Ammonium nitrogen levels in the Bug Estuary in Mykolaiv were nearly eight times above the norm

Laboratory testing of samples from the Buzkyi Estuary near the Chaika boat station in Mykolaiv found that the concentration of ammonium nitrogen was nearly 8 times above the permissible limit. The results were published by the State Environmental Inspectorate of the South-Western District.

Inspectors visited the site on October 26. The inspection was prompted by media reports of bright green water and a sewage smell in the Namiv area.

During the inspection, specialists described the conditions at the site:

• reeds covered a large part of the water area;
• no noticeable water movement was observed;
• near the shore, the water was greenish, and a layer of green algae floated on the surface;
• the depth was approximately 60 centimeters.

Inspectors found no pipes at the site that could have been discharging wastewater.

The Environmental Inspectorate considers the buildup and decomposition of algae in conditions of poor water circulation a possible explanation for the green color. Specialists suggest that the white discoloration of the water reported the day before may have been caused by hydrogen sulfide rising from the bottom sediments.

We wrote earlier:

• Sewage polluted the Buzkyi Estuary in Mykolaiv
• Feces in the Buzkyi Estuary and Vitovka? Mykolaivvodokanal discharges untreated wastewater
• They swam all summer: what was found in the water at Mykolaiv region’s beaches
• “The Southern Bug is a river receiving wastewater discharges,” Mayor Senkevych explains why water quality in Mykolaiv has worsened
• Estuaries in Mykolaiv region on the brink of ecological collapse: fish die-offs caused by toxins and lack of oxygen