Evaluation of water quality at the source of streams of the Sinos River Basin, southern Brazil.
The Sinos River Basin (SRB) is located in the northeastern region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul (29º20' to 30º10'S and 50º15' to 51º20'W), southern Brazil, and covers two geomorphologic provinces: the southern plateau and the central depression. It is part of the Guaíba basin, has an area of approximately 800 km 2 and contains 32 counties. The basin provides drinking water for 1.6 million inhabitants in one of the most important industrial centres in Brazil. This study describes different water quality indices (WQI) used for the sub-basins of three important streams in the SRB: Pampa, Estância Velha/Portão and Schmidt streams. Physical, chemical and microbiological parameters assessed bimonthly using samples collected at each stream source were used to calculate the Horton Index (HI), the Dinius Index (DI) and the water quality index adopted by the US National Sanitation Foundation (NSF WQI) in the additive and multiplicative forms. These indices describe mean water quality levels at the streams sources. The results obtained for these 3 indexes showed a worrying scenario in which water quality has already been negatively affected at the sites where three important sub-basins in the Sinos River Basin begin to form.
Laboratório de Corrosão, Proteção e Reciclagem de Materiais, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, BR.
T
T
Benvenuti
Laboratório de Botânica, Programa de Pós-Graduação Mestrado em Qualidade Ambiental, Universidade Feevale, Novo Hamburgo, RS, BR.
M A
MA
Kieling-Rubio
Programa de Pós-Graduação Mestrado em Qualidade Ambiental, Universidade Feevale, Novo Hamburgo, RS, BR.
C R
CR
Klauck
Programa de Pós-Graduação Mestrado em Qualidade Ambiental, Universidade Feevale, Novo Hamburgo, RS, BR.
M A S
MA
Rodrigues
D001938:Brazil; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D060753:Water Quality