Heavy metal fingerprinting in surface water using chemometrics

In this study, chemometric methods were applied to fingerprint heavy metals in surface water in Tahtali Basin, Turkey, and were found to assist water managers in determining drinking water quality. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to determine pollutant sources governing water quality, and Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) was used to identify spatial differences in the basin. Results showed that the level of heavy metals found in surface water was predominantly influenced by urban runoff (mainly in residential areas) and agricultural runoff. However, heavy metal concentrations were found to be lower than the threshold values set by European drinking water standards. Therefore, heavy metal levels in surface water were acceptable for a drinking watersupply. This study showed that chemometric methods can assist water managers fingerprinting surface water quality.