Evaluación de la calidad de agua en la Bahía de Cartagena durante la temporada seca de 2013

Abstract

Cartagena Bay is influenced by discharges from Dique Channel and domestic waste water discharges from the city of Cartagena, which together reach a volume of 120,000 m3/day. This paper aimed to assess the current status of water quality of the Bay in relation to the concentration of some water quality indicators (total coliforms, Escherichia coli and Enterococcus sp.). Water samples were taken within three layers of the column (size, middle and bottom) over 14 stations during the first week of March, and were processed by membrane filtration technique. The results were compared with the limits set by the European Economic Community (EEC), the Environmental Protection Agency of the United Kingdom (EPA) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The results showed that total coliforms exceeded the limits allowed by the EEC in 13 stations at least one of the water column levels established. In the case of E. coli, 10 stations exceeded the permissible limits EPA and 11 exceeded the limits according to the CEE at least at one level of the water column. The Enterococcus sp. exceeded limits Bosque stations and Sociedad Portuaria, both surface and in the middle of the water column in physicochemical analysis were associated variables (pH, temperature and nutrients) to the survival of microorganisms in the bay faecal.