Assessment of Agriculture Drainage Water Quality to be Used for Fish Farm Irrigation

Water is the most important resource of a country, and of the entire society as a whole, since no life is possible without water. It has this unique position among other natural resources, like minerals, fuels, forests, livestock etc. because a country can survive in the absence of any other resources, except this one. El-Serw Fish Farm situated on the southern west shore of Lake Manzalah near El-Serw navigation canal about 200 km Northeast Cairo. Agriculture drainage water quality, heavy metals, inorganic anions and pesticides distributions in water, sediment and fish were assessed in El-Serw Fish Farm seasonally during 2007. The obtained results indicated that, the concentrations of the most chemical parameters increased in the Outlet and decreased at the Inlet. Heavy metal and inorganic anions varied significantly (P < 0.05) depending upon the type of fish and location within the farm. Also, the order of occurrence of heavy metals and inorganic anions in water were ranked in the following order: Fe > Mn > Zn > Pb > Cu > Cd, while those in, the sediment were: Fe > Mn > Zn > Cu > Pb > Cd. Rank fish muscles of the two studied species of heavy metals concentrations in (Tilapia zillii and Oreochromis niloticus) were found in the order: Fe > Mn > Zn > Pb > Cu > Cd. The relative order of abundance of these elements can be summarized as follows: sediment > fish > water. One chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides only were detected in one sediment sample. Data analysis indicated that, most the concentration levels of different determined parameters of the agricultural drainage water was found in the permissible limits for fish farms according to different standards. So, this water may be used as feeding source rearing fish. [Nature and Science 2010;8(8):60-74]. (ISSN: 1545-0740).