PURIFICATION CAPACITY OF PATOKU LAGOON

The process of natural lagoon consists in purifying the waste water by simple flow of the effluent in not very deep ponds where aerobic and anaerobic processes in water column and in sediments contribute in purifying capacity of natural lagoons in the presence of a solar radiation. For this study, which is spread out over 3 years (2007-2009), we chose the Patoku Lagoon to analyze the purification capacity by a natural lagoon, located in Albania. The parameters considered were: NO2-, NO3-,NH4+ PO43-, and dissolved oxygen. Other parameters, such as, temperature, pH, salinity, and conductivity are monitored during the all period of study. Measured values of above mentioned parameters indicate variations of these parameters starting from the entrance of the lagoon till the point where lagoon water joins open sea, demonstrating the role of this lagoon as a filter that retains nutrients from water. The adaptation of constructed models mimicking the features of natural lagoons, might represent the challenge for the next future research in the field.