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Freshwater environmental quality parameters of man-made lakes of Serbia

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Abstract

In this study, 28 lakes were selected from the freshwater resources of the network of man-made lakes throughout the Vojvodina Province and the central part of Serbia. Samples were analyzed for the physicochemicals indicators of the water and nutrients. Most of the values of the chemicals indicators and nutrients of the samples from the Vojvodina Province exceeded the Water Act and Regulations on the Monitoring of Water Quality introduced by the Government of the Republic of Serbia (MWQ) and/or the World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water standards. These samples may not be suitable for human consumption. The sample from Lake Međuvršje, where the NH4 + concentration was 0.28 mg/L, and the sample from Ovcar Banja, where the total phosphorus (TP) content was 0.15 mg/L with a high total nitrogen (TN) content of 1.21 mg/L, are particularly noteworthy. These high concentrations exceeded the proposed guidelines for safe drinking water; therefore, water from these lakes should be used with care as harmful health effects may occur. The majority of the Serbian lakes are characterized by phosphorus-limited photosynthesis.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia, Grant Nos. 172001 and 43007. The authors are grateful to the Republic Hydrometerological Service of Serbia, Belgrade, for providing the samples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, ICTM, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 12-16, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia

    Gordana Devic, Dragana Đorđevic & Sanja Sakan

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  1. Gordana Devic
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  2. Dragana Đorđevic
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  3. Sanja Sakan
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Correspondence to Gordana Devic.

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Devic, G., Đorđevic, D. & Sakan, S. Freshwater environmental quality parameters of man-made lakes of Serbia. Environ Monit Assess 186, 5221–5234 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-014-3771-0

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