El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Implication towards Crocodile River Water Quality in South Africa

Babalwa Gqomfa, Thabang Maphanga (), Takalani Terry Phungela, Benett Siyabonga Madonsela, Karabo Malakane and Stanley Lekata
Additional contact information
Babalwa Gqomfa: Department of Environmental and Occupational Studies, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Zonnebloem, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
Thabang Maphanga: Department of Environmental and Occupational Studies, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Zonnebloem, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
Takalani Terry Phungela: Department of Water and Sanitation, 35 Brown Street, Mbombela 1201, South Africa
Benett Siyabonga Madonsela: Department of Environmental and Occupational Studies, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Zonnebloem, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
Karabo Malakane: Department of Biodiversity, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Private Bag X1106, Sovenga 0727, South Africa
Stanley Lekata: Centre for Postgraduate Studies (CPGS), Faculty of Applied Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville South Industrial, Cape Town 7530, South Africa

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 14, 1-17

Abstract: This paper investigates the impact of ENSO on water quality by looking at COD, SS, and Escherichia coli along the Crocodile River. Water samples were collected between 2016 and 2021 at three strategic sites on the river and were tested in an accredited laboratory. Python (version 3.8), Spyder and Microsoft Excel 2019 were used to analyze the data. The highest COD concentration (800 mg/L) was recorded at the White River site during El Niño, followed by 600 mg/L during the normal period, and 240 mg/L during the La Niña period. In 2019 during La Niña and the normal period, the E. coli levels were centered in one place at 60 cfu/100 mL, while in 2021 no E. coli levels were detected from the La Niña, El Niño, and normal periods. The suspended solids in this study were more prevalent in the White River (upstream) during the El Niño period. These analyses demonstrate that it is possible to evaluate the local effects associated with large-scale climate variability.

Keywords: El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO); El Niño; La Niña; suspended solids; water quality; E. coli; Crocodile River (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/14/11125/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/14/11125/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:14:p:11125-:d:1195858

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().