CORRELATION OF FECAL POLLUTION INDICATORS WITH PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PARAMETERS OF WATER OF THE SAVA RIVER NEAR ŠABAC (SERBIA)
Keywords:
fecal indicators, coliforms, water parameters, Sava RiverAbstract
To assess the level of surface water pollution, we traditionally rely on the application of fecal indicators
because their concentration largely depends on the degree of wastewater discharge. However, the presence of these
microorganisms in water may also depend on the abiotic characteristics of surface water. This study aims to
determine the interdependence of the abundance of fecal indicators and the values of physical and chemical
parameters of surface water. For this research, water monitoring data from the Sava River near Šabac during the
period from 2015 to 2019 (from June 1st to August 31st during a year and from 7:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. during a day)
were used. The sampling was carried out at a distance of 20 meters from the coast and a depth of 0.5 m.
Determination of physical and chemical parameters (temperature, pH value, electrical conductivity, suspended
matter, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, oxygen saturation, ammonium ions, and nitrogen compounds) was performed
using standardized methods. The groups of fecal bacteria monitored are total coliforms, fecal coliforms, and fecal
enterococci. Bacteria detection was performed using a method based on the enzymatic decomposition of different
substrates. Enumeration of bacteria is determined based on the number of positive enzymatic reactions, which was
translated into the most probable number of bacteria in 100 ml of water sample (MPN/100 ml). Correlation and
regression analyzes were performed to determine the mutual dependence between physical and chemical parameters
and the number of fecal indicators. The abundance of fecal indicators in the collected samples did not show
statistically significant correlations with physical and chemical parameters of water (r < 0.3, p > 0.05). However,
there were certain regularities when it comes to the sign of the correlation coefficient. Although low, there was a
negative correlation between all three groups of fecal indicators and temperature, pH value, electrical conductivity,
oxygen, and nitrate concentration, while low positive correlations existed between all three groups of fecal
indicators and concentration of suspended matter and turbidity. The concentration of ammonium ions had a weak
positive correlation with the concentration of fecal coliforms and fecal enterococci, while the correlation coefficient
between this factor and the concentration of total coliforms was close to zero. The nitrite concentration was in a very
weak negative correlation with the concentration of total coliforms and fecal coliforms, while according to the
concentration of fecal enterococci, this factor showed an almost complete absence of correlation (r ≈ 0). Based on
the results, it can be concluded that the decisive role in determining the abundance of fecal indicators in the water of
the Sava River near Šabac is not played by the physical and chemical parameters of water, but by some other
factors, primarily anthropogenic. Therefore, their abundance in surface water can be considered a good indicator of
wastewater pollution.
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