Caracterización de la calidad del agua y determinación de metales pesados en sedimentos de la microcuenca del río Colorado

Abstract

The present investigation aims to characterize the quality of the water and determine the concentration of heavy metals in the sediments of the Colorado River micro-basin for the evaluation of the degree of contamination through the water quality index (ICA), for which it was carried out a monitoring in September 2022, taking 5 sampling stations along the Colorado River. On the other hand, the analysis of the physicochemical characteristics was carried out considering the permissible limits of the Environmental Quality Regulation (TULSMA) established in annex 1, for water and in annex 2, for soil. The ICA values were interpreted through the NSF and Dinius classification scale. The results physicochemical parameters that exceeded the permissible limits in water were fecal coliforms, zinc, lead, iron and manganese. On the other hand, the measurements that exceeded the soil quality criteria were hexavalent chromium, cadmium and copper. In accordance with the aforementioned, a regular water quality was estimated using the ICA-NSF. On the other hand, the water was classified as contaminated except for P3, which was acceptable through the Dinius ICA. The condition in the sampling areas in surface waters is mainly due to anthropic activities such as the presence and deposition of animal feces; as well as domestic water discharges and the dry season, which allowed us to investigate the deterioration of water quality in the Colorado River.