Petroleum and chlorinated hydrocarbons in water from Lake Manzala and associated canals

Lake Manzala is located at the north eastern edge of Nile Delta in Egypt. It is separated from the Mediterranean sea by a sandy beach ridge. However, the lake is in connection with the sea through three opening nearby Port Said. The area of the lake is about 769 Km super(2) and relatively shallow with an average depth of 1.3 m. The lake is of high economic value as a natural resource, for fishery, reacreation and for migratory birds. The lake is highly polluted as it receives wastewaters discharged by several canal. The present investigation aimed to assess the residue levels of petroleum hydrocarbons, chlorinated insecticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in the lake water as well as in Hadous canal, Fariskur canal and Bahr-El-Baqar canal.