Sewage pollution: genotoxicity assessment and phytoremediation of nutrients excess with Hydrocotyle ranunculoides

MAGDALENO A.,; FAGGI A; BASILICO G; MORETTON J; PAZ M; DE CABO L

ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2017

0167-6369

Abstract The discharge of sewage effluents intolow-order streams has negative effects on water quality.Macrophytes can be efficient in the treatment of thiswastewater due to the removal of the main pollutants.The genotoxicity of sewage-polluted water discharginginto La Choza stream was evaluated by testing withAllium cepa. Also, a phytoremediation assay with continuousrecirculation of the residual water was conductedfor 12 days. Three treatments were carried out. Onetreatment (Hr) was performed with a macrophyte(Hydrocotyle ranunculoides), and two treatments wereconducted without macrophytes: with lighting (Ai) andwithout lighting (Ao). The wastewater was toxic accordingto all the evaluated indexes (mitotic index, frequencyof chromosomal aberrations and micronucleus). Highconcentrations of ammonium, dissolved inorganic nitrogen(DIN), total (TP) and soluble reactive phosphorous(SRP) and indicators of faecal contamination weredetermined in the wastewater. The ammonium, DIN,SRP and TP loads at the end of the assay were significantlylower in the treatments with light (Hr and Ai). So,the nutrient removal was due to their absorption andadsorption by the periphyton and H. ranunculoides. Ourresults lead us to recommend the maintenance andplanting of macrophytes in lowland streams subject tosewage pollution.