In situ and laboratory treatment tests for lowering of excess manganese and iron in drinking water sourced from river–groundwater interaction

Manganese and iron are essential nutrients at low doses. However, long-term exposure in high doses may be harmful. Human activities and natural sources are responsible for manganese and iron contamination in water. This study aimed to investigate the source of high manganese and iron contents in shallow groundwater, where the groundwater is used for drinking purpose, and to decrease the excess manganese and iron from shallow groundwater. Based on the on-site analytical results taken from the wells in the study area, iron contents in water samples varied between 30 and 200 μg/L, which were under the allowable limits of Turkish Drinking Water Standards (TDWS) (Water intended for human consumption, http://​rega.​basbakanlik.​gov.​tr/​eskiler/​2005/​02/​20050217-3.​htm, 2005). However, manganese levels varied from 30 to 248 μg/L, which some of them are higher than the allowable limits of TDWS (Water intended for human consumption, http://​rega.​basbakanlik.​gov.​tr/​eskiler/​2005/​02/​20050217-3.​htm, 2005) (50 μg/L), and EPA (http://​water.​epa.​gov/​drink/​contaminants/​index.​cfm, 2006) (50 μg/L). The source of excess manganese is originated mainly from geogenic source besides Porsuk River interaction in shallow aquifer in the specific section of the study area. To decrease high manganese content from the well water and reservoir water, laboratory and in situ treatment tests were applied. Among these tests, chlorination, associated with filtration (by fine sand, active carbon and zeolite) and the use of different filtration procedures by cation exchange resin were determined as the most effective methods, which was not previously applied on-site as a combinative approaches to reduce the excess manganese in water.