Abstract
The multicomponent composition of wastewater makes it challenging to assess its quality objectively, but the last one is a prerequisite for the safe re-use of wastewater. The solution to this problem should be aimed at finding criteria that make it possible to increase the objectivity of assessing the water quality of reservoirs with multicomponent pollution. This work analyzes the water quality of the Sorbulak wastewater disposal system in the summer of 2017, based on chemical variables and zooplankton structure and assess the long-term changes in the water quality of Sorbulak. According to the Kruskal–Wallis test, in 2017, the differences between the studied water bodies in the content of nutrients and heavy metals were mostly insignificant. From 2000–2002 to 2017, nitrate, nitrite nitrogen, and heavy metals in Sorbulak significantly decreased. Zooplankton communities consisted of a relatively small number of eurybiontic species resistant to environmental factors. The variability of the quantitative variables of zooplankton was associated with the nutrients. Males dominated the population of the cyclopoid copepods Acanthocyclops trajani. In 2000–2002 individuals with morphological anomalies were found in cyclopoid copepods populations, but were absent in 2017. The appearance of individuals with morphological anomalies was associated with copper or lead. The chemical data and structure of zooplankton communities indicated that the toxic pollution of Sorbulak decreased by 2017 compared to 2000–2002. Our results demonstrate that the structural variables of zooplankton communities could be successfully used to assess the water quality of water bodies with mixed pollution. We recommend using not only the traditional set of biological variables (abundance, biomass, diversity indices, and the average mass of an individual), but also data on the structure of species dominance, the sex structure of copepod populations, and the presence of individuals with morphological anomalies for monitoring of water bodies with mixed pollution.
Highlights
Due to socio-economic, demographic, and climatic reasons, the share of re-use wastewater for irrigation increases from year to year in different parts of the world [1,2] and especially in arid areas.such a policy of using water resources poses a serious threat to public health, due to the accumulation of toxic compounds in food [3,4,5], the risk of contracting infectious diseases [6], and theWater 2020, 12, 3409; doi:10.3390/w12123409 www.mdpi.com/journal/waterWater 2020, 12, 3409 genotoxic properties of wastewater [7]
Our results demonstrate that the structural variables of zooplankton communities could be successfully used to assess the water quality of water bodies with mixed pollution
Our results demonstrated that zooplankton communities of water bodies with multicomponent pollution consist of a small number of eurybiontic species
Summary
Due to socio-economic, demographic, and climatic reasons, the share of re-use wastewater for irrigation increases from year to year in different parts of the world [1,2] and especially in arid areas.such a policy of using water resources poses a serious threat to public health, due to the accumulation of toxic compounds in food [3,4,5], the risk of contracting infectious diseases [6], and theWater 2020, 12, 3409; doi:10.3390/w12123409 www.mdpi.com/journal/waterWater 2020, 12, 3409 genotoxic properties of wastewater [7]. Due to socio-economic, demographic, and climatic reasons, the share of re-use wastewater for irrigation increases from year to year in different parts of the world [1,2] and especially in arid areas Such a policy of using water resources poses a serious threat to public health, due to the accumulation of toxic compounds in food [3,4,5], the risk of contracting infectious diseases [6], and the. In the Water Framework Directive [13], it is recommended to use an integrated approach to assess aquatic ecosystem health It is based on a combination of chemical and biological methods, and it is increasingly being used in environmental research [14,15,16]. The informative value of the biological assessment is associated with the integrated response of living organisms to the entire complex of external conditions, including natural and anthropogenic factors [17,18,19,20]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
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 call
