Journal Article

Microbiological and physicochemical water quality assessments of the Upper Basin Litany River, Lebanon

Bohlok, Deema, Mezher, Malak, Fakhoury, Maria, Houshaymi, Bilal, Khalil, Mahmoud I.

2024

Overview

The Litany River has encountered severe environmental pollution. This study focused on assessing the pollution level in the upper basin of the Litany River by monitoring seasonal variation of water quality and testing physicochemical parameters and microbial qualities. A total of 72 freshwater samples were taken from six sites for 1 year during the four seasons. The microbiological parameters included total coliform, fecal coliform, and Escherichia coli counts. The physicochemical parameters comprised pH, total dissolved solids, nitrate, sodium, potassium, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus. The microbiological quality of samples was evaluated by comparing the fecal pollution indicators loads to the SEQ-EAUX2003 standard for irrigation, and the physicochemical analyses were assessed according to Lebanese Standards Institution (LIBNOR) NL161: 2016 and the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines for Water Quality. The results revealed that most physicochemical parameters are not within the permitted limit of LIBNOR and WHO, especially in sites S2, S3, and S6 during the dry seasons. The pH ranged between 6 and 8.16. The total dissolved solids reached 1948 mg/L. The nitrate, sodium, and potassium ranged between 0 and 253 mg/L. The total nitrogen and total phosphorous reached 103 and 5.16 mg/L, respectively. The chemical oxygen demand reached 2210 mg/L, and the biochemical oxygen demand reached 732 mg/L. Concerning the microbiological analysis, fecal pollution was detected in all sites during all seasons, with detectable higher values during the dry seasons, and all samples were considered to be non-conforming, with significant spatiotemporal variation of most parameters. Our results highlight the need to take measures to prevent the high level of pollution. This could be achieved by monthly water quality monitoring of the upper basin and introducing appropriate guidelines to detect pathogens and toxic chemicals that affect the entire ecosystem and lead to severe public health issues.

• Publisher: Springer International Publishing,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution / basins / Biochemical oxygen demand / Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis / Chemical oxygen demand / coliform bacteria / Coliforms / Demand analysis / Dissolved solids / Dry season / E coli / Earth and Environmental Science / Ecology / ecosystems / Ecotoxicology / Environment / Environmental indicators / Environmental Management / Environmental Monitoring / Environmental pollution / Escherichia coli / Escherichia coli - isolation & purification / fecal bacteria / Fecal coliforms / Feces / Freshwater / Guidelines / Inland water environment / irrigation / Lebanon / Microbiological analysis / microbiological quality / Microorganisms / Monitoring/Environmental Analysis / Nitrates / Nitrates - analysis / Nitrogen / Nitrogen - analysis / Oxygen / Oxygen requirement / Parameters / phosphorus / Phosphorus - analysis / Physicochemical analysis / Physicochemical processes / Physicochemical properties / Pollution / Pollution detection / Pollution indicators / Pollution levels / Pollution monitoring / Potassium / Public health / Quality assessment / Rivers / Rivers - chemistry / Rivers - microbiology / Seasonal variation / Seasonal variations / Seasons / Sodium / Total dissolved solids / Total nitrogen / Total oxygen demand / Total phosphorus / toxicity / Water Microbiology / Water monitoring / Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis / Water Quality / Water quality assessments / Water quality management / Water quality monitoring / Water sampling / World Health Organization