ASSESSMENT OF WATER QUALITY INDEX FOR EUPHRATES RIVER WITHIN BABYLON PROVINCE, IRAQ DURING THE PERIOD 2007-2013

This paper deals with the quality of Euphrates river for drinking purposes by determining the water quality index WQI. Fourteen physic-chemical water quality parameter from four water quality- monitoring stations along Euphrates river were monthly monitored during the study period (2007- 2013) to compute the WQI in order to assess the suitability of the river water for drinking and human consumption. The water quality index provides a sim ple method for estimating the water quality for different uses and it is very important for river quality monitoring. Water bodies are usually taken a s the sink for dumping domestic, agriculture and industrial wastes, therefore, a regular monitoring for maintaining acceptable quality of these resources i s of important human health and environmental concerns