Investigation of water quality of Sakarya city drinking water network

In this study; objective is to investigate the effectiveness of the existing disinfection method of Sakarya City drinking and domestic water. 102 water specimens were obtained from 17 sampling spots including Sakarya City center and selected districts. Free Chlorine amount in the water at each sampling spot has been measured and coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli (E. coli) amounts were detected in the laboratory. Membrane filtration technique was used in the analyses. According to these results, it has been determined that Sakarya City drinking and domestic water are in accordance with our country's drinking and domestic water standards bacteriologically except in the residential areas of the city's northern parts. It was also detected that the used disinfection method is sufficient. Encountering coliform bacteria during some periods although the balance chlorine level in the system is at sufficient level strengthened the possibility of contamination during distribution of the running water. Therefore, pipes must be sturdy and their maintenance must be kept up. If sufficient inspections are done, it is believed that this may not cause serious problems in respect to public health in the future. Keywords: Drinking water, E. coli, disinfection, water quality