Microbiological indications of water pollution in the river Neluksa (Karelia)

The river Neluksa, which is referred to a class of small rivers, is located in the vicinity of Petrozavodsk (Karelia, Russia) and flows into Lake Onego. The water collection point is located close to the Neluksa dacha cooperatives and a city dump of solid wastes. The surface runoffs from this locations flow into the river. The eco-sanitary and sanitary-bacteriological conditions of the water in the river Neluksa (Karelia) were evaluated in September of 2014. A total number of bacteria: saprophytic bacteria, oligotrophic bacteria, coliform bacteria, hydrocarbon-oxidizing bacteria were used as microbiological indicators. The level of water pollution with organic matter coming from the city dump (Petrozavodsk) containing hard domestic wastes and dacha condominiums was established. Due to the natural dilution and self-purification processes ecological and sanitary conditions of the water in the lower reach of the river were rated as good. However, the sanitary-bacteriological situation was unfavorable in all examined points of the river during the study period and the number of sanitary-indicative microflora considerably exceeded the limits for that type of recreational waters.