Research was conducted in the Kura, Araz, Ganikh, and Okchuchay transboundary rivers. Seasonal monitoring was carried out in order to study the physico-chemical and microbiological condition of water in the studied rivers. River water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, phosphorus concentration, and physico-chemical indicators of heavy metals, as well as the quantitative variability of microorganisms, saprotrophic, pathogenic, oil-phenol-absorbing bacteria and those involved in the nitrogen cycle bacteria, have been studied.
Kura and Ganikh rivers are transboundary rivers that pass from the territory of Georgia to Azerbaijan. During the microbiological monitoring of rivers, it was determined that the amount of saprotrophic bacteria in river water corresponds to the classification of highly polluted waters from an ecological point of view. Thus, the results of chemical and microbiological analysis of water were higher than the TLV.
Starting from Armenia, Okchuchay flows through the territory of Azerbaijan and joins the Araz River, which is the natural border between Iran and Azerbaijan, before flowing into the Caspian Sea. On the Armenian side, there are two large mining plants: Gajaran-Zangazur copper-molybdenum and Gafan iron ore processing plant. The waste water of these plants is regularly discharged into the river without treatment. As a result of our research, it became clear that the amount of saprotrophic bacteria, biogenic elements, and heavy metals in river water is extremely high; in particular, the amount of nickel is 5-7 times higher than normal, iron is 3-4 times higher, and copper-molybdenum is 2 times higher. Environmental pollution of river waters has a negative effect on biodiversity in the river, mainly causing mass destruction of trout and other fish in the river. From the research conducted in all four rivers, it can be concluded that the chemical and microbiological pollution in these rivers is at a high level.