Identification of Pollution Level of Coastal Waters in the Lagoons of Narta and Oricum, Through the Phisical-Chemical and Bacteriological Indicators

Assoc. Prof. Muharrem Shehu, Assoc. Prof. Lauresha Shabani University “I. Qemali” Vlore,

Abstract This research represents data about Narta and Oricum lagoon. Narta lagoon is situated in the south side of Vjosa river overflowing in Adriatik sea and Oricum lagoon is the next one,situated in the south side of Vlora bay.They represent very important habitats because of their turistical value and the use of them for fishing.Therefore it is important toknow the quality of coastal waters in order to ensure if they are safe to bathe,otherwise to evaluate the level of pollution: The microbiological examination of water samples is made to determinante the total charge of aerob mesofilic bacteria and the quantity of thermo-tolerant coliforms as indicator of fecal pollution.This analyse is made by the multiple-tube fermentation method and the results are evaluatet as most probable number (MPN).As well as these characteristics the article contains data about the physic-chemical parameters of these waters such as ,pH and temperature values, the electric conduction, the content of some main inorganic ions,the quantity of oxygen soluble ect.The samples for analyses are collected fromfour stations by each lagoon in the months of autumn, and spring-summer season.According these data there are areas in these habitats where the pollution is evident.We think that the state and bad management of urban wasterwater system is the main cause of environment pollution.

Key words: lagoon, coastal water, pollution, coliforms bacteria, physical-chemical parameters.

INTRODUCTION The district of Vlora, one of the largest in Albania, is situated in the North-West coast of the country. The city of Vlora covers an area of 29.5 sq km, stretching 19 km in length (North-South) and 16 km in width (East-West). Its altitude is 6 metres above sea level, and the mean temperature 9-10ºC. Geologically, it is a combination of sinclines and anticlines, whereas from the physic-geographic viewpoint, the District of Vlora is situated in the Southern Mountainous Region. The relief, in most parts of the region, consists of limestone formations. THE The Lagoon of Narta is situated in the area of Vlore- Narta Myzeqe, south ot the Vjosa delta, from the mouth of the River Vjosa to the cape of Triport. It is dominated by an alluvial plain lying along the low sandy beach. The area, larger than the lagoon itself, is a complex of different types of natural environments, ranging from the sand dunes close to the mouth of the River Vjosa and the Mediterranean pines woods (Pishporo, Vlora), to ancient riverbeds and small shallows along the shore, from the saltpits and salty wastelands to the arable lands east of the area. The lagoon water covers an area of 42 sq km, of which 14 sq km is used by the saltpits of Skrofotina. Its depth varies between 0.70 m and 1.50 m. The lagoon is connected to the sea through two artificial cannals, the north and south ones. Owing to a low level of interchange between the lagoon water and the , the small depth, and high level of evaporation, the total area of the lagoon dimineshes to 30% during the dry season. The Lagoon of Narta is one of the lagoons in Albania which is undergoing rapid degradation mainly because of the very low amount of salt and/or fresh water. Hence, the

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lagoon is subject to frequent dystrophy crises. The most common types of macro-zoobento (living things at a general level) are the edule Cardium bivalves and crustaceans such as crabs. The ictio-fauna is highly varied, sheltering an interesting avi-faune, particularly during the winter. The woods in this area were only planted about 30-40 years ago. The dominant types are the common pine and white pine, whereas the lower level of the woods consists of evergreen shrubs. Weeds are very little represented. Spiky vegetation is present along the north and north-east shores of the lagoon, as well as the boundary to the mouth of the river Viosa. During the summer the area covers in spiky vegetation and evergreen shrubs. The sand dunes of the are are typical of the Adriatic coast dunes. At times they reach the hight of 4-5 metres and are dominated by the sand amophyla, which shape this vegetation. The Lagoon of Narta has today a high degree of athrophy. The amount of oxygen in the water falls greatly during the summer, which causes a rapid athrophying of the lagoon. If the level of communication with the sea or the fresh waters remains low, then the dystrophy crises will become more frequent in the future. The sewage disposal into the south-eastern part of the lagoon is another source of organic pollution. Seaweed mixes (Ruppietum circhosae, Zosteretum noltii) cover considerable areas of the lagoon bottom. The main species, making up the so-called underwater pastures of the Lagoon of Narta, are Zostera noltii dhe Ruppia cirrhosa, which cover up to 30-40% of the muddy lagoon bed. Both of these species, alongside with the echological groups of accompanying species (mainly algea), represent one of the most important bio-cenoses for the Lagoon of Narta.

THE LAGOON OF ORICUM The Lagoon of Oricum occupies the lower part of a gradual inclination lowland situated in the region of Vlora, between the Harbour of Pasha Liman (west) and the Municipality of Oricum (east). It covers an area of 130 ha, whereas the sorrounding lowlands of Dukat cover about 1,000 ha. The area consists of solid sedimentary deposits from the Dukat torrent. The lagoon has a maximum depth of 3 m and is connected to the sea solely by a 50m-long cannal. It is protected by a dam running NE-SW, and a pumping station prevents the fresh waters from pouring into it. South-east of the lagoon is a drained ex- swamp, now a rich sedimentary plot of land. On account of the low level of exchange between its fresh water and the seawater, as well as the deviation of the torrent that used to pour into it (15 years ago), the whole echosystem has suffered severe changes relating the water regime. The original forest of the muddy field has almost disappeared. Habitats typical of saltwater have replaced the previus types of habitats and vegetation of fresh water-and-saltwater. The lagoon is rich in Cladophora sp. and fytoplanctons, consisting mainly of diatomes (Chaetoceros, Cyclotella, etc.) and peridines molluscs (Prorocentrum). Deep water living things include crabs (Carcinus aestuarii), molluscs (Cerithium vulgatum), (Murex trunculus), (Muricopsis inermis), (Bulla striata), (Venerupis pullastra), and shellfish (Cardium edule), (C. glaucum). A tendency of a persistent growth of the crab population has been perceived in the past few years in the lagoon, which, together with the change in the community of the algea, can be interpreted as an indication of a displacement of the whole ecosystem towards atrophying. Cane proliferates along the west side of the lagoon. This kind of habitat is helped by the freh water pouring from a few small springs, as well as an irrigation cannal at this part of the lagoon. Evergreen shrubs grow on its south- southwest boundaries. The bay is very convenient for migrating birds. Fishing and fish farming in the lagoon are not very important. The previous biological values of this area have diminished drastically on account of the construction of irrigation works.

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RESEARCH OUTCOMES The lagoon waters have been monitored in compliance with chemical-biological monitoring schemes, analysing a considerable number of specimens at fixed stations of specimen treating. The micro-organisms indicative of faecal pollution were determined in these specimens, as follows: a- faecal coliforms (CF); b- total coliforms (TF); c- other mesofylle bacteria. However, we think that the number of specimen treating stations for coastal waters should be bigger; because of the time at our disposal, the number of such stations in the study has not been as big as we think it could have been more appropriate. Specimens have been taken from four stations at the Lagoon of Narta, and three from the Lagoon of Oricum.

Narta 1: North-East; Narta 2: East, city sewage disposal; Narta 3: West; Narta 4: Village Zvernec

1. Diagram presentation of specimens

Specimen 1

Specimen 2

Specimen 3

Specimen 4

Orikum 1: Pasha Liman; Orikum 2: West, close to military base; Orikum 3: Sea-lagoon canal

2. Diagram presentation of specimen-taking spots at the Oricum Lagoon

Speciman 1 Speciman 3

Speciman 2

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Table1. Data on the physico-chemical parametres of specimens

Samples according to lagoon Comparative indicators Alkalinity Hardness Dissolved (g CaCO3/l) (mg equival/l) oxygen Alk Medium Total Alk.q Alk.pq FTotal F.q F. pq ( mg/l) Lagoon of Narta Sample 1 (code 1) Base 0,235 0,208 0,027 52,33 51,23 1,1 93.2 Sample 2 (code 2) Base 0,256 0,203 0,053 52,83 50,33 2,5 69.2 Sample 3 (code 3) Base 0,233 0,159 0,074 52,85 49,83 3,02 81.2 Sample 4 (code 4) Base 0,267 0,166 0,101 51,58 48,9 2,68 133.2 Lagoon of Oricum Sample 1 (code O1) Base 0,243 0,193 0,05 52,12 51,37 0,75 117.6 Sample 2 (code O2) Base 0,484 0,45 0,034 39,75 38,75 1,0 140.4 Sample 3 (code O3) Base 0,278 0,187 0,091 51 50,56 0,44 148.4

The locations where specimens one and two were taken have particularly high indicators. We think that this pollution is caused by both the pouring and filtering of urban sewage into the lagoon, and the canal of the saltpits water collector, which pour at the location where the first specimen was taken. Of course, the rate of pollution and the main pollutants have been presented in the microbiological part of the analyses.

Narta 1: North-East; Narta 2: East, city sewage disposal; Narta 3: West; Narta 4: Village Zvernec

7 6 5 4 MPA 3 (q/ml) 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 Stations

Fig. 1. Bacterial load per station in the Lagoon of Narta in the autumn

As the graph figures indicate, the total mesophyle bacteria load appears to be higher at Station No. 2 (East of Narta), which can be confirmed by the presence of coliforms. This is the place where one of the city collectors is disposed. Station No. 1, situated North-East of the lagoon, also shows a high presence of bacteria. The other two stations do not appear to be that polluted, their bacteria load being under 200 cells per ml. The total bacterial micro-flora, analysed through the in-the-field cultivation methods PCA, MPA, is mainly dominated by aerobic, big, beige bacteria that develop in surface colonies. There are also random colonies of anaerobic bacteria, yellow in colour and appearing like lenses inside.

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4.5 4 4 3.5 3 3 2.5 Stations Mc q/ml 2 2 1.5 1 1 0.5 0 1 2 3 4 0 200 400 600 800 Stations N

Fig 2. Total coliforms content Faecal coliforms load per station at Narta Lagoon per station at Narta Lagoon

Microbic analyses to determine the amount of total and faecal coliforms per each station at the waters of the Lagoon of Narta in the autumn show that Station No. 1 and Station No. 2 contain CT<200 and CF<200, expressed as MPN/100 ml, according to the method with fermenting pipes, in liquid medium (MPN/100 ml). Compared with the standard norms for this category of water at these stations, thus at the respective zones of the lagoon, it appears to be clean, and could be categorized as having very good qualities as concerns the faecal pollution level. Station No. 2 has the highest shows of total coliforms and faecal coliforms and, compared to standard norms, it is higher than the accepted norms (1000/100 ml). The total coliforms values per 100ml are lower than the maximal accepted value, whereas the faecal coliforms are less than the accepted minimum. Although a presence of total and faecal coliforms can be noticed, the microbiological quality of the water of this zone may be considered good.

Stations: Narta 1: North-East; Narta 2: East, city sewage disposal; Narta 3: West; Narta 4: Village Zvernec

10 9 8 7 6 MPA 5 4 (q/ml) 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 Stations

Fig. 3. Bacterial load per station in the Lagoon of Narta in the spring

Figures in the table and the graph indicate that the total bacteria load appears to be higher in the water samples of Station No. 2, east of the lagoon, which is considered as polluted for this category of waters. The higher rate of pollution at Station No. 2 is also confirmed by the presence of coliforms. This can be explained by the fact that one of the city sewage collectors is disposed near this station.

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6 The water samples from the other two stations have a lower load, of the order 10 q/ml, which is considered acceptable for this category of superficial waters. The total bacterial micro-flora, analysed through the in-the-field cultivation methods PCA, MPA, is mainly dominated by aerobic, big, beige, yellow or orange bacteria that develop in surface colonies. + The beige colonies are represented by Bacillus G sporogenes. These data are confirmed by microscope observation of steady preparations, prepared from the respective colonies, and coloured according to Gramm. A considerable part are superficial colonies, yellow in colour, represented by + Coccus G , and belonging to genotypes Micrococcus and Staphilococcus. − Other small, orange, aerobic colonies are represented by non-sporogenous Bacillus G . Based on pheno-typical data, we believe that these belong to psychrophyllus bacteria of the Pseudomonas and Flavobacterium genotypes.

.

1400 2.5 1200 MPN/ 2 100 1000 MC ml 800 q/ml 1.5 600 Total coliforms 1 Total coliforms Faecal coliformst Faecal coliforms 400 0.5 200 0 0 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Stations Stations

Fig. 4. Total and faecal bacteria per Total and faecal coliform bacteria per station station at Narta (MPN/100 ml) at the Lagoon of Narta

Microbiologic analyses for a quantitative determination of total coliforms and faecal coliforms per each station at the waters of the Lagoon of Narta during the same season show that Station No. 1 and Station No. 3 contain CT<200 per 100ml and CF<200 per 100ml, according to the method with fermenting pipes, where the outcome is expressed as a value of MPN/100 ml. Compared with the standard norms for this category, the water from the mentioned stations, i.e. from these zones of the lagoon, appears to be clean, and could be categorized as having very good qualities as concerns the faecal pollution level. Station No. 2 has the highest shows of total coliforms and faecal coliforms and, compared to standard norms, it is higher than the minimal accepted norms (200-400/100 ml). By contrast, Station No. 4 has a higher load than Stations 1 and 2. The value per 100ml of the total coliforms is higher than the minimal accepted norms, whereas the faecal coliforms are within the accepted maximal limit, but yet very high. .

3 2.5 2 Myqet 1.5 q/ml 1 0.5 0 1 2 3 4 Stations

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Fig. 5. Mould content of water per station at the Lagoon of Narta

Mould spores content in these waters is generally very low. In stations 1 and 2 they are found at a rate of 102 spores/ml. The main dominants are moulds of class Ficomycetes.

10 8 6 MPA q/ml 4 autumn spring 2 0 1 2 3 4 Stations

Fig. 6. Comparison of bacterial load at the Lagoon of Narta in the autumn and the spring

THE LAGOON OF ORICUM

The analysed microbiologic quality indicators: - Total bacterial microflora: aerobic mesophyllus; - Sanitary indicator: total coliforms (CT) and thermo-tolerant coliforms (CF), including E.col, have been determined; - Moulds microflora, which has proved negative in all cases, which is why they have not been presented in the test results.

Bacteriological analyses of the Oricum Lagoon water in the spring (May)

Fig. 7. Mc.Conkey Colyform colonies in-field, White mucous colonies PCA in-field, where moulds develop as well in the Lagoon of Oricum

Oricum 1: Pasha Liman; Oricum 2: West, close to military base; Oricum 3: Sea-lagoon canal

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10.8 10.6 10.4 10.2 10 PCA 9.8 9.6 q/ml 9.4 9.2 9 1 2 3 Stations

Fig. 8. Bacterial load per station in the Lagoon of Oricum

As indicated by the graph data, the total mesophyllus bacteria load appears to be higher at Stations 1 and 2, close to the military instruction center and west side of the lagoon respectively. The pollution is considered high for this category of waters. It can be noticed that these parameters are of higher values as compared with the Narta Lagoon waters. Perhaps, the high temperature at the season when samples were taken, favours the development of the micro-organisms. The bacterial microflora, analysed through the method of in-field cultivation PCA, is dominated by + white colonies, with full mucous sides, represented by non-sporogenous Bacilli G , belonging to genotype Brevibacterium. − Beige colonies are also in considerable amounts, represented by aerobic Bacilli G , of the Pseudomonas genotype. The data are confirmed by the observation of microscopic steady preparations, prepared from the respective colonies, and coloured according to Gramm.

Coliforms content in the Lagoon of Oricum in the spring (May)

MPN/100 ml

1600 1400 1200 3 1000 800 Stations Total coliforms 2 Faecal coliforms 600 Faecal coliforms Total coliforms 400 1 200 0 1 2 3 0 2 4 68 Stations MPN /100 ml

Fig. 9. Total and faecal bacteria per Total and faecal colyform bacteria per station station at Oricum at Oricum

Microbiologic analyses for a quantitative determination of total coliforms and faecal coliforms per each station in the waters of the Lagoon of Oricum in the spring, show that Station No. 2 has a higher rate of pollution with total and faecal coliformsl. Compared with the standard norms for this category, the water from the mentioned stations appears to be polluted, as conserns faecal and total pollution. Total coliforms are present in values higher than the accepted norms (10.000 cells/ 100ml water). Whereas faecal coliforms appear to be higher than the maximal accepted value in Station No. 2, in Station 1 their presence is greater than the minimal accepted value, and in Station 3 it is smaller than the minimal accepted values, having been assessed through both methods of cultivation. Thus, it can be stated that the water at the mentioned station appears to have no faecal pollution related to CF, or the presence of pathogenic micro-organisms.

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CONCLUSIONS 1- Microbiologic analyses in the waters of the lagoons of Narta and Oricum indicate a high total bacterial load, as well as a presence of coliforms in higher levels than the minimal norms of accepted standards for coastal waters.

2- In the lagoon of Narta, bacterial load in the spring, in all of the four stations that have been analysed, appears to be very high, at the order of 108-109, highest in stations 1 and 2. 3 6 However, in the autumn bacterial load is lower, of an order 10 −10 , the highest one being at Station No. 2. The difference can be explained with the different climatic conditions in either season. Station No. 2 has a higher level of pollution in both seasons, which is above the accepted norms.

3- Microbiologic analyses on the presence of total and faecal coliforms in the Lagoon of Narta water indicate faecal pollution at Stations No. 2 and No. 4, where the quantity of faecal coliforms is higher than the accepted minimal value. At Stations No. 1 and No. 3, faecal coliforms are in smaller amounts, which correspond to minimal levels of pollution. Thus, these waters fall into category A, (very good), whereas the other two stations fall into categories B and C (which are assessed as good and fair). In the autumn, the greatest faecal pollution is found in Station No. 2. At this time of the year, these waters could be categorized as C (fair). This is explained by the increase of urban waste disposal in this season.

4- In the lagoon of Oricum, the analysed specimens of spring indicate a great content of bacterial total load, at the order of 109cells/ml. The lowest level is at Station No. 3, as this one is at the canal that joins the lagoon with the sea. Station No. 2 is the most polluted. Compared to the Lagoon of Narta, these waters have a lower level of bacterial load, and they are thus within the accepted maximal boundary: it results to be cleaner than the Lagoon of Narta.

5- Microbiologic analyses of the total and faecal coliforms show a higher level of pollution at Station No. 2. the presence of faecal coliforms is greater than the accepted maximal value. These waters fall into category C (a fair quality), while the waters at Stations 1 and 3, relating faecal coliforms, can be classified as B (good) and A (very good) respectively.

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