The effects of industrial and agricultural activity on the water quality of the Sitnica River (Kosovo)

An important issue in Kosovo is water pollution. The use of polluted water has a direct impact on human health and cause long-term consequences. The longest and most polluted river in Kosovo is the Sitnica, a 90 km long river with its source located near the village of Sazli. The river flows into the Ibar River in Northern Kosovo. Agriculture is prevailing activity in the basin of Sitnica which is why agricultural as well as industrial waste are the biggest water pollutants. The purpose of this study was to evaluate water quality of the river and analyse the pollution level along the Sitnica River caused by agricultural activities and industrial discharges. In order to assess the impact of pollutants on this river, a measurements were carried out in four (five) monitoring stations: the first station represents the reference station which has not undergone or has not been affected by polluting pressures, two stations in water areas affected by the irrigation of farming land and two monitoring stations in water areas affected by industrial wastewater discharge. Some of the parameters of water quality analysed are temperature, turbidity, electrical conductivity, pH, DO, COD, BOD, P total, nitrates, sulfates, and heavy metals iron, manganese, zinc, nickel. Compared to the reference station the results obtained from the Gracka and Pestova monitoring stations prove that the dominant form of pollution is that from agricultural lands irrigation, while the Plemetin and Mitrovica stations show that the Sitnica River is affected by wastewater discharge which contains significant concentrations of heavy metals, as well as metal ions selected in this paper. It can be concluded that the irrigation of agricultural lands and discharges from mining significantly affect water quality of the Sitnica River

Soil Pollution Factors Affecting the Quality of Crops (Solanum Tuberosum L.)

The circulation of heavy metals in nature is characterized by high toxicity. However, the effects depend on the amount of toxic, the form of exposure to toxicity, the types of species exposed, age, sex, genetics and nutritional status, and on the consequences in ecosystems. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the environmental situation in some regions has deteriorated even more due to poor monitoring by state institutions. The challenges that await us in the future are complex and hence we risk not knowing how to meet the future challenges. The situation with toxicity and pollution is complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which for the first time in this century has turned into a global pandemic. Although we were not prepared to cope with this pandemic, still we succeeded to manage it better than the previous pandemics. High concentrations of heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, and nickel are among the metals that are dangerous for the public health of citizens. Metallic elements are characterized by toxic effects, especially with the consumption of food products. High concentrations cause great damage to human and animal organs but sometimes even small concentrations of it can have harmful effects. The increase in toxic concentration has affected industrial development, poor waste management, the release of toxic gases from industrial activities, as well as use of pesticides and herbicides in agriculture. High toxicity causes health damage, e.g. resulting from human exposure to metal toxicity and the use of contaminated foods. The heavy metals present in the environment such as Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Se, Zn, Co, Cr, are essential nutrients required for various biochemical and physiological functions

The use of macroinvertebrate biotic indices BMWP and ASPT to evaluate the water quality in river Mirusha, Kosovo

In our research we used two biotic indices based on macroinvertebrates, Biological monitoring Working Party (BMWP) and Average Score per Taxon (ASPT) to evaluate the water quality in river Mirusha in Kosovo. Samples of macro invertebrates were collected in three localities along the river with different anthropogenic impact. Parallel to biological sampling, the measurement of physical and chemical parameters of water was done. During our research 3217 macro invertebrate organisms were collected, belonging to 18 families and to 10 taxonomic groups. The most dominant group was Insecta, followed by Crustaceans and Annelidae worms. Water pollution affects the biodiversity of water environment, thus the species composition changes from natural to tolerant species against different pollutants. Based on the values of BMWP the water quality along its course varied and has shown an increase from the IV quality class in the first locality, to III class in the second sampling station in middle stream, and II class in locality three, downstream the river. ASPT scores qualify the water in the first and second locality in the II class, whereas in third locality water is of I class of quality. We concluded that the macroinvertebrate fauna in river Mirusha is not reach, due to some natural phenomena in the first sampling site, and pollution caused by anthropogenic activities in second and third localities

Analysis of the Impact of Industrial Waste on River Water Quality Towards Using the Dynamics of Land Quality

Natural resources are the basis of all material goods which are of special importance for the life and development of mankind. Therefore, sustainable management of natural resources is of great importance for modern society. The concentrations of heavy metals in the soil such as: (Cu, Fe, Cd, Mn, Pb, and Zn), have a negative impact on the contamination of crops. Human activity should be developed on the basis of the principles of environmental sustainability to achieve economic and social prosperity and environmental protection as well as, improve the environment polluted by human activity. Natural resources must be preserved and regenerated. Moreover, well-being, environmental management and maintaining the purity of the environment in the future enable the production of safe food. Preservation of good quality water resources creates security and maintains soil quality. Recently, there has been a marked increase in awareness of natural resources, especially the preservation of water quality, soil, and their importance to our lives. The study included various methodologies, qualitative and quantitative analyses, and statistics

Analysis of the Impact of Ferronicel Industrial Activity on Drenica River Quality

Today, environmental water degradation all over the world comes about due to the growth of urban, industrial and agricultural activities. As a result of these discharges without any prior treatment, the quality of river waters in Kosovo has deteriorated greatly. On the basis of the research that has been done so far in the rivers of Kosovo, it was shown that Drenica is one of the rivers that are constantly exposed to the discharge of industrial waters. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to analyze the impact of water discharged from Feronikeli on the water quality of the Drenica River and the possibility of its protection. The realization of this study is focused on the evaluation of physico-chemical parameters of the water of the Drenica River, the content of heavy metals in the water, the analysis and comparison of the results obtained using the standard for the assessment of the ecological status of surface waters of Romania (GD 161). Laboratory assays were developed according to standard analysis methods (APHA). The results obtained, analyzed and compared with the values of the parameters according to the standard referred to in this research, confirm that the water of the Drenica River belongs to the class of water with “good quality” only in the source area, while in other flow stations river, especially in the third station S3 (Ferronikel industrial zone), water has “poor quality”, passing into the category of “very poor quality”. Therefore, in order to improve the current situation, it is recommended to apply the best environmental practices and proper management of industrial waste

Determination of Land Pollution with Heavy Metals along Sitnica River, Kosovo

The main river of the Kosovo valley is the Sitnica River, which collects a large number of streams, recipients of wastewaterfrom various urban and industrial centers. The blockage of Sitnica river with waste and non-regulation of the bedding of this river makes this river flood tens of acres of worked ground surface through its course, causing great damage every spring and autumn. Uncontrolled discharge of heavy metals into the contaminated terrestrial environments ensures their transfer to plants, animals and humans and results in an impact on the environment and public health. Determination of the heavy metals concentration level for the assessment of soil pollution along the Sitnica River course was also the main purpose of this study, which was carried out in 2016. For analysis, 8 soil samples were taken at depths of 30–50 cm. From the analysis of the data it was noticed that the content of heavy metals such as Zn, Cd, Pb, Cr in some analyzed samples exceeds the maximum allowed values. The findings indicate high values of metal pollution in the samples taken in meadows as well as the agricultural lands stretching around the river

Heavy Metal Concentrations along the Banks of the Sitnica River and in Four Types of Herbaceous Plants

This paper presents the results of the heavy metals accumulation (Cd, Cr, Pb, Cu, Zn, Mn, and Fe) in soils and plants (Typha angustifolia L., Urtica dioica L., Ranunculus sardous Crantz and Rumex Crispus L.) collected along the banks of the Sitnica River, which flows through various cities of Kosovo and is quite stressed due to the discharges of urban, industrial, and agricultural pollutants. The aim of this research was to verify the accumulation of heavy metals in water, soil and plants, since vegetables that used as food are cultivated in the vicinity of sample collection. The analyses were conducted with applied methodology in the analytic laboratory of Kosovo Agriculture Institute by using MP-AES 4200 for Cd and Cr, ASS-Scientific for Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn and Pb in plant samples, whereas 4100 MP-AES was used for determination of metals in soil. The results show variations in different metal values found in the samples of the analyzed soils and plants. The lowest values accumulation of the metals analyzed were recorded at A1 (Devetak Station) near the river source and did not contain anthropogenic influences, whereas the highest values were recorded at A3 (Kuzmin Station), which belongs to the middle flow of the Sitnica River that is polluted by wastewater (urban) discharges

The Application of Benthic Diatoms in Water Quality Assessment in Lepenci River Basin, Kosovo

During the study on the assessment of ecological status of the Lepenci river basin, epilithic diatoms were used. Via this methodology, the authors aimed to standardization the ecological assessment methodology and gradually make it applicable for all river basins of Kosovo. The authors relied on a hypothesis that the epilithic diatom communities can serve as a reliable ecological tool to evaluate the quality of flowing waters in Kosovo. Thirteen water quality indices (IBD, IPS, IDG, DESCY, SLA, IDSE, IDAP, EPID, CEE, WAT, TDI, IDP and SHE) were measured in eight sample-points. From the conducted qualitative analysis, the obtained results showed that the water quality varies from upper parts of the basin (SP1, SP2, SP3 & SP4) characterized with higher water quality towards the lower parts (SP5, SP6 & SP7) where water quality was of the 2nd class and finally in Hani i Elezit (SP8) where the index values showed that its water belongs to the 3rd class. The samples were taken in to 8 sampling sites, in river during year (2017), the Navicula viridula species was the most dominant, along with Cocconeis placentula var. lineate and Diatoma vulgaris. In turn, between August and end of September, the following species were dominant ones: Craticula ambigua, Navicula hintzii, Navicula viridula and Rhoicosphenia abbreviata

The Macrophyte Indices for Rivers to Assess the Ecological Conditions in the Klina River in the Republic of Kosovo

Macrophytes are important elements of aquatic ecosystems that grow in or near water. Their taxonomic composition, species diversity, depth, and density are indicators of environmental health; as such, Macrophytes are used to assess the ecological status of water bodies. Under the aim of assessing the ecological status of the Klina River in Kosovo, a survey was conducted at eight sampling sites along the river course to analyze macrophyte composition, diversity, density, and cover. Three samples were collected at each sampling site from early June to late September. The following macrophyte indices were used to assess the ecological status of the river: Macrophyte Index for Rivers (MIR), River Macrophyte Nutrient Index (RMNI), and River Macrophyte Hydraulic Index (RMHI). Our sampling area included the upper reaches of the river where no organic pollution was detected (oligotrophic), the middle reaches where polluted water from farms is discharged into the river, and the lower reaches characterized by heavy organic pollution from settlements and various industrial activities. There is a positive correlation (p 43−), ammonia (NH4+), nitrites (NO2−), calcium (Ca2+), and potassium (K+) with plant density, RMNI, RMHI, EQR-RMNI, EQR-RMHI, and MIR. Sodium (Na+) has stronger positive correlation (p < 0.01) with RMNI and RMHI indices and negative correlation with EQR-RMNI and EQR-RMHI. Our results show that ecological status along the river varies from high and good upstream to poor, bad, and moderate running downstream