ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF SETU RIVER POLLUTION USING SAPROBIC INDEX AND AQUATIC BIOTA DIVERSITY
Downloads
ARTICLE HIGLIGHTS
- Combined saprobic index and plankton diversity assess Setu River pollution
- Untreated batik wastewater affects river water quality and biodiversity
- Eutrophic tolerant diatoms dominate polluted river sections
- Benthic communities reflect persistent ecological disturbance
ABSTRACT
The batik industry in Indonesia, especially in Pekalongan, has seen rapid growth since being recognized by UNESCO. However, this growth has brought increasing environmental concerns, particularly related to wastewater discharge from small-and medium-scale enterprises. This study assessed the ecological condition of the Setu River in South Pekalongan by integrating plankton diversity metrics and the saprobic index (SI) to evaluate the impact of batik effluents. Sampling was carried out in November 2024 at three representative locations selected to reflect different pollution gradients along the Setu River: upstream, the Jenggot Waste Water Treament Plant (WWTP) outfall, and downstream. Water quality showed a declining trend along the river, reflecting increasing anthropogenic pressures. Phytoplankton abundance ranged from 561 to 1,190 individuals/L, with dominant genera such as Navicula, Synedra, and Nitzschia, which are known indicators of organic pollution. Zooplankton was only observed at the downstream station, with a low diversity index (H’ = 0.6931), suggesting that water conditions were unfavorable for sensitive species. The saprobic index increased from 0.31 upstream to 0.93 downstream, indicating a light level of organic pollution. These findings indicate that the Jenggot communal WWTP may not be operating optimally, as reflected by the high concentrations of pollutant indicators near the outfall. Inadequate wastewater treatment exerts ongoing pressure on aquatic life, reducing biodiversity and disturbing ecological stability. This study emphasizes the urgency of improving wastewater management, particularly through the development of appropriate and low-cost technologies to support small-scale batik industries. Furthermore, plankton-based bioindicators offer a reliable, cost-effective method for monitoring ecological impacts in urban rivers subjected to industrial discharges.
Agustin AD, Solichin A, Rahman A. 2019. Analisis kesuburan perairan berdasarkan kepadatan dan jenis perifiton di Sungai Jabungan, Banyumanik, Semarang [Analysis of water’s trophic state based on periphyton’s abundance and types in Jabungan River, Banyumanik, Semarang]. Manage Aqua Resourc J 8:185–192. DOI: 10.14710/marj.v8i3.24254 DOI: https://doi.org/10.14710/marj.v8i3.24254
Al-Tohamy R, Ali SS, Li F, Okasha KM, Mahmoud YAG, Elsamahy T, Jiao H, Fu Y, Sun J. 2022. A critical review on the treatment of dye-containing wastewater: Ecotoxicological and health concerns of textile dyes and possible remediation approaches for environmental safety. Ecotox Environ Saf 231:113160. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.113160 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.113160
Asra R. 2012. Makrozoobentos sebagai indikator biologi dari kualitas air di Sungai Kumpeh dan Danau Arang-Arang Kabupaten Muaro Jambi, Jambi [Macrozoobenthos as a biological indicator of water quality in the Kumpeh River and Arang-Arang Lake, Muaro Jambi Regency, Jambi]. Biospecies 2. DOI: 10.22437/biospecies.v2i1.262 DOI: https://doi.org/10.22437/biospecies.v2i1.262
Balseiro E, Modenutti B, Gutierrez MF, Sagrario M de los AG, Laspoumaderes C. 2022. Status of the zooplankton ecology in freshwater ecosystems from Argentina. Limnologica 100. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.limno.2022.126011
Berradi M, Hsissou R, Khudhair M, Assouag M, Cherkaoui O, El Bachiri A, El Harfi A. 2019. Textile finishing dyes and their impact on aquatic environs. Heliyon 5:e02711. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02711 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02711
Bonacina L, Fasano F, Mezzanotte V, Fornaroli R. 2023. Effects of water temperature on freshwater macroinvertebrates: A systematic review. Biol Rev 98:191–221. DOI: 10.1111/brv.12903 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12903
Budiyanto S, Anies, Purnaweni H, Rya Sunoko H. 2018. Environmental analysis of the impacts of batik wastewater polution on the quality of dug well water in the batik industrial center of Jenggot Pekalongan City. E3S Web Conf. 31:09008. DOI: 10.1051/e3sconf/20183109008 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20183109008
Castellani C, Edwards M (Editors). 2017. Marine plankton: A practical guide to ecology, methodology, and taxonomy. Oxford (UK): Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199233267.001.0001
Czerniawska-Kusza I. 2005. Comparing modified biological monitoring working party score system and several biological indices based on macroinvertebrates for water-quality assessment. Limnologica 35:169–176. DOI: 10.1016/j.limno.2005.05.003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.limno.2005.05.003
Dresscher TG, Van der Mark H. 1976. A simplified method for the biological assessment of the quality of fresh and slightly brackish water. Hydrobiologia 48:199–201. DOI: 10.1007/BF00028691 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00028691
Dutta S, Adhikary S, Bhattacharya S, Roy D, Chatterjee S, Chakraborty A, Banerjee D, Ganguly A, Nanda S, Rajak P. 2024. Contamination of textile dyes in aquatic environment: Adverse impacts on aquatic ecosystem and human health, and its management using bioremediation. J Environ Manage 353:120103. DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120103 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120103
Godfrey PC, Pearson RG, Pusey BJ, Arthington AH. 2021. Drivers of zooplankton dynamics in a small tropical lowland river. Mar Freshwater Res 72:173. DOI: 10.1071/MF20067 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1071/MF20067
Hamdhani H, Eppehimer DE, Bogan MT. 2020. Release of treated effluent into streams: A global review of ecological impacts with a consideration of its potential use for environmental flows. Freshw Biol 65:1657–1670. DOI: 10.1111/fwb.13519 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.13519
Korobchenkova KD, Aleksandrov SV, Semenova AS, Stont ZhI, Ulyanova MO. 2023. Influence of hydrometeorological conditions on the plankton distribution in the estuary of the Pregolya River and the coastal part of the Baltic Sea. Oceanology 63:S188–S201. DOI: 10.1134/S0001437023070068 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437023070068
Kurbanov A, Titova N, Mustaphaeva Z, Atabaeva N. 2021. The role of macrozoobenthos and periphyton in bioindication of water resources quality in Uzbekistan. E3S Web Conf 265:01016. DOI: 10.1051/e3sconf/202126501016 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202126501016
Laplace-Treyture C, Derot J, Prévost E, Le Mat A, Jamoneau A. 2021. Phytoplankton morpho-functional trait dataset from French water-bodies. Sci Data 8:40. DOI: 10.1038/s41597-021-00814-0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-021-00814-0
Ma C, Cui R, Duan Y, Zhang N, Liu Y, Sui F, Fan Y, Lu X. 2023. Differences in biodiversity and assembly mechanisms between planktonic and benthic diatom communities in riverine ecosystems: A case study in the Ashi river. Ecol Indic 157:111258. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.111258 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.111258
Maharani NA, Dion R, Damayanti MP, Dzufakar ABP, Wahyuningsih C, Zulkarnain MI, ..., Gopal S. 2023. Bacterial diversity and physicochemical profiles in Pekalongan Waters, Indonesia. AIP Conf Proc 2738:040024. DOI: 10.1063/5.0140202 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0140202
Merina G, Nurdin J, Mursyid A, Putra W, Aryzegovina R, Junialdi R. 2022. Analisa pencemaran organik Sungai Masang Kecil di Kabupaten Pasaman Barat berdasarkan komunitas dan indeks biologi makrozoobentos [Analysis of organic pollution in the Masang Kecil River, Pasaman Barat Regency, Based on macrozoobenthos community and biological index]. Konservasi Hayati 18(2):69–79.
Ministry of State Secretariat of the Republic of Indonesia. 2021. Government Regulation of Indonesia Number 22 of 2021 Regulation on Environmental Protection and Management. Appendix VI: Water Quality Standards for Class II Freshwater, 2021. Jakarta (ID): Ministry of State Secretariat of the Republic of Indonesia.
Naqsyabandi S, Riani E, Suprihatin S. 2018. Impact of batik wastewater pollution on macrobenthic community in Pekalongan River. AIP Conf Proc 2023:020128. DOI: 10.1063/1.5064125 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5064125
Naselli-Flores L. 2014. Morphological analysis of phytoplankton as a tool to assess ecological state of aquatic ecosystems: The case of Lake Arancio, Sicily, Italy. Inland Waters 4(1):15–26. DOI: 10.5268/IW-4.1.686 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5268/IW-4.1.686
Nurfadillah N, Maulidawati S, Anggraini R, Nanda Defira C, Waliul Perdana A. 2024. Pollution status of Aneuk Laot Lake Sabang based on pollution index and saprobic index. BIO Web Conf 87:02012. DOI: 10.1051/bioconf/20248702012 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/bioconf/20248702012
Odum EP, Barrett GW. 1971. Fundamentals of ecology. Philadelphia (US): W.B. Saunders.
Pitombo FB. 2020. Class Cirripedia. In: Rogers DC, Damborenea C, Thorp J (Editors), Thorp and Covich’s Freshwater Invertebrates. Amsterdam (NL): Elsevier. p. 579–584. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-804225-0.00018-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-804225-0.00018-6
Pratiwi E, Choirunnisa D, Shafira R, Saputra A. 2024. Phytoplankton diversity as bioindicator of pollution in Jenes River, Surakarta. Al-Kauniyah J Biol 18:100–113. DOI: 10.15408/kauniyah.v1i1.36917 DOI: https://doi.org/10.15408/kauniyah.v1i1.36917
Ruthena Y, Anggoro S, Soeprobowati TR. 2023. Diversity of plankton bio-indicators on water quality of Lutan Lake, Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. E3S Web Conf 448:03068. DOI: 10.1051/e3sconf/202344803068 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202344803068
Samudra SR, Fitriadi R, Baedowi M, Sari LK. 2022. Pollution level of Banjaran River, Banyumas District, Indonesia: A study based on the Saprobic Index of periphytic microalgae. Biodiversitas 23:1527–1534. DOI: 10.13057/biodiv/d230342 DOI: https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d230342
Saxena A, Tiwari A, Kaushik R, Iqbal HMN, Parra-Saldívar R. 2021. Diatoms recovery from wastewater: Overview from an ecological and economic perspective. J Water Process Eng 39:101705. DOI: 10.1016/j.jwpe.2020.101705 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2020.101705
Setianingsih NI, Hadiyanto Budihardjo MA, Yuliasni R, Vistanty H, Mukimin A, Sudarno. 2024. Characteristics and performance of aerobic granular sludge technology in the treatment of real batik textile wastewater. Int J Environ Sci Technol. DOI: 10.1007/s13762-024-05832-0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-024-05832-0
Siregar ZA, Irianto HE, Anggoro S, Purnaweni H. 2024. Monitoring of water quality with the plankton indicator and the saprobic index in a minapadi area. AACL Bioflux 17(1):156–165.
Solayman HM, Hossen Md.A, Abd Aziz A, Yahya NY, Leong KH, Sim LC, Monir MU, Zoh KD. 2023. Performance evaluation of dye wastewater treatment technologies: A review. J Environ Chem Eng 11:109610. DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2023.109610 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2023.109610
Spellerberg IF, Fedor PJ. 2003. A tribute to Claude Shannon (1916–2001) and a plea for more rigorous use of species richness, species diversity and the ‘Shannon–Wiener’ Index. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 12:177–179. DOI: 10.1046/j.1466-822X.2003.00015.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1466-822X.2003.00015.x
Suhartini S, Pangestuti MB, Dewanti BS, Hidayat N. 2019. Textile wastewater treatment: biodegradability on aerobic and anaerobic process. IOP Conf Ser: Earth Environ Sci 230:012091. DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/230/1/012091 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/230/1/012091
Sulastri. 2018. Fitoplankton danau-danau di Pulau Jawa: Keanekaragaman dan perannya sebagai bioindikator perairan [Phytoplankton in Java’s lakes: Diversity and their role as water quality bioindicators]. Jakarta (ID): LIPI Press.
Valentin JL, Leles SG, Tenenbaum DR, Figueiredo GM. 2021. Frequent upwelling intrusions and rainfall events drive shifts in plankton community in a highly eutrophic estuary. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 257:107387. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecss.2021.107387 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2021.107387
Xiong W, Ni P, Chen Y, Gao Y, Li S, Zhan A. 2019. Biological consequences of environmental pollution in running water ecosystems: A case study in zooplankton. Environ Pollut 252:1483–1490. DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.06.055 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2019.06.055
Yanygina LV, Burmistrova OS, Kotovshchikov AV, Shirinina MK, Schletterer M. 2024. Why do phyto- and zooplankton exhibit different patterns of seasonal dynamics in the large Ob river-floodplain system (West Siberia)? Hydrobiologia 852:4827–4848. DOI: 10.1007/s10750-024-05691-3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-024-05691-3
Copyright (c) 2026 Kamtiyah Ningsih, Fuad Muhammad, Aris Mukimin
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree with the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication, with the work 1 year after publication simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons attribution-noncommerical-noderivates 4.0 International License that allows others to share, copy and redistribute the work in any medium or format, but only where the use is for non-commercial purposes and an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal is mentioned.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
