Heavy Metal Contamination of the Palmiet River: KwaZulu Natal South Africa

Heavy metal contamination in river water and sediment is very well documented in numerous studies all over the world. This study focuses on the heavy metal contamination of the Palmiet River which is located in a small catchment near Durban, and is a tributary of the Umgeni River. Six sampling sites were chosen along the Palmiet River, before and after each land use, as well as two sites before and after the Umgeni River confluence. Water and sediment sampling was conducted seasonally and results were determined using Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (ICP-AAS) for the metals: Al, As, B, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se, Si, Sr, Ti, V and Zn. An enrichment factor equation was used as well as ANOVA for statistical evaluation. Results obtained showed high Ca, Mg, and Si concentrations in water, with significantly (p<0.05) higher concentrations in winter. Sediment analyses revealed that Fe, Al and Ca were the highest concentrations found, with higher levels in winter. The land use with the most influence on the metal concentrations was the industrial area of Pinetown, which displayed spikes of metal concentrations after its site, as well as the Palmiet Nature Reserve (PNR) which acted to purify the water and sediment. Se was the only metal found to be enriched in the soil, which does indicate some anthropogenic source.