A Qualitative and Quantitative Study on El-Gharbia Main Drain Wastewater

Abstract

The use of El-Gharbia main drain wastewater for agriculture practices and fishing poses serious risks to the residents of villages in El-Gharbia and Dakahlia governorates, as well as a number of Kafr El-Sheikh centers. Three sources of wastewater disposal into El-Gharbia main drain, such as sewage, agricultural and industrial drainage. The current study aims to estimate the quality of El-Gharbia main drain water for reuse to irrigate agricultural soils according to environmental quality standards. Samples (water and sediments) were collected from fifteen sites along El-Gharbia main drain (more than 100km) in the winter of 2020 and the summer of 2021. The results showed that the content of water and sediments samples of micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu and B) and heavy metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Ni and Pb) differed from one site to another. In some cases, the overall mean exceeded the permissible limit in both seasons under study, but the pollution degree was higher in the summer season. The biological analysis of pathogenic bacteria under study showed that the numbers of pathogenic bacteria exceeded the permissible limit in both seasons under study, and the numbers of pathogenic bacteria in summer was higher.