Bacteriological assessment of fish ponds in the districts and suburbs of Kirkuk Governorate

Abstract

The current study aimed to assess bacterial contamination in the water of fish ponds in the outskirts of Kirkuk represented by Hawija district, Daquq, Yayji, Taza and Lailan. The tests were conducted at the Department of Environment and Agriculture and included water samples of carp ponds and biological characteristics were measured for six months starting from August 2023 to the end of January 2024. The total coliform count was highest at stations two, three and five at >16 cells/ml in all months of the study, and E. coli counts varied, with the highest being 70 CFU/ml in December at station one and the lowest being 1.3 CFU/ml. 3 CFU/ml in the month of August in the third station, and it was observed from the table that the infection rates increased in the winter season in all stations, and the infection values of fecal coliform bacteria increased in the month of January compared to the rest of the seasons, as the highest rate of 90 CFU/ml was recorded in January in the third station and the lowest rate of 1. The results of the study showed a significant variation in the number of fecal coliform bacteria between the five stations, with the highest value recorded in the fifth station (13.667 cells/ml) and decreased to the lowest value in the first and fourth stations (2.1667 and 1 cell/ml, respectively).