Integrated approach of impact assessment of discharges to the Krka river, Slovenia
1999
Cotman, M. (National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana (Slovenia)) | Zagor-Koncan, J. (University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana (Slovenia). Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology)
Surface waters are used for disposal of treated effluents from wastewater treatment plants. These effluents usually contain only low concentration of various contaminants. If the amounts of effluents are large these harmful components accumulate over time in river, especially in sediments. Freshwater sediments may play a role as sink where contaminants from the waste water treatment plant are stored and as source of these contaminants to the overlying water and to biota. Integrated approach for the evaluation of impacts of treated effluents to the river is used to predict ecological risk assessment to biota of receiving stream. Used methodology includes the investigation of effluents from wastewater treatment plants (chemical analyses, toxicological study). The harmful substances from the effluent are traced in the receiving stream and impact of these substances to the stream and the organisms in the stream are determined. The impacts of contaminants on receiving waters depend on a number of physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the receiving stream. Freshwater sediments integrate harmful substances from effluents over time so beside river water investigation the investigation of sediments is necessary. The methodology is used in the study of the quality of the Krka river beside Novo mesto. The treated effluents from pharmaceutical industry and municipal wastewater treatment plant are discharged into the Krka river very close so it is impossible to separate the impact of each of them. Results of the study shows us that main problem is eutrophication of the river Krka, so it is obvious to reduce quantity of nutrients in the effluents from wastewater treatment plants
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