International Journal of Environmental Protection Dec. 2012, Vol. 2 Iss. 12, PP. 9-16 - 9 - Assessment of Toxic Metal Pollution in Some Rivers in the Tikveš Basin, Republic of Macedonia Kole Pavlov 1 , Katerina Bačeva 2 , Trajče Stafilov *2 , Dragan Vasileski 3 , Svetlana Toševska 4 1 Josip Broz Tito High School, 1000 Skopje, Macedonia 2 Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Sts. Cyril and Methodius University, POB 162, 1000 Skopje, Macedonia 3 Institute of Geography, Faculty of Science, Sts. Cyril and Methodius University, POB 162, 1000 Skopje, Macedonia 4 Institute of Public Health, Skopje, Macedonia trajcest@pmf.ukim.mk Abstract- The Tikveš Basin, which covers the central and the south parts of the Republic of Macedonia, boasts a favourable geographic location and is of distinctive strategic and economic importance for the country. The region, however, has modest hydrological resources and faces a series of accumulated water management problems that hugely affect water supply, erosive processes and quality of surface water, the monitoring network of which is insufficient. In this respect, this work aimed at a more systematic and comprehensive assessment of water quality in some rivers, tributaries of the river Vardar in Tikveš Basin, primarily based on heavy metals as the chemical parameters during 2010. Besides determining the distribution of heavy metals in the rivers, the secondary priority is given to identifying the natural and the anthropogenic sources of pollution. The assessment of water quality at small tributaries of the river Vardar in the Tikveš Basin in 2010, based on their pollution with heavy metals, can lead to a general conclusion that the Luda Mara River has the lowest summary quality at the measurement point downstream the urban settlement of Kavadarci. Exceeded concentrations of Mn, Cu and Cd were recorded in the water and of Cu and Ni in the sediment. The Blašnica River had high concentrations of arsenic in water whose origin is related to mining activities of the abandoned As-Sb-Tl mine of Allchar. Exceeded concentrations of Pb and Cu were also recorded in water as were concentrations of nickel and chromium in the sediment. The high values for Ni and Cr originate from mine activities of the Ržanovo mine (ferro-nickel ores), located in the very proximity of the river flow. Keywords- Rivers; Pollution; Heavy Metals; Water Quality; Tikveš Basin; Republic Of Macedonia I. INTRODUCTION Antagonism between intentions for accelerated development and limited available water resources accompanied with numerous water management problems in the territory of the Tikveš Basin, unavoidably leaves traces in water quality in general as the vital component of the environment [1] . For these reasons, a necessity of elaborate examination of all the factors of pollution and tendencies in the movement of quality of the water component in Tikveš imposes itself intuitively so that unwanted consequences are identified and prevented and measures for their future protection proposed. The subject of this work has involved water in smaller tributaries of the river Vardar within the Tikveš Basin, i.e. its state concerning pollution with some heavy metals as the criterion of quality. The goal of the work is to detect in a systematic manner the current quality, pollution and spatial distribution of heavy metals in the rivers concerned, and identify the natural and anthropogenic sources of pollution of the smaller rivers in the Tikveš Basin. The primary urge leading to the implementation of such a goal is the fact that in this respect, the scientific community has paid little attention to small rivers in the Tikveš Basin, which are not subject to adequate monitoring or where they are, it is done incidentally, and on the other hand, they are of huge importance in water supply, agriculture and energy provision for the population in the whole region. So far in the region, regular monitoring of the three largest rivers has been conducted with total four measurement stations included in the state-run River Monitoring System in Macedonia (RIMSYS), as in [2]. Those are the measurement stations on the Vardar (near the village of Nogaevci and Demir Kapija), the river of Bregalnica (near the village of Ubogo) and the river Crna (near the village of Palikura). The main assumptions of the existence of toxic metal pollution in the Tikveš rivers involve industrial plants, mining activities, polymetallic composition of minerals from the geological soil [3] and the increased concentration of some metals in the soils [4, 5] . II. STUDY AREA Geographically, the Tikveš Basin covers areas in the central and the south parts of the Republic of Macedonia (Fig. 1). In spatial terms, the basin has a non-regular circular form and is located between 41005'30'' - 41043'38'' N and 21047' - 22019' E. Fig. 1 Tikveš location in the Republic of Macedonia