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Providing safe and secure water to people around the world, and promoting sustainable use of water are
fundamental objectives. Quality of water is the property that tells whether water is polluted or not and
assessing water quality is a very complex subject. Rivers are the most important freshwater resource for
man life. Civilization related activities e.g. manufacturing, mining, construction, runoff from agricultural
areas, and discharge of treated and untreated sewage transportation are among the major reason for
deteriorating the water quality, especially in developing countries). This is the case for the River Nile in
Egypt which considered the principal artery of life in Egypt comprising about 97% of the existent water
supplies. The Nile water quality is characterized by high nutrients concentrations (maximum of nitrates,
0.63 mg/L; nitrite, 0.472 mg/L; ammonia, 2.83 mg/L; total nitrogen, 3.48 mg/L; phosphates, 0.461 mg/L;
total phosphates, 0.53 mg/L; sulfates, 62.57 mg/L and silicates, 3.50 mg/L) at some locations (e.g. El-
Nasria).This is obviously influenced by the quality of water coming from El-Nasria Pumping Station. A
recognizable depletion in Hydrogen ion concentration (pH) and dissolved oxygen (DO) was recorded at
this site. High concentrations of total dissolved salts (TDS) with maximum level of 524.00 mg/L, Sulphate
Chlorides and other conductible salts highly impacted the Nile water conductivity (EC). The Nile water
near Mansoura City tends to shift to the alkaline side of the pH range due to the existence of carbonates
and bicarbonates. Variations in pH and alkalinity were found to be controlled by the level of CO2
librated through the nitrification process undertaken within the system followed nutrients and
phytoplankton peaks. The mathematical statistical estimation of Water Quality Index (WQI) were help to
categorize the Nile water quality at this segment to be ranged from medium/fair to poor quality status.
Results refereed to Site 4 (El-Nasria) as the highest polluted site throughout the study long in response to
excessive and unrecompensed activities at some villages nearby as well as the wastewater runoff. The
study recommended (i) divert the polluted water away off the River Nile; (ii) a better treatment technique
to be applied to wastewater pumped to El-Nasria site via El-Nasria Pumping Station. Application of a
reliable and continuous monitoring methodology along the whole River is a crucial demand to mitigate
health problems outbreaks or any aquatic ecosystem disorders.
Keywords: The River Nile, Water quality Index, Physico-Chemical analysis, Mansoura City, GIS, heavy
metals, nutrients.