SANITARY AND HYGIENIC ASSESSMENT OF WATER QUALITY IN THE DEVITSA RIVER OF THE UPPER DON BASIN BY THE PERIPHITON COMMUNITY OF ARTIFICIAL SUBSTRATES

Abstract

We reviewed the issues of sanitary-hygienic assessment of water quality in the Devitsa River according to the indicators of periphyton of artificial substrates. The annually increasing level of water pollution requires the improvement of social and hygienic monitoring system. The issues of monitoring water bodies in the Voronezh Region is particularly relevant in the summer season, when rivers are used by the population for recreational purposes. To ensure the population safety, it is necessary to assess water by sanitary and hygienic indicators. Such assessment is carried out on the basis of the Hygienic and Epidemiological Center in the Voronezh Region, however, if sampling is carried out quite often and at different points for large and medium-sized rivers, that the limitation of sampling points and the total number of samples for small rivers does not allow for an objective determination of water quality and fully guarantee its compliance with sanitary and hygienic requirements. The solution to this problem can be the use of biological control as an additional method of monitoring, which allows to assess the ecological and sanitary-hygienic water quality in the river with the greatest accuracy along with hydrochemical control. As a bioindicator of the pollution level of a reservoir, both individual taxa and communities and separate groups of hydrobionts can be used. Benthic organisms are most often used as bioindicators of the level of water pollution in rivers, but many authors consider it more appropriate to use the periphyton organisms. This is due to the fact that benthic organisms, being under the influence of bottom sediments, are more tolerant to pollution, while periphyton reflects water quality more adequately. The study of the periphyton of the reservoir allows the calculation of information indices reflecting the water condition. The application of the bioindication method makes it possible to identify periods when more frequent sampling is required to establish the compliance of river water with sanitary and hygienic standards.