Changes in the water quality conditions of Kuwait's marine waters: Long term impacts of nutrient enrichment.
This work analyses a 30 year water quality data set collated from chemical analyses of Kuwait's marine waters. Spatial patterns across six sites in Kuwait Bay and seven sites located in the Arabian Gulf are explored and discussed in terms of the changing influences associated with point and diffuse sources. Statistical modelling demonstrated significant increases for dissolved nutrients over the time period. Kuwait marine waters have been subject to inputs from urban development, untreated sewage discharges and decreasing river flow from the Shatt al-Arab River. Chlorophyll biomass showed a small but significant reduction; the high sewage content of the coastal waters from sewage discharges likely favouring the presence of smaller phytoplankton taxa. This detailed assessment of temporal data of the impacts of sewage inputs into Kuwait's coastal waters establishes an important baseline permitting future assessments to be made as sewage is upgraded, and the river continues to be extracted upstream.
James Cook University, Catchment Reef Research Group, TropWater, Townsville, Qld 4811, Australia. Electronic address: michelle.devlin@jcu.edu.au.
M J
MJ
Devlin
Kuwait Environment Public Authority, P.O. Box 24395, Safat 13104, Kuwait.
M S
MS
Massoud
Kuwait Environment Public Authority, P.O. Box 24395, Safat 13104, Kuwait.
S A
SA
Hamid
Kuwait Environment Public Authority, P.O. Box 24395, Safat 13104, Kuwait.
A
A
Al-Zaidan
Kuwait Environment Public Authority, P.O. Box 24395, Safat 13104, Kuwait.
H
H
Al-Sarawi
Kuwait Environment Public Authority, P.O. Box 24395, Safat 13104, Kuwait.
M
M
Al-Enezi
Kuwait Environment Public Authority, P.O. Box 24395, Safat 13104, Kuwait.
L
L
Al-Ghofran
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Lowestoft Laboratory, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR33 0HT, United Kingdom.
A J
AJ
Smith
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Lowestoft Laboratory, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR33 0HT, United Kingdom.
J
J
Barry
Cefas Weymouth Laboratory, Barrack Road, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 8UB, United Kingdom.
G D
GD
Stentiford
Cefas Weymouth Laboratory, Barrack Road, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 8UB, United Kingdom.
S
S
Morris
James Cook University, Catchment Reef Research Group, TropWater, Townsville, Qld 4811, Australia.
E T
ET
da Silva
Cefas Weymouth Laboratory, Barrack Road, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 8UB, United Kingdom.
B P
BP
Lyons
D018533:Biomass; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000032:analysis; D004777:Environment; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D007730:Kuwait; D015233:Models, Statistical; D010839:Phytoplankton / Q000254:growth & development; D045483:Rivers; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D012722:Sewage / Q000032:analysis; D014507:Urbanization; D060753:Water Quality
D012722:Sewage; D002734:Chlorophyll
Assessment; Kuwait; Nutrient; Sewerage; Water quality