An experimental work was conducted to study the performance of the already prepared polyvinyl pyrrolidone/acrylic acid (PVP/AAc) copolymer hydrogel to chelate heavy metals from bulk solution. Studies of the binding capacity, adsorption isotherm, and adsorption kinetic experiments showed that PVP/AAc copolymer hydrogel has high binding capacities and good adsorption kinetic properties for the metal ions under investigation. The adsorption isotherms of such metal ions on the copolymer exhibit a Langmuir-type equation. The chelated copolymers were characterized by FTIR and XRD. Technical feasibility for the uses of the prepared PVP/AAc hydrogel for the treatment of polluted samples; collected from different water resources in Helwan area (Egypt) was investigated. The evaluation of the system was performed by a complete analysis of water samples before and after the treatment process. The results showed a promising possibility for producing water of better quality in the area under investigation, using such prepared hydrogel. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.