Geografie 2021, 126, 55-73
Statistical analysis of water quality parameters in the basin of the Nišava River (Serbia) in the period 2009–2018
, Mila Pavlović2, Ivan Filipović1, Aleksandar Radivojević1, Nataša Martić Bursać1, Milena Gocić1
1University of Niš, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, Department of geography, Niš, Serbia
2University of Belgrade, Faculty of Geography, Serbia
Received July 2020
Accepted January 2021
This paper analyzes water quality from four hydrological stations in the Nišava river basin from 2009–2018 based on the following parameters: pH, conductivity, O2 saturation, BOD5, suspended solids, total oxidized nitrogen, phosphates, turbidity and coliform bacteria. Authors have applied WQI (water quality index) as the most reliable indicator of the watercourses pollution for setting of surface water flow quality. Statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) using t-test inferential statistical analysis and post-hoc Tukey test were applied to evaluate statistically significant differences between specific data groups. The results show that bad water quality was registered on all the profiles on an annual basis (WQI = 65–71). The river water pH decreases downstream, while values of BOD5, suspended solids, turbidity, TON, phosphates and coliform bacteria gradually increase. The waters of the Nišava at the station Niš belong to the third class of waters and they are mostly loaded with organic matter originating from waste sewage and industrial waters of both urban and rural areas.
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Funding
The paper shows the results obtained within the Project No. 176008, financed by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia. The authors would like to acknowledge financial support from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia (Agreement No 451-03-68/2020-14-200124).
