Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess the impact of urban and industrial areas on an urban river through a comprehensive analysis of water and sediments. Six different sites along the San Luis River, Argentina, were characterized by measuring 12 physical-chemical parameters and nine heavy metals according to standard protocols. Metal pollution in sediment samples was evaluated with several indices. Cluster analysis was applied to standardized experimental data in order to study spatial variability. As, Cu, Cr, Mn, Pb, and Zn were the main contributors to sediment pollution, and the industrial zone studied showed moderate enrichment of Co, Cu, and Zn, probably due to anthropogenic activities. Cluster analysis allowed the grouping of the sites: sediment samples were classified into two clusters according to the metal content; water samples were arranged into three groups according to organic matter content. The results were compared with sediment and water quality guidelines. They indicated progressive deterioration of water and sediment quality compared with the background area, mainly in the sites following the industrial park and domestic discharge areas. Moreover, the results showed that the analysis of both water and sediment should be considered to achieve a watershed contamination profile.
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Data Availability
All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Office of Scientific Writing Advice in English (GAECI) of the National University of San Luis for the English revision of this article. Castro, M.F. thanks CONICET for the awarded doctoral fellowship.
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This work was supported by financial aid of the National Agency for Scientific and Technological Promotion, Argentina (PICT 2013 N°. 3170 to Dr. Villegas).
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design of the work. Villegas Liliana and Almeida César: designed and supervised all the work. Castro María and Delfini Claudio: pre-sampled the river bed and were in charge of the selection and collection of the final sampling sites. Bazán Cristian: analyzed the heavy metal concentrations in water and sediment samples. Vidal Juan: characterized the texture of sediment samples. Castro María and Almeida César: carried out treatment of samples and physical-chemical tests. Castro María, Almeida César and Villegas Liliana: drafted and prepared the original draft. The final manuscript has been read, modified, and approved by all named authors.
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Castro, M.F., Almeida, C.A., Bazán, C. et al. Impact of anthropogenic activities on an urban river through a comprehensive analysis of water and sediments. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 37754–37767 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13349-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13349-z