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Use of multiple indicators to assess the pollution condition of urban streams: a case study of Bloemspruit, Free State Province, South Africa
Author(s) -
Belle Gladys,
Fossey Annabel,
Esterhuizen Leana
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
water and environment journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1747-6593
pISSN - 1747-6585
DOI - 10.1111/wej.12444
Subject(s) - invertebrate , pollution , sass , streams , environmental science , water quality , habitat , macro , ecology , sampling (signal processing) , water pollution , wastewater , bioindicator , water resource management , geography , environmental protection , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental engineering , biology , computer network , geotechnical engineering , filter (signal processing) , computer science , engineering , computer vision , programming language
The Bloemspruit in the Free State, South Africa, is being polluted by increasing anthropogenic activities alongside the stream. Water quality, macro‐invertebrate diversity and macro‐invertebrate habitats were studied to determine the extent of pollution. Pollution condition was quantified by calculating several indicators. The study revealed that Bloemspruit is highly polluted for the majority of the sampling sites. Two sites had fair water quality, while the water quality at the other sites was either marginal or poor. SASS 5 scores revealed that most macro‐invertebrate families present were pollution tolerant, indicating the poor state of the water. According to the modified IHAS (mIHAS) scores, macro‐invertebrate habitats at two sites were fair, seven adequate/fair and two poor. The relatively low values of the IHI scores confirm that the majority of the sites were affected by human activities. One site was classified as being largely modified because of the degrading effect of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) nearby.