Biological monitoring of pollution.
Abstract
A pilot scale study was carried out to develop a suitable tool for the community and local government to measure the water quality and biological condition of wetland areas, particularly those polluted industrial waste. Macroinvertebrate and water quality samples were collected on four occasions (February, May, October and December) from the Kaliakoir industrial area. The sites were distributed along Ratanpur Khal and Mokesh Beel from the main industrial area to the Turag River.
Results of study indicated that Ratanpur Khal is biologically dead at its upper reaches where it is fed almost entirely by factory effluent. In these areas very few macroinvertebrate families were found and water quality parameters showed high concentrations of almost all the pollutants analysed for. By contrast sites at the far end of the beel furthest from the factory outlets had much higher family diversity.
The correlation between low levels of pollutants and high species diversity suggests that macroinvertebrate sampling would be a suitable and simple option for monitoring the condition of water bodies that are polluted with industrial effluent. This tool could easily be adapted for use by both local government officials, the Department of Environment and local community members with very little educational background, technical knowledge and financial resources.
Citation
Final Research Report Section 5. 23 pp.
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