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The Quality of Water Resources in Dalmatia

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to monitor and record the specific characteristics and properties of most of the important water resources in Dalmatia located in Southern Croatia for a period of 5 years (1998–2002) according to established standards for drinking water. The paper presents a detailed account of their chemical content, the classification and the concentration of salts. The bacteriological pollution levels are indicated by the total coliform bacterial levels (MPN coli/100 mL). The water characteristics are expressed by coefficients, which represent the ratios between water ingredients. The Ca/Mg eq ratio, SO4/Cl eq ratio and K1, K2 for bicarbonate hardness were calculated. The hygienic characteristics of the water samples were expressed by the total coliform bacteria estimation (MPN coli/100 mL), the permanganate consumption (KMnO4) and biological oxygen demand (BOD5). Karst waters in Dalmatia are moderately hard, the SO4/Cl ratio is 0.38–1.6, non-corrosive (K1 lower than 0.2) and not significantly mineralised (< 500 mg/L minerals). Sulphate waters are generally hard, the SO4/Cl ratio is higher than 1.6, K1 is 0.2–0.65. Marine waters are quite hard or hard, particularly at the river estuaries, the SO4/Cl ratio is lower than 0.38, and K1 is higher than 0.65. The groundwater and springs in Dalmatia are less polluted than surface waters. A majority of these have a geometric average value of MPN coli < 150/100 mL of water observed in 24 of 42 locations studied. The highest bacteriological pollution was found in nine locations where MPN coli > 1000/100 mL and moderate pollution was found in nine locations where MPN coli is between 150 and 1000/100 mL of water. The physical and chemical parameters determined for the most sources in Dalmatia are safe below the international permissible limits.

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  1. Institute of Public Health Split, University of Split Medical School, Vukovarska 46, Split, Croatia

    Nives štambuk-Giljanović

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  1. Nives štambuk-Giljanović
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Correspondence to Nives štambuk-Giljanović.

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štambuk-Giljanović, N. The Quality of Water Resources in Dalmatia. Environ Monit Assess 104, 235–268 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-005-1614-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-005-1614-8

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