Revista Águas Subterrâneas (Aug 2016)
Assesment of groundwater quality for human consumption: a case study of Jaci-Paraná District, Porto Velho – RO
Abstract
The Jaci-Paraná District has an average population of 18.000 inhabitants and is situated at 87 km from the city of Porto Velho, Rondônia, Western Amazon. In this district sanitation is non-existent. Thus, the water abstraction is carried from wells, mainly "amazons" and sewage wastes are thrown in the open, black pits or small streams. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of groundwater resources through the following parameters: electrical conductivity, apparent color, pH, ionic constituents, such as fluoride, chloride, nitrite, bromide, nitrate, phosphate, sulfate, lithium, sodium, ammonium, potassium, calcium and magnesium, and microbiological analysis of fecal coliforms and total coliforms. The collection of samples was conducted in the months of December/2011 and May/2012. All 82 samples were contaminated by total coliforms and 42.3% of water samples had nitrate levels above the maximum value allowed by the MS Ordinance 2914/2011 for potability of water, which is 10 mg L-1.
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