Sediment State and Flow – An Investigation of Sediment Pollution and Transport in the Bîc River, Republic of Moldova. : A Minor Field Study.

Abstract: The Bîc River in the Republic of Moldova is a heavily polluted water body. Along the river stretch, from a small creek in Sipoteni close to the river mouth at Gura Bîcului, sediment samples were taken using a very cost-effective method and analyzed for a number of pollutants. The results showed very high levels of petroleum products in and downstream of the city of Chişinău, situated in the middle of the river basin, ex-ceeding even the guideline value for cleanup of industrial land. Concentrations of heavy metals were detected at all sample points, exceeding the Lowest Effect Level (LEL) in 37 out of 48 samples and the Probable Effect Level (PEL) in four of them. High concentrations of nutrients (N and P) were detected, especially outside of the city, where concentrations exceeded even the Severe Effect Level (SEL) for both N and P at one site. DDT concentrations were highest at the beginning of the river, the concentrations becoming lower and lower when getting closer to the river mouth. At three of the six sampling sites, DDT concentrations exceeded the LEL. PCB levels were lower than the LEL. This was attributed to unsuitable handling of the samples before analysis and therefore the PCB concentration levels requires further investiga-tion. The continued monitoring of the sediments is of great need, therefore a proposal for a monitoring program was written. It was estimated that Bîc contributes 118000 tons of suspended particles to Dniester each year, almost 60 % more per km2 than Dniester contributes to the Black Sea.