Reducing Monitoring Costs in Industrially Contaminated Rivers: Cluster and Regression Analysis Approach

Abstract

Monitoring contamination in river water is an expensive procedure, particularly for developing countries where pollution is a significant problem. This study was conducted to provide a pollution monitoring strategy that reduces the cost of laboratory analysis. The new monitoring strategy was designed as a result of cluster and regression analysis on field data collected from an industrially influenced river. Pollution sources in the study site were coal mining, metallurgy, chemical industry, and metropolitan sewage. This river resembles those in other areas of the world, including developing countries where environmental monitoring is financially constrained. Data were collected on variability of contaminant concentrations during four seasons at the same points on tributaries of the river. The variables described in the study are pH, electrical conductivity, inorganic ions, trace elements, and selected organic pollutants. These variables were divided into groups using cluster analysis. These groups were then tested using regression models to identify how the behavior of one variable changes in relation to another. It was found that up to 86.8% of variability of one parameter could be determined by another in the dataset. We adopted 60, 65, and 70% determination levels () for accepting a regression model. As a result, monitoring could be reduced by 15 (60% level) and 10 variables (65 and 70%) out of 43, which comprises 35 and 23% of the monitored variable total. Cost reduction would be most effective if trace elements or organic pollutants were excluded from monitoring because these are the constituents most expensive to analyze.

Surfactants in Klodnica River (Katowice, Poland). Part I. Linear Alkylbenzene Sulphonates (LAS)

“…Moreover, it has been established on the basis of long-term research that the Klodnica is highly polluted throughout its nearly whole length due to the emission of various chemical compounds with treated effluents or their discharge without previous treatment. The above aspects confirm the possibility of pollution of the Klodnica's ecosystem with surfactants and comprehensive research in this area is justified [17,18].…”

Surfactants in Klodnica River (Katowice, Poland). Part II. Quaternary Ammonium Compounds

“…In the Upper Silesian Industrial Region there exist such manifestations of human activity as: hard coal deep mining; iron and steel industry; power plants and combined heat and power (CHP) plants; automotive industry, chemical industry (manufacture of detergents, etc. ); direct discharge of municipal wastewater into the river; air, land and water transport [15,16].…”

“…On certain stages of circulation in the environment rainwater is enriched with different chemical compounds (e.g. organic compounds, heavy metals) and high quantities of suspension that may be directed to surface water [15,16].…”

Multi-Faceted Environmental Analysis to Improve the Quality of Anthropogenic Water Reservoirs (Paprocany Reservoir Case Study)

“…Due to the great significance of the quality of water and water-dependent ecosystems, this issue is the subject of many reports indicating various examples of actions in this area [22]. There are also many methodological tools designed for efficient assessment of water quality [23][24][25][26][27] and the application of this assessment for the systems of aquatic environment management. The assessment of the possibilities to improve the quality of reservoir water resources is an inseparable element of commonly used procedures for water resource management, such as Integrated Lake Basin Management (ILBM) or Drivers, Pressures, State, Impact, and Response (DPSIR)-a method adapted by the European Environment Agency for procedures of water resources management [15,16,28,29].…”