Industrial surface water pollution in the region of Devnya, Bulgaria

The main purpose of this study is to establish the degree of contamination of the rivers and sources of pollution in the great industrial region of Devnya, situated near the Black Sea, so that appropriate technical means for water quality protection and restoration can be developed. A significant problem arises when untreated or partially treated alkaline industrial wastewater is discharged into the water bodies causing sediment formation in the system of the Devnya and Provadiiska rivers, Beloslavsko lake and Vanra-West port. All that leads to serious damages to water environment and enormous losses of human, material and financial resources because of the necessity to dredge the sediments that accumulate in the harbour. A lot of available information about the river water quality and flowrates as well as the industrial wastewater for the period 1948-1996 is gathered. Typical physico-chemical parameters for this industrial wastewater namely, suspended solids, dissolved solids, pH, calcium, chlorides, etc., and some biological and radiological characteristics are determined. The sources of pollution are identified and the degree of contamination is determined. An evaluation of the river water quality according to the standards is made and the trends of the rivers water pollution are shown. (C) 1998 IAWQ. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.