Spatial and time aspects of the analysis of pollutants in the river water and its sediments

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to determine whether there are the spatial and temporal changes in physico-chemical properties of water and concentrations of heavy metals in water and sediment of the River Ibar upstream and downstream of Kosovska Mitrovica and Kraljevo. The following physico-chemical parameters were determined: pH, electrical conductivity, suspended matter content, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total organic carbon, contents of nitrates, ammonium ion, total phosphorous, sulphates. Concentrations of heavy metals in water and sediment samples were determined using an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) using a SPECTRO AR COS instrument. The water of the Ibar River after flowing through Kraljevo shows a higher degree of pollution than in Kosovska Mitrovica. However, the water upstream and downstream of Kraljevo is of similar quality indicating that the pollution source is not located in Kraljevo, but along the river section between the two towns. This study has also proved that the water quality in Kraljevo did not significantly change during the period 2010-2016. The highest concentrations of nitrates, nitrites, ortophosphates and ammonium ion are found in colder months. During spring-summer change electrical conductivity, pH and concentration of sulphates has most prominent change in the analyzed Ibar River water in Kraljevo.

Keywords

• inorganic pollutants
• river water
• urban pollution
• environment