Historical determination of water quality indices in participatory observatories in northern Mexico

The Water Quality Indices (WQI) are tools that help to communicate the status of quality to a non-specialized audience, they are based on the existing regulations of the region. The objective of this project was to determine the WQI in five Participatory Observatories (PO) located in the north of Me...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Puente Miranda, Diego Gerardo, Valenzuela Garcia, Luz Idalia, Alarcón Herrera, María Teresa
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:México
Institución:UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL AUTÓNOMA DE MÉXICO
Repositorio:Revista Internacional de Contaminación Ambiental
Idioma:español
OAI Identifier:oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/54697
Acceso en línea:https://www.revistascca.unam.mx/rica/index.php/rica/article/view/54697
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:arid zones
microbiological water quality
water resources assessment
alidad microbiológica del agua
evaluación de recursos hídricos
zonas áridas
Descripción
Sumario:The Water Quality Indices (WQI) are tools that help to communicate the status of quality to a non-specialized audience, they are based on the existing regulations of the region. The objective of this project was to determine the WQI in five Participatory Observatories (PO) located in the north of Mexico, in addition to generating maps and charts that present information in a concrete and clear way on water quality and risk areas. Using data from the Comisión Nacional del Agua, the water quality was evaluated with the León and Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment indices, as well as the microbiological quality based on fecal coliform reports. PO sites are classified, in terms of microbiological quality, from “excellent” to “heavily contaminated”. Under the permissible limits by the official Mexican standards for water for human consumption and agricultural irrigation, a relative scale was applied with a score of 0 to 100, for the indices determined in the POs. The results indicate, through the maps developed in the study, the presence of three microbiologically contaminated sites. Regarding the quality required for human consumption, the Canadian index classifies the quality of the water as “poor” in all the sites studied, while the León index classifies it on the scale of “contaminated” to “slightly contaminated”. Both indices indicate the imperative need for treatment before being used for human consumption.