Abstract
The main aim of this study is to evaluate the residents public awareness from water-polluted areas in Tehran city, in terms of
water quality (in particular nitrate pollution), and to measure their different performance and approaches to this environmental
problem. For this purpose, district 18 (Yaft Abad, southwest of Tehran) was selected as a case study. A questionnaire was
prepared and distributed randomly among residents of the selected area in May 2011. The data were analyzed statistically with
SPSS software. The collected data showed that about 74% of the individuals were aware of the low quality of their drinking
water, although 71% and 78% of the people were completely unaware of nitrate pollutant and its health hazards, respectively.
Approximately 55% of questioned persons knew that their drinking water would threat their health since it is non-potable.
However, more than 66% of the people used directly tap water as drinking water. The people with higher education have a better
understanding regarding the poor quality and nitrate pollution of their drinking water and the health hazards resulting from nitrate
contamination. According to the statistical analyses, there is no statistical correlation between people’s gender, age, educational
field, occupations, their parents’ educational level and 1) qualitative characteristics of drinking water, 2) people’s awareness
about contaminants in drinking water, 3) people’s knowledge about nitrate contamination, 4) people’s knowledge about health
hazards related to nitrate pollution.