Determination of Pb, Zn, nitrate, and nitrite levels in Uludere and Silopi-Şırnak surface/groundwaters and their possible effects on human health

Groundwater is an important natural resource for drinking, agriculture and industrial sectors. When we look at the sectoral distribution, it is seen that the greatest sensitivity is in drinking water. Because diseases that threaten public health generally arise from water contaminated with chemical and biological content. Examples of these diseases are; diarrhea, dysentery, giardiasis, intestinal parasites, enterobius vermicularis (pinworm), ascaris lumiricoides (intestinal worm), typhoid and paratyphoid, cholera, hepatitis A and E, malaria. In addition, it is known that using water with the drinking water quality mentioned above from industrial water is both unnecessary and uneconomical. However, in agricultural irrigation, it is necessary to be more sensitive in the use of both domestic and industrial wastewater, and it can be said that public health will be seriously threatened if water used without treatment is used, especially in waters where caustics and parasites originating from domestic wastes are intense, and in vegetables and fruits consumed raw. On the other hand, this suggestion can be approached with a little more tolerance in industrial plants. Especially in settlements with a population of more than 2000, wastewater treatment plants are built by municipalities in accordance with the directives of the relevant ministry. The aim here is to ensure that wastewater is used in different sectors without being released into the recipient environment, thus contributing to the water resources that are decreasing due to global warming and population growth. In the study, pollution maps were created with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) ArcGIS model for nitrite, nitrate, lead, zinc concentration and spatial distribution for Silopi Plain groundwater and Silopi Dam. These maps determined which locations were at risk locally. In particular, a total of 18 groundwater samples were collected by taking as reference the YAS (groundwater) wells located over a thousand in the plain. In addition, Silopi Dam was used for surface water samples. Nitrate, Nitrite, Pb, Zn readings were made in the water samples taken. The quality of the waters was revealed from the average of all water samples using SAR, KR, PI, PS, MH and %Na equations. According to the results, it can be said that the plain's water quality is not problematic in terms of physical and chemical properties. Because the average values of all equations are defined and according to the standards used (TSE-256, US-EPA, EU and WHO), it was concluded that there is no concern in using all samples in terms of physical and chemical aspects. However, there are concerns about e. coli and total coli in some samples. It can be said that the reason for this is that some wells are close to septic tanks or streams where free-flowing wastewater passes. In addition, it can be shared that the absence of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in Silopi district is one of the main reasons for the presence of viruses and bacteria in water. In addition, we have determined that there is no WWTP in the drainage basin of the six dams upstream of Silopi Dam. It has been observed that there are dense lignite coal mines, especially in the precipitation basins of Silopi and other dams. It has been concluded that the heavy metals lead and zinc, as well as nitrate and nitrite pollution, which are the subjects of the study, are insignificant. According to the data obtained from the study, it can be recommended to conduct periodic monitoring and evaluation in order to investigate pollution sources and keep public health in the region under control, and to raise public awareness about water pollution during risky periods.