Assessment of risk to aquatic biota from elevated salinity—A case study from the Hunter River, Australia

Muschal, Monika

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2005.08.002

Cited by 32 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…) and even the limits established for human uses of water (2.5 mS cm -1 RD140/2003RD140/ , 2003 and what is considered as suitable for irrigation (1.5 mS cm -1 ; Mirza, 1998;Muschal, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of potash mining in streams: the Llobregat basin (northeast Spain) as a case study

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Potash mining is significantly increasing the salt concentration of rivers and streams due to lixiviates coming from the mine tailings. In the present study, we have focused on the middle Llobregat basin (northeast Spain), where an important potash mining activity exists from the beginning of the XX century. Up to 50 million tonnes of saline waste have been disposed in the area, mainly composed of sodium chloride. We assessed the ecological status of streams adjacent to the mines by studying different physicochemical and hydromorphological variables, as well as aquatic macroinvertebrates. We found extraordinary high values of salinity in the studied streams, reaching conductivities up to 132.4 mS/cm. Salt-polluted streams were characterized by a deterioration of the riparian vegetation and the fluvial habitat. Both macroinvertebrate richness and abundance decreased with increasing salinity. In the most polluted stream only two families of macroinvertebrates were found: Ephydridae and Ceratopogonidae. According to the biotic indices IBMWP and IMMi-T, none of the sites met the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD; i.e., good ecological status). Overall, we can conclude that potash-mining activities have the potential to cause severe ecological damage to their surrounding streams. This is mainly related to an inadequate management of the mine tailings, leading to highly saline runoff and percolates entering surface waters. Thus, we urge water managers and policy makers to take action to prevent, detect and remediate salt pollution of rivers and streams in potash mining areas.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of potash mining in streams: the Llobregat basin (northeast Spain) as a case study

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The peak values of TDS, EC, Cl -and SAR observed at site L23, which is located downstream Xai-Xai city are attributed to cumulative effect of the factors mentioned above, together with urban loads and impacts of mixing up of river water and seawater (ocean tides), which has high levels of dissolved ions (Muschal, 2005). WHO (2003) in the 23 sampled sites.…”

Section: Spatial and Temporal Variation Of Water Qualitymentioning

confidence: 94%

Design of a water quality monitoring network for the Limpopo River Basin in Mozambique

Chilundo

Kelderman

́keeffe

2008

Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The measurement of chemical, physical and biological parameters is important for the characterization of streams health. Thus, cost effective and targeted water quality (WQ) monitoring programmes are required for proper assessment, restoration and protection of such streams. This research proposes a WQ monitoring network for the Limpopo River Basin (LRB) in Mozambique located in Southern Africa, a region prone to severe droughts. In this Basin both anthropogenic and natural driven processes, exacerbated by the increase water demand by the four riparian countries (Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique) are responsible for the degradation of surface waters, impairing their downstream use either for aquatic ecosystem, drinking, industrial or irrigation. Hence, physic-chemical, biological and microbiological characteristics at 23 sites within the basin were studied in November-2006 and January-2007. The assessment of the final WQ condition at sampled points was done taking into account the Mozambican guidelines for receiving waters and the environmental WQ standards for effluent discharges together with the WHO guidelines for drinking WQ. The assessed data indicated that sites located at proximities to the border with upstream countries were contaminated with heavy metals. The Elephants subcatchment was found with a relatively better WQ whereas the Changane subcatchment together with the effluent point discharges were found polluted as indicated by the low dissolved oxygen and high total dissolved solids, electric conductivity, total hardness, sodium adsorption ratio and low benthic macroinvertebrates taxa. Significant differences (p<0.05) were found for some parameters when the concentrations recorded in November and January were tested, therefore indicating possible need for monthly monitoring of WQ. From this study it was concluded that a systematic WQ monitoring network composed of 16 stations would fit the conditions of the LRB. Ambient, earl warning, operational and effluents are the main monitoring types recommended. Additional research at a Basin scale was * Corresponding author. Tel.: +258824449340; Fax: +288221492176 e-mail: mchilundo@uem.mz 2 also recommended to identify the major sources, transport and impacts to the downstream ecosystem.

show abstract

“…The available data indicate that salinity above 1000 mg·l -1 [34,33] may have an adverse effect on aquatic biota. According to the aforementioned studies and the study by Stalmachová et al [46], water in the fl ooded mine subsidences is characterised by an increased content of chlorides and sulphates (caused by leaching of tailings -mining waste rock) and consequently the water salinity is above 1000 mg·l -1 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the Salinity Gradient on the Mollusc Fauna in Flooded Mine Subsidences (Karvina, Czech Republic)

Kašovská¹,

Pierzchała²,

Sierka³

et al. 2014

Archives of Environmental Protection

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper presents the impact of salinisation on the aquatic mollusc fauna in fl ooded mine subsidences in the Karvina region (Czech Republic). The results of the previous research on salinity in fl ooded mine subsidences show that some of them contain a high content of dissolved inorganic substances (above 1000 mg·l -1 ). These substances can affect the vegetation and animals occurring in the water and the surrounding area. The phylum of Mollusca was selected as a model group for the fi eldwork as it includes species with the proven bioindication potential.The occurrence of aquatic mollusc species was studied at 10 sites. The sites were selected based on the content of dissolved substances (the salinity gradient from <500 to >1000 mg·l -1 . A total of 12 aquatic mollusc species were found, including one species identifi ed as a potential bioindicator of the negative effect of salinisation on aquatic biota.The analysis showed statistically signifi cant positive correlations between the content of dissolved inorganic substances and the presence of alien species Potamopyrgus antipodarum (J.E. Gray, 1843). The gradient of salinity signifi cantly affects the species composition of the mollusc fauna in fl ooded mine subsidences and may affect the biodiversity of this group.

show abstract

Assessment of risk to aquatic biota from elevated salinity—A case study from the Hunter River, Australia

Cited by 32 publications

References 17 publications

Impact of potash mining in streams: the Llobregat basin (northeast Spain) as a case study

Impact of potash mining in streams: the Llobregat basin (northeast Spain) as a case study

Design of a water quality monitoring network for the Limpopo River Basin in Mozambique

Impact of the Salinity Gradient on the Mollusc Fauna in Flooded Mine Subsidences (Karvina, Czech Republic)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About