Evaluation of Tigris River Water Quality using Biological Indicators

With the industrialization of societies, population growth, climate change, and increased

exploitation of surface waters, environmental pollutants have increased, leading to a decrease

in the quality of existing water resources. Therefore, examining the quality of river pollution is

of great importance for agricultural and environmental programs. In order to investigate the

water quality of the Tigris River using 4 biological indicators, sampling was carried out from

April 2021 to March 2022 and the above indicators were calculated based on the data obtained.

After identifying and determining sampling stations, biological indicators were calculated to

determine the level of pollution in this river. The results showed that the average NAFWQI

index indicated poor water quality, the BMWP index indicated moderate and poor water

quality, the ASPT index indicated suspected pollution and pollution with medium levels, and

the Helsonhof index indicated relatively poor and poor water quality. Based on the results of

this study, most of the examined indicators show that Tigris River's water quality is in a low to

moderate category.