Introduction. The importance of rivers as one of the main types of water resources lies in their use for water supply, irrigation of agricultural lands, fishing, and recreational purposes. At the same time, pollution of rivers as a result of economic activity is a global problem.

The purpose of the study was a hygienic assessment of the water quality in the rivers of the Don basin in the Voronezh Region.

Materials and methods. Object of research: rivers of the Voronezh region. Subject of the study: sanitary and chemical indicators of the water quality. The study used primary data from the Voronezh Center for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring for 2023-2025 at 22 monitoring control points on 7 rivers for 4 generalized indicators and 10 substances.

Results. The priority indicators of water quality in rivers for non-compliance with hygienic standards include dissolved oxygen, BOC₅, COС, iron content (total), copper (total). Non-compliance of water quality indicators with hygienic standards was revealed in the Don, Chernaya Kalitva, Tikhaya Sosna, Bityug, and Khoper rivers. At the monitoring points of control of the Don River, there are significant differences in the average values of the water quality indicators downstream in relation to the control point located above. The adverse impact of diffuse and man-made runoff from the territories of populated areas, and above all, the cities of Voronezh and Pavlovsk, is traced. The sections of the Don River from Novovoronezh to Liski are relatively safe.

Limitations. The limitations of the study are related to the discrete nature of monitoring the water quality in rivers (4 times a year), the annual and seasonal variability of river water regimes due to the volume of precipitation, and other changing natural and man-made factors.

Conclusion. According to the results of the study, the priority sanitary and chemical indicators of water quality in rivers for the region and the most polluted places and rivers were identified.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study does not require the submission of a conclusion from the biomedical ethics committee or other documents.

Contributions: Klepikov O.V. – concept and design of the study; Kurolap S.A. – concept and design of the study; Molokanova L.V. – preparation of the review and the introduction section; Kulnev V.V. – general analysis of the material, preparation of conclusions, preparation and editing of the article; Kizeev A.N. – significant contribution to the concept of the study, preparation of conclusions, final approval of the manuscript; Nikanov A.N. – significant contribution to the concept of the study, preparation of conclusions, final approval of the manuscript. All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Acknowledgements. The authors would like to thank Alexander I. Sushkov, Head of the Voronezh Center for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring, for the primary data provided for the analysis and for his interest in cooperation with the Department of Geoecology and Environmental Monitoring at the Voronezh State University.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Funding. The research was carried out at the expense of the grant of the Russian Science Foundation No. 25-17-00219 “Integrated hydroecological diagnostics and monitoring of environmental risks of drinking and recreational water use in the Verkhnedonsky basin”, https://rscf.ru/project/25-17-00219/.

Received: April 17, 2026 / Revised: May 12, 2026 / Accepted: July 1, 2026 / Published: September 28, 2026