There has been a growing interest on the levels of heavy metals and bacterial pathogen simultaneously occurring in coastal surface water. In this study, heavy metals and enteric bacteria from five sampling sites in Davao City and IGACOS were recorded. Heavy metals Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn and Zn and isolation of enteric bacteria were done. Results showed that heavy metals enrichment were evident in five sampling sites, Cd and Zn are considerably high in industrialize site, enriched Cu and Mn were recorded in River Catchment, and levels of Fe was higher in Pawikan Sanctuary. Of these, Cd and Mn exceeds the allowable limit for surface water under EC, USEPA, WHO and DENR-EMB regulations. Anthropogenic activity is the main contributor to this enrichment based on correlation matrix analysis. Human health risk assessment revealed that chronic exposure via ingestion pathway was the most significant risk of exposure among the populace compared with dermal contact. Meanwhile, pathogenic enteric bacterial isolates were identified from five sampling sites. Ocurrence of Pasteurella pneomotrophica / haemolytica, Stenotrophemonas maltophilia, Burkholderia cepacia and Serratia liquefaciens were relatively high from five sampling sites. The least prevalent entero bacteria isolates were Brucella spp, Chryseomonas luteola, Chryseomonas luteola, Enterobacter aerogenes, Klebsiella ornithinolytica, Proteus mirabilis, Providencia rettgeri, Providencia stuartii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia marcescens, Shewanella putrefaciens and Vibrio fluvialis that constitute less than 5% of the isolates. Evidently, incidence of heavy metals and enteric bacteria isolates is due to anthropogenic inputs that has detrimental effect to human health. Concerted response from various sectors is necessary to address the impending societal effects of water quality deterioration.

Heavy metals and pathogenic enteric bacteria isolated in coastal survace waters: An evaluation of source, environmental impact and risks

ACS Spring 2022

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