TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on surface water quality in Ireland using advanced Irish water quality index (IEWQI) model
AU - Uddin, Md Galal
AU - Diganta, Mir Talas Mahammad
AU - Sajib, Abdul Majed
AU - Rahman, Azizur
AU - Nash, Stephen
AU - Dabrowski, Tomasz
AU - Ahmadian, Reza
AU - Hartnett, Michael
AU - Olbert, Agnieszka I
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors
PY - 2023/11/1
Y1 - 2023/11/1
N2 - The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted various aspects of life, including environmental conditions. Surface water quality (WQ) is one area affected by lockdowns imposed to control the virus's spread. Numerous recent studies have revealed the considerable impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on surface WQ. In response, this research aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on surface water quality in Ireland using an advanced WQ model. To achieve this goal, six years of water quality monitoring data from 2017 to 2022 were collected for nine water quality indicators in Cork Harbour, Ireland, before, during, and after the lockdowns. These indicators include pH, water temperature (TEMP), salinity (SAL), biological oxygen demand (BOD 5), dissolved oxygen (DOX), transparency (TRAN), and three nutrient enrichment indicators-dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), molybdate reactive phosphorus (MRP), and total oxidized nitrogen (TON). The results showed that the lockdown had a significant impact on various WQ indicators, particularly pH, TEMP, TON, and BOD 5. Over the study period, most indicators were within the permissible limit except for MRP, with the exception of during COVID-19. During the pandemic, TON and DIN decreased, while water transparency significantly improved. In contrast, after COVID-19, WQ at 7% of monitoring sites significantly deteriorated. Overall, WQ in Cork Harbour was categorized as "good," "fair," and "marginal" classes over the study period. Compared to temporal variation, WQ improved at 17% of monitoring sites during the lockdown period in Cork Harbour. However, no significant trend in WQ was observed. Furthermore, the study analyzed the advanced model's performance in assessing the impact of COVID-19 on WQ. The results indicate that the advanced WQ model could be an effective tool for monitoring and evaluating lockdowns' impact on surface water quality. The model can provide valuable information for decision-making and planning to protect aquatic ecosystems.
AB - The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted various aspects of life, including environmental conditions. Surface water quality (WQ) is one area affected by lockdowns imposed to control the virus's spread. Numerous recent studies have revealed the considerable impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on surface WQ. In response, this research aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on surface water quality in Ireland using an advanced WQ model. To achieve this goal, six years of water quality monitoring data from 2017 to 2022 were collected for nine water quality indicators in Cork Harbour, Ireland, before, during, and after the lockdowns. These indicators include pH, water temperature (TEMP), salinity (SAL), biological oxygen demand (BOD 5), dissolved oxygen (DOX), transparency (TRAN), and three nutrient enrichment indicators-dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), molybdate reactive phosphorus (MRP), and total oxidized nitrogen (TON). The results showed that the lockdown had a significant impact on various WQ indicators, particularly pH, TEMP, TON, and BOD 5. Over the study period, most indicators were within the permissible limit except for MRP, with the exception of during COVID-19. During the pandemic, TON and DIN decreased, while water transparency significantly improved. In contrast, after COVID-19, WQ at 7% of monitoring sites significantly deteriorated. Overall, WQ in Cork Harbour was categorized as "good," "fair," and "marginal" classes over the study period. Compared to temporal variation, WQ improved at 17% of monitoring sites during the lockdown period in Cork Harbour. However, no significant trend in WQ was observed. Furthermore, the study analyzed the advanced model's performance in assessing the impact of COVID-19 on WQ. The results indicate that the advanced WQ model could be an effective tool for monitoring and evaluating lockdowns' impact on surface water quality. The model can provide valuable information for decision-making and planning to protect aquatic ecosystems.
KW - COVID-19 impact
KW - Irish water quality index model
KW - Pollutant trend analysi
KW - Coastal waters
KW - Cork harbour
KW - Pollutant trend analysis
UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749123014586?dgcid=rss_sd_all
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85170572466&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85170572466&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122456
DO - 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122456
M3 - Article
C2 - 37673321
SN - 1873-6424
VL - 336
SP - 1
EP - 15
JO - Environmental Pollution
JF - Environmental Pollution
M1 - 122456
ER -
