Study of Water Pollutants in El-Mahmoudia Agricultural Irrigation Stream at El-Beheira Governorate, Egypt
Author(s): Eman Radwan, Ebrahim Eissa, Atef Mohamed Khedr Nassar, Yehia Salim, Hafsa Hashem, Karolin Abdul-Aziz, Nehal Abdel-Hakeem
Background: Diverse types of agricultural, domestic, industrial, and municipal pollutants are discarded in agricultural water streams. These contaminants affect water quality extensively, therefore, current study aimed to scrutinize types of water pollutants in El-Mahmoudia water canal during winter, spring, summer, and autumn seasons.
Materials and Methods: Organic pollutants and pesticide residues were analyzed using the gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Heavy metals were determined by the atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). Also, the physicochemical parameters of water samples were examined.
Results: Results showed that residues of DDD, DDE, and dieldrin insecticides were detected in all seasons, while chlorpyrifos-methyl residues were detected during the summer and autumn seasons only. Moreover, non-targeted metabolomic analysis revealed the presence of phthalates, amino and fatty acids, and plant secondary metabolites residues. In addition, significant deterioration of the physicochemical parameters and heavy metal contents were reported compared to the safety guidelines of the Egyptian Irrigation Ministry, WHO, and FAO organizations.
Conclusion: Current results found that agricultural and domestic pollutants were dominant in the water canal, which urge the need for more water treatment facilities to be established.