Physicochemical Characterization of the Ecological State of the Waters of the Ivorian Coast : Case of the City of Abidjan (Ivory Coast)
Population growth and the development of industrial and port activities along the entire coastline of the city of Abidjan are enormous sources of water pollution. This pollution undermines the quality of these waters by creating ecological conditions that are inadequate for normal aquatic life. To combat this pollution, this study consisted of analyzing the ecological state of the waters of the Abidjan coastline with a view to identifying their ability or inability to promote biological balance within them. Temperature, pH, salinity, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, dissolved oxygen saturation, total dissolved solids, and redox potential were measured in situ using a multi-probe. -YSI 6920 V2 settings. Analyzes of nutrients (NH4+, NO3-, NO2-, PO43-) and suspended solids were carried out in the laboratory within 48 hours using standardized methods. The average values of temperature and pH of the waters of all the beaches studied are in the order of 27°C and 7 respectively. The high conductivity values (between 40,000 and 70,000 µS/cm) show that the waters of its beaches are highly mineralized. Dissolved oxygen content is generally greater than 4 mg/L. Nitrate and nitrite concentrations are optimal for aquatic life. As for ammonium concentrations, they are in good or average condition depending on the beaches. It therefore appears overall that the current ecological state of the waters of the coast of the city of Abidjan is not bad with the exception of orthophospahate which presents values in the poor and bad intervals on the basis of the physicochemical parameters.