Turbidity percentage of Euphrates water reaches fourth level
RAQQA, Syria (North press) – The low level of the Euphrates water raised the water turbidity rate to the fourth degree (NTU4), officials at the central laboratory of the main drinking water station in Raqqa, northern Syria, said.
NTU stands for Nephelometric Turbidity unit, i.e. the unit used to measure the turbidity of a fluid or the presence of suspended particles in water. The higher the concentration of suspended solids in the water is, the dirtier it looks and the higher the turbidity is. The turbidity of drinking water should never exceed 5 NTU.
The central laboratory in Raqqa monitors the level of pollution and purity of drinking water, oversees the chemical and physical composition, and filters and deposits water before pumping it into the pipeline networks that feed the city and its countryside.
“The drop in the level of the Euphrates River during the past months had a negative impact on the quality of drinking water being drawn from the river,” said Duha Ali, a specialist in the Central Laboratory.
“The laboratory continuously monitors the quality of drinking water and cleans the networks periodically to maintain its suitability for human consumption,” she added.
The cities and towns of the Euphrates Basin in Syria depend on the river’s water to provide drinking water through the presence of water pumping stations on the edge of the river.
In early May, Zeina Hassan, co-chair of the Health Committee in Raqqa, warned of the danger of contaminating the Euphrates River due to its low level and its effects to the public health of the population.
Turkey has been seizing the Euphrates water from Syria and Iraq since mid in February, amid regional and global warnings of a health and agricultural disaster in the region.
Turkey keeps water in six dams, the largest of which is Ataturk Dam and the second largest in the Middle East, with a storage capacity of 48 billion m³, violating by that the international agreement.
According to the agreement signed between Syria and Turkey in 1987 related to the Euphrates River, Syria’s share of water coming from Turkey, is 500 m³ per second.