Pollution Load Assessment in the Soil and Water Resources: A Case Study in Karun River Drainage Basin, Southwest of Iran

Agricultural, industrial and urban waste discharges along with natural factors such as drought conditions are the main cause of decline in soil and water resources quality.  Karun and Dez rivers, the largest drainage basin in the southwest region of Iran, are an important components in the climate system, and play a key role in human health and life of the study area. The issue has grown in importance in recent developments in sectors of agriculture, industry and urban that it has considerably affected water quality and increased contamination loads to the rivers. The aim of this paper is to determine and assess the contamination status and pollution loads to the studied rivers. The main issues addressed in this paper are pollution loads of: a) Agricultural drainage, b) urban wastewaters, and c) industrial wastewaters. A total of 284 samples consist of 24 sources of agricultural drainages outlet, 9 sources of industrial wastewaters discharges, 38 sources of urban wastewaters discharges were collected during four times in 2013-14 in an attempt to make each season one sample. 15 physical and chemical parameters including flow rate, COD, PO4, BOD, DO, NO3, NH3, TSS, pH, EC, TDS, Total Coliform, Fecal Coliform, Cl-1 and SO4-2 were determined for each sample. Results showed that agricultural activities had the higher risk of degrading the quality of soil and water resources in Khuzestan Plain and Karun basin in salinity and increased load of soluble salts (TDS).The Agricultural drainages, with the capacity of 2,375×106 m3.yr-1, and a salt pollution load of 11,862×103 kg.d-1 had the greatest contribution among pollutants. Dez River in Haft-Tapeh region with the 285×103 kg.d-1 of organic pollution based on chemical oxygen demand (COD) being discharged by the sugarcane industries subsidiaries, such as KaghazPars and Harir, is considered sensitive and vulnerable regarding natural self-purification. Results show that Ahvaz, by discharging 400×103 m3.d-1 of urban wastewater to Karun River, from the gateway to the southern end of the city, is one of the major centers of organic pollution based on biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and ammonia and microbial pollution loads

Pollution Load Assessment in the Soil and Water Resources: A Case Study in Karun River Drainage Basin, Southwest of Iran

Agricultural, industrial and urban waste discharges along with natural factors such as drought conditions are the main cause of decline in soil and water resources quality.  Karun and Dez rivers, the largest drainage basin in the southwest region of Iran, are an important components in the climate system, and play a key role in human health and life of the study area. The issue has grown in importance in recent developments in sectors of agriculture, industry and urban that it has considerably affected water quality and increased contamination loads to the rivers. The aim of this paper is to determine and assess the contamination status and pollution loads to the studied rivers. The main issues addressed in this paper are pollution loads of: a) Agricultural drainage, b) urban wastewaters, and c) industrial wastewaters. A total of 284 samples consist of 24 sources of agricultural drainages outlet, 9 sources of industrial wastewaters discharges, 38 sources of urban wastewaters discharges were collected during four times in 2013-14 in an attempt to make each season one sample. 15 physical and chemical parameters including flow rate, COD, PO4, BOD, DO, NO3, NH3, TSS, pH, EC, TDS, Total Coliform, Fecal Coliform, Cl-1 and SO4-2 were determined for each sample. Results showed that agricultural activities had the higher risk of degrading the quality of soil and water resources in Khuzestan Plain and Karun basin in salinity and increased load of soluble salts (TDS).The Agricultural drainages, with the capacity of 2,375×106 m3.yr-1, and a salt pollution load of 11,862×103 kg.d-1 had the greatest contribution among pollutants. Dez River in Haft-Tapeh region with the 285×103 kg.d-1 of organic pollution based on chemical oxygen demand (COD) being discharged by the sugarcane industries subsidiaries, such as KaghazPars and Harir, is considered sensitive and vulnerable regarding natural self-purification. Results show that Ahvaz, by discharging 400×103 m3.d-1 of urban wastewater to Karun River, from the gateway to the southern end of the city, is one of the major centers of organic pollution based on biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and ammonia and microbial pollution loads

Pollution Load Assessment in the Soil and Water Resources: A Case Study in Karun River Drainage Basin, Southwest of Iran

Agricultural, industrial and urban waste discharges along with natural factors such as drought conditions are the main cause of decline in soil and water resources quality.  Karun and Dez rivers, the largest drainage basin in the southwest region of Iran, are an important components in the climate system, and play a key role in human health and life of the study area. The issue has grown in importance in recent developments in sectors of agriculture, industry and urban that it has considerably affected water quality and increased contamination loads to the rivers. The aim of this paper is to determine and assess the contamination status and pollution loads to the studied rivers. The main issues addressed in this paper are pollution loads of: a) Agricultural drainage, b) urban wastewaters, and c) industrial wastewaters. A total of 284 samples consist of 24 sources of agricultural drainages outlet, 9 sources of industrial wastewaters discharges, 38 sources of urban wastewaters discharges were collected during four times in 2013-14 in an attempt to make each season one sample. 15 physical and chemical parameters including flow rate, COD, PO4, BOD, DO, NO3, NH3, TSS, pH, EC, TDS, Total Coliform, Fecal Coliform, Cl-1 and SO4-2 were determined for each sample. Results showed that agricultural activities had the higher risk of degrading the quality of soil and water resources in Khuzestan Plain and Karun basin in salinity and increased load of soluble salts (TDS).The Agricultural drainages, with the capacity of 2,375×106 m3.yr-1, and a salt pollution load of 11,862×103 kg.d-1 had the greatest contribution among pollutants. Dez River in Haft-Tapeh region with the 285×103 kg.d-1 of organic pollution based on chemical oxygen demand (COD) being discharged by the sugarcane industries subsidiaries, such as KaghazPars and Harir, is considered sensitive and vulnerable regarding natural self-purification. Results show that Ahvaz, by discharging 400×103 m3.d-1 of urban wastewater to Karun River, from the gateway to the southern end of the city, is one of the major centers of organic pollution based on biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and ammonia and microbial pollution loads

ORIGINAL ARTICLE Corresponding Author Applicability of CDE Equation for Simulation of Escherichia coli Bacterial Leaching from a Silty Clay Soil 1 of CDE Equation for Simulation of Escherichia coli Bacterial Leaching from a Silty Clay Soil

ABSTRACT In this study, the equilibrium equation was used to predict the transfer and absorption of bacteria in the column of soil in during leaching time. The coefficient determination for direct modeling through the equilibrium equation was recognized 0.58 respectively. But, in the inverse modeling, bacterial movement in soil was predicted by using equilibrium equation had higher coefficient to amount 0.91 respectively. These results show the high efficiency of model through using the equilibrium equation (CDE) in the inverse method than its direct method in simulating the bacterial movement in the soil treated. The evaluation of model sensitivity was carried out by changing the soil hydraulic parameters in a specific range, it was revealed that the model has been sensitive to some changes of the soil hydraulic parameters and also it undergoes drastic changes when the parameters of the curve simulated by the model change. Finally, the validation of the inverse method using the equilibrium equation was 0.98. Both show the accuracy and correctness of the model

Evaluating the Various Cropping Systems on Cd Concentrations of Different Growth Stages of Wheat

Soil contamination with heavy metals would accumulate these elements in plant tissues and decrease qualitaty and quantity of agricultural producs and thus endanger human and animal healths. Previous crop residues and rates of fertilizers applications (especially phosphorus fertilizer) are the most important effective factors on accumulation of cadmium in crop tissues. Another influential factor affecting soil shrinkage is crop rotation which induces the solubility of cadmium. This research was aimed to assess the effects of conventional cropping system on cadmium concentrations in wheat at its different growth stages by using a split plot in time experiment based on completely randomized block design with three replications in the 2014-2015 growing season in Shavoor Agricultural Research Station (Khuzestan province). Main plot consisted of cropping system (rice-wheat, fallow-wheat) and sub plot of growth stages at three levels (tillering, flowering and ripening). Different wheat seed cadmium concentrations due to two cropping systems were different significantly at 1% probability level. Cadmium concentration in the seeds at rice-wheat cropping system (0.31 mg.kg-1) was higher than fallow-wheat system (0.27 mg.kg-1) which is higher than World Health Organization standards. Result of analysis of variance showed that the effect of cropping systems and different growth stages of wheat on root and stem cadmium concentrations were significant at 1% probability level. Rice-wheat cropping system resulted in higher cadmium concentration in root (1.09 mg.kg-1) and stem (0.73 mg.kg-1) compared to that of the fallow-wheat cropping system. Accumulation of cadmium in stem or root at different growth stages of wheat were not significant but it was totally additive, because range of variation of cadmium concentration from planting to harvest was low

Investigation of TC and TSS Removal Efficiencies at Ahvaz West WTP Effluent Using the Land‒plant Treatment Process

Although the conventional (primary and secondary) treatment processes are known to remove up to 95–99% of some micro-organisms, they do not provide adequate treatment to make the effluent suitable for direct reuse, mainly due to the presence of high concentrations of pathogenic microorganisms. Obtaining reusable effluents, therefore, requires the use of processes that can be justified both technical and economic grounds. One such indigenous, low cost option is the land-plant process that can be used for advanced wastewater treatment. It is the objective of the present study to determine the efficiency of the local soil in Ahvaz and that of the vetiver plant in reducing the microbial load in the effluent from municipal wastewater treatment plants. A pilot study was thus carried out including three Lysimeters installed in West Ahvaz Wastewater Treatment Plant. Local soil was used in one Lysimeter, local soil with vetiver plant in the second one, and an artificial assortment of soil comprising local soil, silica sand (0.5-1mm), and sand (15-30mm) in the third. In addition, the effluent from the secondary settling outlet at the WTP was transferred by pumping at the three filtration rates of 0.2, 0.6, and 1 ml/min into the system with three replications for each rate and samples were collected from both inlet and outlet flows. The average removal efficiencies of Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Total Coliform (TC) in the effluent from the three Lysimeters with local soil with vetiver, local soil without vetiver, and artificial soil assortment for the filtration rate of 0.2 ml/min were: 67.75% and 99.7%, 58.33% and 99.6%, and 56.25% and 99.5%, respectively. For a filtration rate of 0.6 ml/min, these values were: 53.33% and 98.93%, 48.8 and 98.77%, and 47.68% and 98.64%. Finally, the values obtained for a filtration rate of 0.6 ml/min were: 50% and 93.96%, 46.42 and 91.34%, and 44/04% and 88/81%, respectively. The results from the study showed that the Lysimeter with local soil and the vetiver plant recorded the best removal efficiency for a filtration of 0.2 ml/min. Thus, it may be concluded that the land-plant system as an advanced treatment process is capable of producing effluents that meet discharge quality permit limits and therefore, it is an economical process using the advantages of advanced treatment if enough and available lands possible