Investigation of water quality of the Kaj and Sendegan rivers for rainbow trout culture in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province

Water quality parameters of Kaj and Sendegan rivers in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province were assessed for rainbow trout culture. For Kaj and Sendegan rivers, 6 and 5 sampling stations were selected, respectively. The water samples were collected once a month from May to October (2015) and were sent to laboratory for assessing: Nitrite, Ammonium, Soluble Phosphate, BOD5, COD, TSS, TDS, Cu, Zn, Hg, Cl-, organophosphate toxins, pH, Malachite green and EC. The Nitrite concentration in Sendegan River (0.106 mg/l) was equal to standard (p>0.05) and in Kaj River (0.079 mg/l) was lower than standard (p<0.009). The soluble Phosphate concentration was higher than standard (p<0.0007) in the studied rivers (0.162 and 0.152 mg/l for Kaj and Sendegan, respectively). Measured TDS for Kaj (225 mg/l) and Sendegan (335 mg/l) rivers were higher than standard (p<0.03 and P<0.0001, respectively). BOD5 and COD concentrations were lower (p<0.0001) than its standards for two rivers (2.67 and 5.56 mg/l for Kaj River and 2.16 and 4.22 mg/l for Sendegan River, respectively). Amount of Malachite green in the last station of Kaj River was 0.003 mg/l (p>0.05) and in the last station of Sendegan River was 0.065 mg/l (p<0.05). The EC of Sendegan River (562 µs/cm) was higher than standard (p<0.0003). Other parameters in the both rivers, were lower than the standard (p<0.0001). Generally, water quality of Kaj and Sendegan rivers were not suitable for rainbow trout culture.