The potabilization of water in Belém is performed by the Companhia de Saneamento do Pará (COSANPA). Knowing its characteristics is a factor of scientific advance, which contributes to sustainable development and better quality of life for the population. The objective of this project is to study the natural waters and the possible polluting sources in order to understand the changes that occur with the treatment, and to analyze if it is being done properly. The lack of monitoring of the water quality may cause damage to the health of the population that consumes it. Studies prove that chlorinated organic substances, which are rich in Amazonian waters, produce carcinogenic organo-volatiles. In the first stage of the work, theoretical studies on water collection and treatment and laboratory training were performed. In the second stage, water samples were collected from the Guamá River (near the inlet to the lakes), from the Aurá River at its mouth, and from upstream and downstream of the leachate (waste decomposition product) from the Aurá dump. In the field, pH, conductivity and temperature measurements were taken, and in the laboratory, dissolved oxygen analyses were performed. The preliminary results obtained reveal that the leachate is reaching the water of the Aurá river, which is pumped to the Utinga Complex. This was verified with electrical conductivity measurements. Natural values are around 25 ms and after the arrival of the slurry they reach 96 ms at low tide and 67 ms at high tide. The increased conductivity values mean that plenty of organic substances are dissolved in the water. Therefore it is necessary that the disposal of the waste and the treatment of the produced slurry is less harmful to the aquatic environment. The studies will be intensified in this second year of work, with monitoring, nutrient studies in the raw water and evaluation of the health of the aquatic environment, and environmental education campaigns aimed at protecting the water resources.
|
