Abstract
A 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) test has been used as the standard measurement of organic pollution in rivers worldwide. However, it may be argued that BOD is not a sufficient indicator of organic pollution when nitrogenous biochemical oxygen demand (NBOD) is present in water samples. In this study, BOD, NBOD, and carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD) of treated sewage effluent (TSE) were measured near at the discharge outlet of 3 sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Sakai, Itachi, and Kashio rivers in Central Japan. Additional measurements were conducted at one point upstream and two points downstream from the STP discharge points in the rivers. It was estimated that NBOD values in the TSE of Sakai River, Kashio River and Itachi River accounted for 54%, 69% and 18% of their BOD values, respectively. Respective \({\text{NH}}_4^ + \) and \({\text{NO}}_{\text{2}}^{\text{ - }} \) concentrations were positively correlated with those of NBOD values in Sakai, Itachi, and Kashio rivers. The BOD loads from the TSE were estimated to be 2.2, 5.7, and 1.2 times higher than the CBOD loads in the Sakai, Itachi, and Kashio rivers, respectively. The variation of the portion of NBOD values of each TSE, as well as the ratios of CBOD to BOD loads, was attributed to the difference in each STP system. Consequently, the \({\text{NH}}_4^ + \) and \({\text{NO}}_{\text{2}}^{\text{ - }} \) of TSE led to the increase of NBOD in the Sakai River basin.
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Kobori, H., Ham, YS. & Saito, T. Influence of treated sewage effluent on organic pollution assessment in the Sakai River basin in Central Japan. Environ Monit Assess 151, 243–249 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-008-0265-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-008-0265-y