhit, D. W., & Alhajari, S. A. (2001). Hydrogeology of an arid region: The Arabian Gulf and adjoining areas (331 pp.) Elseveir, Publishing Company.
APHA. (1995). Standard methods for examination of water and waste water (19th ed.). APHA 2540 C.
Asam, M. S. (1994). Dams in the United Arab Emirates and their role in groundwater recharge. In Proceedings of the 2nd Gulf Water Conference (pp. 203–218). Manama, Bahrain.
Asam, M. S. (1996). UAE water resources use in agriculture and conservation. In International Desalination Association (IDA) Conference of Desalination (pp. 625–637). Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Ediger, R. D. (1973). A review of water analysis by atomic absorption. Atomic Absorption Newsletter, 12, 151.
ESCWA. (2005). Development of frameworks to implement national strategies of integrated water resources management in the ESCWA countries: United Nations (94 pp.). New York (in Arabic).
FAO. (1970). Physical and chemical methods of soil and water analysis. Soil Bulletin, 10, 236–238.
Fetter, C. W. (1988). Applied hydrogeology (2nd ed., 592 pp.). New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Freeze, R. A., & Cherry, J. A. (1979). Groundwater (604 pp.) New Jersey, Englwood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
Hamouda, M. F. (1995). Reuse of sewage water and its role in water resources development in UAE: Culture and science society, meeting on water balance in UAE (10 pp.). Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Hem, J. D. (1985). Study and interpretation of chemical characteristics of natural water. U. S. geological survey water supply paper no. 1473, 363 pp.
Hounslow, A. W. (1995). Water quality data analysis and interpretation (397 pp.). New York: CRC Press Inc., Lewis Publishers.
James, S. C. (1975). Metals in municipal landfill leachate and their health effects. American Journal of Public Health, 67, 429.
Khalifa, A. A. (1995). Surface water and groundwater resources in UAE: Culture and science society (12 pp.). Dubai: Meeting on Water Balance inn UAE.
Pike, R. L., & Brown, M. L. (1984). Nutrition. An integrated approach. (283 pp.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Rainwater, F. A., & Thatcher, L. L., (1960). Methods for collection and analysis of water samples. U. S. Geological Survey Water Supply Paper no. 1454, (pp. 1–301). Washington.
Rizk, Z. S. (1998). Falajs of United Arab Emirates: Geological settings and hydrogeological characteristics. The Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, 23, 3–25. (King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia).
Rizk, Z. S., & Alsharhan, A. S. (1999). Application of natural isotopes for hydrogeologic investigations in United Arab Emirates. In Proceedings of the 4th Gulf water conference (pp. 197–228). Manama, Bahrain.
Rizk, Z. S., & Alsharhan, A. S. (2003a). Geographical information system modeling of groundwater potentiality in the northeastern part of the United Arab Emirates. In A. S. Alsharhan, W. W. Wood, A. S. Goudie, A. Fowler & E. M. Abdellatif (Eds.), Desertification in the third millennium (pp. 423–434). Lisse, The Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger Publishers. ISPN 90 5809 571 1.
Rizk, Z. S., & Alsharhan, A. S. (2003b). Water resources in the United Arab Emirates. In A. S. Alsharhan & W. W. Wood (Eds.) Water resources perspectives: Evaluation, management and policy (pp. 245–264). Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier Science.
Rizk, Z. S., Alsharhan, A. S., & Shindo, S. S. (1997). Evaluation of groundwater resources of United Arab Emirates. In Proceedings of the 3rd Gulf water conference (pp. 95–122). Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
Rizk, Z. S., & El-Etr, H. A. (1997). Hydrogeology and hydrogeochemistry of some springs in the United Arab Emirates. The Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, 22, 95–111. (King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals. Dhahran, Saudi Arabia).
Rizk, Z. S., & Garamoon, H. K. (2006). The influence of major lineaments on groundwater resources in the eastern region of the United Arab Emirates: University of Sharjah Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences, 3(3), 83–111. ISSN 1811 1645.
Skoog, D. A., West, D. M., Holler, F. J., & Crouch, S. R. (2004). Fundamental Analytical Chemistry, (8th ed. 870 pp.). USA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
Vela, N. P., Olson, L. K., & Caruso, J. A. (1993). Elemental speciation with plasma mass spectrometry. Analytical Chemistry, 65(13), 585–597.
Weiss, J. (1986). Handbook of ion chromatography. In: E. L. Johnson (Ed.). Dionex Corp., Sunnyvale, California.
WHO (World Health Organization). (1979). International standards for drinking water (3rd ed.). Geneva, Switzerland.
Wolf, R. E., & Grosser, Z. A. (1997). Overview and comparison of ICP-MS methods for environmental analyses. Atomic Spectroscopy, 18(5), 145–151.
Wood, W. W. (1976). Guidelines for collection and field analysis of ground-water samples for selected unstable constituents; Techniques of Water Resources Investigations, U. S. Geological Survey, Book 1, Chapter D2, U. S. Government Printing Office, 24 pp.
Wood, W. W., Rizk, Z. S., & Alsharhan, A. S. (2003). Timing of recharge, and the origin, evolution and distribution of solutes in a hydperarid aquifer system In A. S. Alsharhan, W. W. Wood. (Eds.), Water resources perspectives: Evaluation, management and policy (pp. 295–312). Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier Science.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rizk, Z.S. Inorganic chemicals in domestic water of the United Arab Emirates. Environ Geochem Health 31, 27–45 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-008-9153-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-008-9153-1