The use of microbiological monitoring to assess the impact of the anthropogenic influence on the ecosystem of Lake Baikal

Abstract

We present the data on the assessment of the hygiene microbiological state in the water area of Lake Baikal and the estuaries of its tributaries in 2016, 2017 and 2018 based on the standards adopted in the Russian Federation. Deep Baikal water, in general, meets the standards applied to assess the water to be used as drinking water supply. Monitoring of the surface layer has shown the most favourable quality of the water from the pelagic zone of the lake in 2017 with the minimum abundance and occurrence of hygiene indicator bacteria. The pelagic water meets the standards adopted in the Russian Federation for surface waters. Assessment of water quality has identified the maximum number of the opportunistic bacteria at the estuaries of the Baikal rivers. The non-standard samples are from the estuaries of the rivers Snezhnaya, Goloustnaya, Buguldeika, Anga, Kuchulga, Sarma, Turka, Barguzin, and Kichera. In 2018, the Snezhnaya River had the greatest anthropogenic load. Monitoring the Angara source by hygiene bacteriological characteristics showed maximum values in July and August 2019 for all groups of microorganisms.