"Different Analytical Techniques for Water Quality Management of Qarun Lake"

Abstract

Qarun lake is located between longitudes of 30 º 24` & 30 º 49` E and latitude of 29 º 24` & 29 º 33` N; latitudes at 43-44 m below the sea level. Its surface area is about 243 km2 with an irregular shape of about 40 Km length and 6.7 Km maximum width, mean depth 4 m with water volume about one Billion m3 and it lies in the arid zone, so it is considered as a tropical lake. Also, the lake is the third largest lake in Egypt. The lake received its water from agriculture waste of El Fayoum province via El-Wadi and El-Bats drains. Qarun lake suffers from a serious water pollution problem which is due to uncontrolled solid and liquid domestic and industrial waste disposal practices. In addition to agrochemical contamination and lack of sustainable wastewater management. The Lake suffered drastic chemical changes during the last years where it is used as a general reservoir for agricultural wastewaters drainage of El-Fayoum Governorate, as well as for the drainage of the fish farms. For this reason, Qarun lake was extensively studied for their water quality, physicochemical properties and water quality management for Qarun Lake water due to the effect of drains wastewater discharging into the lake. In addition, to investigate different scenarios for pollution limitation considering prevention, treatment, and control. Twelve water samples beside two main drains (El-Bats drain and El-Wadi drain) were collected from different localities along Qarun lake. Samples were collected seasonally, during the period of autumn 2016 – summer 2017. The present study was designated to water quality management for Qarun Lake water and to assess the levels of heavy metals (Fe2+, Mn2+, Zn2+, Cu2+, Ni2+, Cr3+, Pb2+, and Cd2+) in Qarun lake water. In addition, to Investigate different scenarios for pollution limitation considering prevention, treatment, and control.