Author(s)

Joseph Masirika Matunguru^1,2,3*, Gabriel Mukabo Okito^1,4,5, Sharon Lubembe^4,6, Jonas Jariekong’a Uvon^4,7, Frank Lutili^4,6, Jean-Jacques Bagalwa Mashimango^8,9, Claver Sibomana¹, Mulongaibalu Mbalassa⁴, Alex Lina⁴, Venant Nshombo Muderhwa⁴, Jean-Claude Micha⁵, Gaspard Ntakimazi¹

¹EcoleDoctorale de l’Université du Burundi, Faculté des Sciences, Laboratoire de Biodiversité, Ecologie et Environnement du Centre de Rechercheen Sciences Naturelles et de l’Environnement (CRSNE), Université du Burundi (UB), Bujumbura, République du Burundi.
²Département de l’Environnementet Développement Durable, Institut Supérieur des Techniques de Développement (ISTD/Kalehe), Kalehe, Sud-Kivu, République Démocratique du Congo.
³College of Natural Sciences, Department of Zoology, Entomology and Fisheries Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
⁴Laboratoire d’Hydrobiologie, Aquaculture et Gestion des Ressources Naturelles (LHAGREN), Université Officielle de Bukavu, Karhale Kadutu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
⁵Unité de Recherche en Biologie Environnementale et Evolutive (URBE), Université de Namur, Rue de Bruxelles, Namur, Belgique.
⁶Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Science, University of Eldoret, Eldoret, Kenya.
⁷Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques Université Shalom de Bunia (USB), Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
⁸College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
⁹Centre de Recherche en Science Naturelles de Lwiro, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The objective of this study is to assess the water quality of Lake Albert based on its physico-chemical characteristics in relation with Bagrus bayad ecology in the province of Ituri in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The study undertaken between December 2019 and November 2020 in six stations (Drigi, Kicha ya Drigi, Grand Bale, Ingbokolo, Njerere and Songa Tabu) allowed the measurement of physical parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and temperature (T), Turbidity, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), as well as the following chemical parameters Sulphates (SO₄^2-), Chlorides (Cl^-), Calcium (Ca²⁺), Magnesium (Mg²⁺), Hydrotimetric Titer or Total Hardness (TH), Ammonium (NH₄⁺), Nitrates (NO₃^-), Nitrites (NO₂^-), Phosphates (SO₄^3-) and Fluorides (F^-), Potassium (K⁺), Sodium (Na⁺), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and Dissolved Oxygen (DO). The annual mean values are compared with the standards for the survival of aquatic organisms. Multivariate statistical analysis including Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Ascending Classification Hwaswere also applied to all measured parameters. The lake water is slightly basic with an average pH of 7.2 ± 0.4. It is slightly mineralized and less hard with an average conductivity of 96.9 ± 46.3 μS/cm and an average total hardness of 54.8 ± 12.3 mg/Nutrients pollution is a major indicator of the water quality of the stations studied. A strong correlation is reported between electrical conductivity and the following parameters: pH, NO₃^2-, NO₂^-, SO₄^-, TH, Cl^-, HCO₃^- and Ca²⁺. The typology is mainly governed by this conductivity, which allows us to classify the stations according to their physico-chemical quality. The lake water is subject to organic pollution in the 6 stations studied at Lake Albert. The physico-chemical parameters considered in this survey were within the limits of aquatic life and biodiversity in the aquatic ecosystem, particularly for the survival and reproduction of aquatic species. The results suggest that, although the physico-chemical parameters are within the limits of aquatic life, they are subject to strong variations over time. Organic pollution index varied from 4.5 (Slight pollution) to 5 (Null pollution). Changes in land use and land cover around the basin and pollution from Lake Albert’s tributary rivers may be fatal to the life of biodiversity in the long term.

Physico-Chemistry, Water Quality, Lake Albert

Matunguru, J.M., Okito, G.M., Lubembe, S., Uvon, J.J., Lutili, F., Mashimango, J.-J.B., Sibomana, C., Mbalassa, M., Lina, A., Muderhwa, V.N., Micha, J.-C. and Ntakimazi, G. (2022) Assessment of Physicochemical Parameters in Relation with Ecology of Bagrus bayad (Fabricius, 1775, Bagridae) in Lake Albert, Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Open Access Library Journal, 9, 1-18. doi: 10.4236/oalib.1109488.