Water quality assessment using fuzzy multi criteria decision making techniques

Water is a critical resource for sustaining life, and the increase in activities such as urbanization, agriculture, and industry necessitates effective management of safe drinking water. In this thesis, the quality assessment of drinking and utility water aims to support sustainable drinking water management. To this end, eight main criteria and 44 sub-criteria encompassing microbiological, chemical, and physical parameters that affect water quality were identified. An integrated fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making model is presented, utilizing the Pythagorean Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (PFAHP) to calculate the weights of the determined criteria, and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) for ranking the alternatives. The study sample consists of drinking and utility water samples collected from 130 different storage tanks in Bayburt Province, Turkey. The study results indicate that the quality level is ≥0.90 in 90 of the 130 tanks, and <0.90 in 40 tanks. The results provide a roadmap for prioritization and improvement in safe and clean water management, contributing to the achievement of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 6.1 and 6.3.