Quality of the Solimões River water for domestic use by the riverine community situated in Manacapuru-Amazonas-Brazil

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international 2016-06, Vol.23 (12), p.11395-11404
• Main Authors: Pantoja, N. G. P., Castro, L. M., Rocha, S. D., Silva, J. A., Ribeiro, J. S. P., Donald, A. R., Silva, L. M., Oliveira, T. C. S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Brazil; Dissolved oxygen; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental indicators; Environmental science; Floodplains; Floods; Freshwater; Households; Laboratories; Multivariate Analysis; Nitrates; Pollution Issues of Large Rivers; Principal Component Analysis; Principal components analysis; Public health; Quality of life; Rivers; Rivers - chemistry; Seasonal variations; Studies; Turbidity; Waste Water Technology; Water analysis; Water Management; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollution Control; Water Quality; Water quality standards; Water resources; Water sampling
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-015-5025-2

The Amazon has the largest watershed in the world, with abundant fresh water reserves. Such abundance contrasts with the quality of the water consumed in the riverine communities. This work highlights the importance of assessing the quality of water of the Solimões River in the stretch situated opposite the Community Nossa Senhora das Graças-Costa do Pesqueiro, in front of the town of Manacapuru-Amazonas-Brazil. The research aimed to evaluate environmental indicators for the quality of the river water as well as in households in this community, according to the regional seasonality. The monitored parameters such as conductivity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, color, pH, nitrate, nitrite, and sulfate were compared with the water quality standards in force in Brazil. Values well above the maximum level allowed (MLA) for color and turbidity parameters were found in some households, indicating that the water collected from the river is not getting appropriate treatment. The analysis of the correlation matrix of the parameters in the flood period of the river evidenced high correlation among dissolved oxygen (D.O), NO 3 − , Cl − , SO 4 2− , and color. In this study, by principal component analysis (PCA), it was observed that the characteristics of the water, obtained from the river to be consumed in the households, in the flood period showed similarities with the river water samples, indicating absence of efficient treatment for human consumption.