Author(s)

M C Garrido-Pérez, A Acevedo-Merino, M D de la Cruz-Lázaro, N Garzón-Fernández, P Nebot-Sanz, J M Quiroga Alonso & S D Sales Márquez

Abstract

Study of the autodepuration potential of a tidal ecosystem affected by urban sewage M.C. Garrido-Perez, A. Acevedo-Merino, M.D. de la Cruz-Lazaro, N. Garzon-Fernandez, E. Nebot-Sanz, J.M. Quiroga Alonso & D. Sales-Marquez Dept. Chemical Engineering, Food Technologies, and Environmental Technologies. Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Cadiz Abstract This paper shows the results obtained in various studies undertaken in the years 1999 to 2001 in the Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences of University of Cadiz, in Spain. This work was carried out in the sensible ecosystem of the estuary of Iro River. This estuary is directly affected by an important urban sewage. Although the waste is treated in a treatment plant before the discharge, a high level of contamination by nutrients and pathogens are measured in the aquatic ecosystem. The aim of this work was to determine the natural dilution and depuration process of the aquatic system. 1 Introduction The Iro River is strongly affected by the tides at its mouth, in Sancti Petri Channel. The River is located to the east and south of the Bay of Cadiz, in the municipal jurisdiction of Chiclana de la Frontera (population - 60,000). The estuary crosses Chiclana and in the limit of the town, an important contamination source provided by the effluent from an urban wastewater treatment is localized. Iro River estuary is quite interesting to study from a social and ecological point of view because of some peculiarities: - As the river crosses Chiclana, it receives water from agricultural sources as well as the urban wastewater discharge.

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