Abstract Concentrations of some metals, cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) in water, Ceratophillyum demersum (C. demersum) aquatic plant and in muscles, gills, liver, kidney and blood of Claries lazera (C. lazera) collected from seven stations, Beni Suef , Elfashn, Beba, Somosta, , Ehnasia, Elwasta and Naser along El Ebrahimia canal in Beni Suef province, Egypt during 2009-2010 were measured using atomic absorption spectrometer.
The obtained results revealed that, the examined metals were detected in all examined samples. In water, Pb has the highest concentration among the detected metals in Elfashn, Beba, Ehnasia, Naser and Elwasta; Mn has the highest concentration in Somosta and Fe has the highest concentration in Beni Suef. The concentration of Pb, Fe, and Mn were above the maximum permissible limits in all districts. Cd concentration was above the permissible limits except in Somosta and Naser while Zn concentration was below the permissible limit in the seven districts. Metal levels in water were compared with national and international water quality guidelines as well as literature values were reported for streams and rivers. Comparisons were made of metal concentrations in water and aquatic plant with those in the catfish tissues caught from the water. In C. demersum aquatic plant, distribution of metal concentrations in the seven studied districts were in the order of Mn > Zn > Pb >Fe > Cd and were above its level in water. In fish, metals were accumulated in different examined tissues by various levels but concentrations of metal in muscles (edible part) were below the metal levels in other organs (no-edible) of fish samples. The concentration of Cd, Pb and Fe in the different tissues of fish was above the international standard while the concentration of Mn and Zn was below that level. The high concentrations of these metals in water, aquatic plant and fish in El Ebrahimia canal may are thought to have resulted from anthropogenic activities producing industrial, agricultural, domestic waste discharges as well as accidental pollution incidents.