Page 1 of 31

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at

http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 02 Issue 12

December 2016

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 129

Assessment of Physicochemical Factors, Heavy Metals,

Organic and Microbial Pollution of water in Omar Bek Drain,

Nile Delta, Egypt.

1Heba Allah M. Elbaghdady;

2Ahmed M. El-Naggar;

3Hisham M. Rabee;

4Asmaa M. Khalil

Ecology Division, Zoology Department, Faculty of Sciences, Mansoura University, Egypt.

* Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency, East Delta Office, Egypt.

Faculty of science, Mansoura University, Zoology Department, Egypt;

Email: dr_hebagad1982@yahoo.com; dr_hebagadscience@yahoo.com

Abstract

A comparative biochemical analysis was

made of the water quality in Omar Bek

Drain and interconnected spot of Damietta

Branch of the River Nile, Egypt. Fish

community in the drain was species-poor;

only two survivor fish, with erratic

population dynamics, namely Clarias

gariepinus and Oreochromis niloticus were

observed. The pH values in all localities lied

on the weak alkaline scale. The midstream

and downstream drain localities stored

greater numbers of HPC, total coliforms and

fecal coliforms than the river localities. The

electric conductivity exceeded the

permissible levels in all investigated areas.

Similar trend was recorded for the total

dissolved solids. Obviously high amounts of

sodium were found in Omar Bek Drain. The

drain was profoundly contaminated by heavy

metals than the Damietta Branch. The

downstream drain received the highest

amounts of Polycyclic Aromatic

Hydrocarbons; however carbamate

pesticides showed their highest levels in the

downstream of communication spot. The

total organic carbon was more abundant in

sediment, fish muscles and gills from the

drain and less abundant in the River Nile.

Unlike the oxygen-poor Omar Bek Drain,

the Damietta Branch was relatively oxygen- rich. A comprehensive discussion is made of

the possible impacts of deteriorating

freshwater ecosystems on the human and

environmental health. A number of solutions

are proposed to neutralize the threats of the

drain on the society.

Keywords: Water Quality, Heavy Metals,

Microbial Pollution, Omar Bek Drain,

organic Pollution, Nile Delta,

Egypt.

Introduction

Egypt meets the challenge of water pollution

which has been developed into many thorny

environmental and socioeconomic issues

(El-Sheekh, 2009). Regarding the prime risk

causes for health problems in Egypt as well

as other developing countries, perilous

water, and poor hygiene and sanitation have

been classified in an advanced rank. Aquatic

ecosystems are progressively being

threatened as the populations grow and the

demand for water rises. Exploitation and

versatile use of water for agricultural,

domestic and industrial affairs can lead to

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Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at

http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 02 Issue 12

December 2016

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 130

deterioration in the quality of water that

affects the aquatic ecosystem and

accessibility of safe and potable water for

human consumption. Such environments are

complex media that necessitate wise use to

guarantee sustainability of the ecosystem

during the coming years. Furthermore, the

management of aquatic ecosystems

necessitates an understanding of the way in

which anthropogenic elements can alter the

interplay between the physicochemical

features of the environment and biological

processes of the living organisms. This

interplay is the force that synergies the

aquatic communities and energizes the

ecosystem functioning, a general term

involving the constituent elements such as

mineral nutrients, water, and carbon, and

rates of processes, which comprise inflows

of energy and matter between the successive

trophic levels and environment.

Water represents an important route of

transmission for human infections

(Karanis and Smith, 2007; Yang et al.,

2012; El-Kowranya et al., 2016).

Coliforms are not only one type of bacteria,

but a broad class of bacteria established in

the environment as an anthropogenic

pollutant (Cabral, 2010). The abundance of

coliform bacteria in water may point to a

likely presence of risky organisms. They

are pervasive in nature, however many

strains are nontoxic or painless. Thus, it is

not pivotal that coliform bacteria will give

rise to an ailment. Total coliforms are

regarded as the standard whereby microbial

pathogen pollution is weighted. Coliforms

serve as important bioindicators of the

possible occurrence of a disease (Pandey et

al., 2014). Moreover, two protozoan

microorganisms, namely Giardia

andCryptosporidium are considered among

the most important causes of waterborne

epidemics all over the world (Antonios et

al., 2001; Hashimoto et al., 2002: Karanis

et al., 2006; Chuah et al., 2016).

Heavy metals are abundant in rocks, soil,

and inflowing the biogeochemical cycle.

Anthropogenic discharges of the heavy

metals, comprising industrial effluents,

indoor discharges, metropolitan or urban

storm, landfill leachate, water runoff or

overland flow, and deposition of sewage can

bring about higher levels of annoying metals

(Zarazua et al., 2006; Cicchella et al.,

2008; Wu et al., 2011). Heavy metals

joining the aquatic ecosystems are ultimately

dumped into particulate substance that may

act as a potential source of contamination for

an extended period of time (Luo et al.,

2010). Metals are simply engrossed by the

aquatic organisms because they promptly

blend in water. It is worth noting that low

levels can be toxic as metals experience

bioconcentration (intake and retention),

indicating that their level in the living

organism is higher than in the water body.

According to UNEP GEMS/WP (2006),

metal toxicity creates adverse biological

impacts on the activity, metabolism, growth,

survival, or reproduction of the organism.

Over the last decades, organochlorine and

organophosphate pesticides have been used

to control agricultural pests. According to

Chen et al. (2011) and Foster et al. (2011),

these pesticides accumulate in the

environment due to their endurance and

lipophilic characters.

Page 3 of 31

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at

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e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 02 Issue 12

December 2016

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 131

Recently, there has been growing ecological

and cosmopolitan communal health fears

affiliated with growing water pollution by

the heavy metals and/or pesticides. Also,

human exposure has increased intensely

because of the ever growing rise of their

versatile application in the modern life.

Pollution is highly outstanding in the point

source of heavy metals, for example mining,

casting metals and smelters, and other metal

industrial processes (Bradl, 2002; He et al.,

2005). Omar Bek Drain travels about 8.75

Km through Gharbia governorate before it

delivers its load in the Damietta Branch of

the River Nile, southern Dakahlia

governorate. The drain waters 43 thousand

acres and accumulates thousands of tons of

hazardous chemical waste discharged from

leather tanning factories, textile industries as

well as thousands of tons of agricultural

drainage, garbage and domestic waste. This

environmental disaster threatens

approximately 15 million Egyptian in

Gharbia, Dakahlia and Damietta

governorates, which consume water and feed

on cultivated crops irrigated by polluted

water of Omar Bek Drain.

Though the socioeconomic, environmental

and public health issues related to the poor

water quality in Omar Bek Drain, little

attention was paid to monitor and address

the pollution problem of this dull

drain(Zaghloul and Elwan, 2011; Ezzat

and Elkorashey, 2012; Mostafa et al.,

2016). This undesirable waterway, which is

illegally used to irrigate about 43000 acres

of agricultural lands in Gharbia governorate

and hits the Damietta Branch of the River

Nile, must be monitored at regular intervals

in to urge the society and its institutions to

adopt this thorny issue and update the

information to the decision-maker. The

present study aimed to evaluate the

hydrological features of Omar Bek Drain in

the Nile Delta, Egypt. This evaluation

involves physicochemical parameters, heavy

metal and pesticides analysis, and

bacteriological analysis. Moreover, the study

was extended to assess the percentage of the

total organic organ (TOC) in the gills that

display great communication with the

ambient water, and muscles that represent

the most edible part of the African

sharptooth catfish, Clarias gariepinus, the

most abundant and the greatest tolerant

species of the deteriorating water streams.

Materials and Methods

The investigated area is located in the Nile

Delta, Egypt. It comprises Omar Bek Drain

and interconnected portion in the Damietta

Branch of the River Nile (Figures 1A, 1B

and 1E). Omar Bek Drain originates at the

connection point of three drains, namely

Samanoud Drain, El-Mahala El-Kobra

Drain and Gohar Drain (Figure 1C). The

drain terminates in Damietta Branch of the

River Nile at El-Nasria, Samnoud, Gharbia

Governorate, close to the southern border

of Dakahlia Governorate. It is fed along its

path (8.750 Km) by converging

agricultural, industrial and/or domestic

drainage canals from urban and suburban

areas (Figure 1A, 1B and 1C). The drain

drags huge amounts of dirty water and

discharges its load directly into the

Damietta Branch of the Nile River.

Four sampling localities are manifested on

the Google satellite maps of the