Assessment of drinking water quality in the Al-Gassim region of Saudi Arabia

The chemical and microbiological quality of potable water in the Al-Gassim Region of Saudi Arabia was investigated. The analytical results obtained indicated that there are considerable variations among the examined samples with respect to their chemical constituents, which only occasionally fell above the maximum permissible levels of the Saudi drinking water standards. Of all the water classes studied, the locally stored municipal water showed the highest mean concentration for the chemical constituents measured. Microbiological analyses indicate that the only issue of true concern is the total coliform, which was too numerous to count and, therefore, warrants more attention. Copyright (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.