Assessment of Surface Water Quality in the Baia Mare Area, Romania

Baia Mare area represents one of the most important mining areas of Romania. Although the mining activities carried out here are currently inactive (since 2012), they generated residual pollution that negatively influences all the environmental factors. The aim of the study is to evaluation of the quality of surface water from the vicinity of the city of Baia Mare, Romania. The surface water samples, collected in two distinct years (2021 and 2022), were analyzed to determine the concentration of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn, Pb, Fe, Mn, and As) in order to establish the degree of contamination and the water quality through heavy metal evaluation index (HEI), heavy metal pollution index (HPI), and water quality index (WQI). The pH and the content of cations (Ca, Mg, Na, K) and anions (HCO3−, SO42−, Cl−) were also determined for complex characterization. The results showed that the water in the area had a high degree of pollution with high concentrations of Cr: 0.165–1.57 mgL−1, Ni: 0.01–0.718 mgL−1, and Cu: 0.036–0.195 mgL−1. The pollution indices showed an average level of heavy metal pollution for the collected surface water samples. The quality index demonstrated that all surface water samples in the study area were unfit for irrigation and drinking due to poor and very poor water quality.