A biological safety evaluation on reclaimed water reused as scenic water using a bioassay battery

An assessment method based on three toxicity tests (algae growth inhibition, daphnia immobilization and larval fish toxicity) was used to screen the biological safety of reclaimed water which was reused as sole replenishment for scenic water system in a park (SOF Park) in northern China. A total of 24 water samples were collected from six sites of water system in the SOF Park in four different seasons. The results indicated that: (1) the reclaimed water directly discharged from a reclamation treatment plant near the SOF Park as influent of park had relatively low biological safety (all samples were ranked as C or D); (2) the biological safety of reclaimed water was improved greatly with the ecological reclamation treatment processes composing of artificial wetland system and followed oxidation pond system; (3) the biological safety of reclaimed water in the main lake of SOF Park kept at a health status during different seasons (all samples were ranked as A); (4) there was some certain correlation (R2 = 0.5737) between the sum of toxicity scores and dissolved organic carbon for the studied water samples. It was concluded that the assessment method was reliable to screen the safety of reclaimed water reused as scenic water, and the reclaimed water with further ecological purification processes such as artificial wetland and oxidation pond system can be safely reused as scenic water in park.