water Article Analysis of the Water Quality of the Ishim River within the Akmola Region (Kazakhstan) Using Hydrochemical Indicators Natalya S. Salikova 1 , Javier Rodrigo-Ilarri 2,* , Kulyash K. Alimova 3 and María-Elena Rodrigo-Clavero 2 1 Department of Ecology, Life Safety and Environmental Protection, Abay Myrzakhmetov Kokshetau University, Kokshetau 020000, Kazakhstan;
[email protected] 2 Instituto de Ingeniería del Agua y del Medio Ambiente (IIAMA), Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), 46022 Valencia, Spain;
[email protected] 3 Department of Engineering Systems and Networks, K.I. Satbayev National Research Technical University, Almaty 050013, Kazakhstan;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract: For the first time in scientific literature, this work addresses the current situation of the Ishim River water quality in the Akmola Region (Northern Kazakhstan). This work uses environ- mental monitoring techniques to analyze the current state of surface waters in the river. The content of main ions, biogenic and inorganic ions, heavy metals, organic impurities in seasonal and annual dynamics have been studied. Results show that, despite the tightening of requirements for wastew- ater discharge into the Ishim River basin, a number of water quality indicators did not fulfill the regulatory requirements for surface water bodies during 2013–2019. It has been identified that the greatest pollution in the Ishim River is brought by enterprises of the Karaganda-Temirtau techno- genic region, located in the upper reaches of the river. Future water quality monitoring is needed and should include increasing the number of sampling locations and the sampling frequency in Citation: Salikova, N.S.; order to characterize the spatial and temporal variability of hydrochemical parameters and allow a Rodrigo-Ilarri, J.; Alimova, K.K.; Rodrigo-Clavero, M.-E.