Abstract
Several environmental indicators were used to evaluate the water and sediment quality of Ismailia Canal for heavy metal contamination. The average concentrations of heavy metals in water and sediments (mu g/L and mu g/g) were Pb (1.36-31.78), Fe (0.95-5124), Ni (0.45-32.14), Cu (0.34-32.64), Zn (0.28-117.77), Co (0.078-29.40), and Mn (0.044-194.83), respectively. Based on heavy metal pollution index values, 75% of the sediment samples fell within low pollution, while water pollution index and water contamination degree revealed excellent and low contamination for all water samples, respectively. Single pollution indices of sediment indicated high contamination with Pb and considerable risk with Cd. The higher levels of metals in some samples might be originated mostly from anthropogenic sources related to industrial, agricultural, and urbanization activities along the investigated canal. However, Ismailia Canal sediments were unpolluted with metals, or no metal pollution and all average concentrations of the investigated heavy metals were less than the maximum admissible concentration of the world health organization. (C) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.