Environmental inspectors have not confirmed the discharge of liquid waste from the allegedly Bohodukhiv meat processing plant into Ihnatenkove Lake in Okhtyrka, Sumy region, as complained by local residents.
They found that some indicators of maximum permissible concentrations were exceeded, which is typical for water bodies for domestic use, according to the State Environmental Inspectorate in Sumy Oblast.
It is noted that Ihnatenkove has been a recipient of domestic wastewater from the local water utility since the 70s and wastewater from a dairy plant since the 80s of the last century. Currently, the lake is receiving wastewater from Vodochystka, Vodotorhprylad, and OSK.
The press service said that on February 21, representatives of the State Environmental Inspectorate, the Regional Water Resources Office and the Okhtyrka City Council conducted a commission inspection of the lake. They inspected the coastal protection zone and the water area of Ihnatenkove, and took water and soil samples.
Laboratory tests of the samples showed that the water quality meets the standards for water bodies for domestic use, except for the following indicators:
- CHK (chemical oxygen consumption) – 58 and 60 mgO2/l with a norm of 30 mgO2/l;
- BSK5 (biochemical oxygen consumption for 5 days of incubation) – 9.8 and 10.2 mgO2/l at a norm of 3 mgO2/l;
- phosphates – 5.1 and 3.9 mg/l with a norm of 3.5 mg/l.
Also, eco-inspectors found a critically low content of dissolved oxygen in water samples – less than 1 mgO2/dm³, (when the norm is not less than 4 mgO2/dm3). In addition, in the soils near the drainage pumping station, that is, in the sanitary zone, an excess of the background indicators of the content of phosphorus and organic substances was found.
As EcoPolitic reported earlier, residents of Okhtyrka, in Sumy Oblast, complained about the discharge of probably untreated liquid waste from the Bogodukhiv meat processing plant into Lake Ignatenkovo.
