Abstract
Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) installations are designed and operated to reduce the quantity of pollutants emitted to surface waters receiving treated wastewaters. In this work, we used classical instrumental studies (to determine chemicals and parameters under obligations put with Directive 91/271/EEC), ecotoxicological tools (Sinapis alba root growth inhibition (SA-RG) and Heterocypris incongruens mortality (MORT) and growth inhibition (GRINH)) and multivariate statistical analysis to gain information on feature profiles of WWTPs’ effluents and the possible burden of surface water bodies receiving treated wastewaters in eleven locations of Bulgaria. Initial screening of results has shown that only phosphorus content exceeds the admissible level in 5 out 11 WWTP effluents, while As, Cr, Cu, Mn, and Zn show exceedance at several locations. The multivariate statistical analysis reveals the discriminating water quality parameters and outlines the ability of Heterocypris incongruens to evaluate the ecotoxicological potential of different groups of waters.
Highlights
Academic Editors: Ana Rita LadoPopulation growth increasingly demands larger quantities of good quality water for diverse purposes—to ensure life, human health, and the prosperity of the economy
The water chemistry in the bio basin is favourable for the oxidation of Cr (III) to Cr (VI) [45]. Under these conditions Cr (VI) is very well soluble, which may explain the concentration increase at the effluents. All these results show interesting responses of Heterocypris incongruens studies where total parameters explain observable mortality and growth inhibition, as ostracods are highest located in the trophic level and have fully developed gastrointestinal tract where digestion of suspended solids occurs and constitutes an important source of metals and organic pollutants
Large-scale and on-site WWTPs need constant and critical control systems to assure ecosystems and modern societies are not burdened with wastes generated by societies
Summary
Population growth (estimated at 10 billion by 2050 [1]) increasingly demands larger quantities of good quality water for diverse purposes—to ensure life, human health, and the prosperity of the economy. The sustainable development of aquatic ecosystems requires even higher volumes of wastewater to be treated and, subsequently, discharged into water bodies. Reliable and accurate pollution assessment of water bodies, systematically, is important in the prediction of pollution (intentional or accidental), caused by the diversion of chemical and biochemical processes [2]. There is a necessity for pollution control in a sound and cost-effective way to prevent the worsening of the chemical and ecological quality of the receiving waters [3]. Adopting the European Union (EU) legislation, Bulgarian national environmental bodies regularly assess the quality of surface waters and the efficiency of wastewater treatment processes
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
