Technological assessment of trihalomethanes in drinking water supplying the city of Sidi Bel Abbes (western Algeria)

Trihalomethanes are a group of chemical compounds that can contaminate drinking water. THMs are formed when the chlorine used to disinfect the water reacts with the natural organic matter present in the water. Mainly, their formation depends on pH, free residual chlorine, water temperature, and the concentration of natural organic matter.The objective of this work is to determine the impact of certain physicochemical parameters on the formation of trihalomethanes in the drinking water supplying the city of Sidi Bel Abbes.Physicochemical analyses of drinking water from three distribution networks supplying the city of Sidi Bel Abbes revealed that the pH values are around 7 and the temperature does not exceed 20°C. The analysis of organic matter in the collected samples shows variable results between areas, with organic matter concentrations in area 1 being slightly higher than those in area 2. The average concentrations of organic matter recorded in area 3 are lower compared to those in the other two sampling areas. Our results show that the free residual chlorine in the network directly contributes to the formation of disinfection by-products. This study aims to enhance knowledge of the spatio-temporal formation of trihalomethanes in drinking water distribution reservoirs.