SIX LOCALITIES along the Suez freshwater canal were studied.
……The characterization of water quality included physical,
biochemical and microbiological analyses. The obtained results
showed that the maximum turbidity was recorded at Abu Atwa station
(70 NTU), while maximum electrical conductivity (EC) were recorded
at two sites, Suez water station and Amir village (633 and 607
μS/cm). Results also indicated high level in the organic load
represented by an increase in the biological oxygen demand (BOD)
and chemical oxygen demand (COD) above the permissible levels at
Amir village and Abu Atwa sites, while slight increase in (COD) was
observed at Kobry El Saal and Sarabium water station. The total
viable bacterial count (TVB) ranged from 4.7× 102 to 20.2×102 cfu/ml,
which greatly exceeded the permissible levels also the fecal coliform
and fecal streptococci were detected in all investigated sites. The
isolation of actinomycetes from Suez fresh water canal sediments by
enrichment culture technique resulted in two isolates (N1 and N2)
using DDT enrichment technique. The isolate N2 showed weak results
in biodegradation of selected hydrocarbons, while N1 showed much
more activity, so its identification was confirmed by phylogenic
analyses and selected for further investigation. Conclusion, the water
characteristics demonstrated water quality deterioration especially in
the Amir village which may be due to industrial and domestic
wastewater from human and agriculture activities.