Integrated water quality assessment of two Rivers Basins from a semiarid region of Argentina.

The Tunuyán and Mendoza River Basins (Province of Mendoza, Argentina) have been selected as a representative semiarid region to test the applicability of an integrated water quality evaluation. To detect spatio-temporal variations of anthropic contamination, physicochemical and bacteriological parameters, as well as three ecotoxicological assays, were assessed in reference sites for 3 years. Bioassays based on the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the vascular plant Lactuca sativa, and the algae Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata were performed and toxicological categories were established.

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as an integrated toxicological tool to assess water quality and pollution.

Determination of water quality status in rivers is critical to establish a sustainable water management policy. For this reason, over the last decades it has been recommended to perform integrated water assessments that include water quantities and physicochemical, ecological and toxicological tests. However, sometimes resources are limited and it is not possible to perform large-scale chemical determinations of pollutants or conduct numerous ecotoxicological tests.