Influência de eventos hidrológicos extremos na qualidade da água de reservatórios na região tropical semiárida

Reservoirs are artificial ecosystems, intermediate between rivers and lakes, with diferent morphological and hydrological characteristics that can provide many important benefits to society. However, the use of this water for human consumption, watering livestock, leisure, irrigated agricultural production and pisciculture development, directly influence the increase loading of nutrients to aquatic environments and contribute to acceleration of eutrophication. Furthermore, global climate models are predicting a higher occurrence of extreme events such as floods and severe droughts, which will create hydrological stresses in lakes. In the semiarid northeast we can see the occurrence of these events, the drought of the years 2012, 2013 and 2014 was the worst drought in 60 years, according to the National Water Agency (ANA). Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the quality of the semiarid tropical water sources, identifying temporal patterns in periods with extreme hydrological events (floods and severe droughts). The study results showed that Gargalheiras and Cruzeta reservoirs presented significative changes in the limnological variables between rain and severe drought periods, with better appearance and in the most of the water quality variables in the rainy season and higher nutrientes concentrations and high electrical conductivity values in severe season, indicating decay of its quality. However, we found diferent behaviors between the reservoirs in severe drought. While Gargalheiras showed a typical behavior of the region, with high concentrations of algal biomass, indicating the worsening eutrophication, Cruzeta demonstrated a colapse in the total phytoplankton biomass, evidenced by the decrease in chla concentrations. This fact occurred because the low depth and proximity with the sediment facilited the inorganic solids resuspension and, consequently, resulted in turbid water column and light by limitation. In addition, the different behaviors between the reservoirs indicate that the responses of these environments problems such as extreme events must take into account factors such the region climate, size, depth of the reservoir and the basin characteristics.

Qualidade da água de um reservatório e do solo da zona ripária sob diferentes usos na região semiárida do Rio Grande do Norte

Reservoirs are artificial ecosystems intermediate between rivers and lakes widely used in the Brazilian semiarid region as a way to provide water supply due to the said region’s water scarcity. The use of water from these supply sources for multiple uses, along with occupation and utilization of its riparian zone without proper management, directly influences the increased nutrient flow into aquatic environments, there with contributing to the acceleration of eutrophication. The semi-arid region is characterized by peculiar weather conditions, such as severe evaporation, high temperatures with little variation throughout the year and long water residence time, making it susceptible to prolonged drought occurrence, which tends to concentrate the nutrients in reservoirs, which favors the development of eutrophic conditions. Moreover, it is common soil use and occupation by carrying out activities with potential environmental impact on natural resources such as agriculture, livestock farming and lack of sanitation. The aim of this study is both to evaluate the water quality of the Cruzeta Reservoir, located in the semiarid region of Rio Grande do Norte, during a prolonged drought period, and assess the quality of its riparian zone soil under different uses, by monitoring physical-chemical variables. Along the prolonged drought, high levels of turbidity, suspended solids, nutrients and chlorophyll a were verified as present, therefore featuring low water quality. In the riparian zone of Cruzeta Reservoir, the areas under use of agriculture and livestock farming appeared as one of the main diffuse sources of nutrients to the said reservoir, featuring the highest levels of phosphorus and nitrogen in the soil, originated from decomposition of animal excreta and from the use of fertilizers, creating a tendency to increased eutrophication of such water supply source. The indicators of water and soil quality are useful for monitoring and evaluating the conservation status of natural resources, allowing the control and mitigation of the reservoir eutrophication process. This study confirmed the hypothesis that the reduction of water level, resulting from prolonged drought event, aggravates the symptoms of eutrophication; and also that using the soil under severalways modifies the physic chemical properties of the soil, having livestock farming and agriculture as the usages with greatest potential towards yielding P and N to the aquatic environment.

Os impactos na qualidade da água e do solo de um manancial tropical do semiárido devido ao uso e ocupação e evento de seca extrema

Human activities alter soil features, causing the deterioration of its quality. Land use and occupation in drainage basins of water supply reservoirs can change the environmental soil quality and, thus, lead to the expansion of the soil potential of being a diffuse pollution source. In the Brazilian semiarid region, the soils are generally shallow with high susceptibility to erosion, favoring the sediment and nutrients input into the superficial waterbodies, contributing to the eutrophication process. Moreover, this region has high temperatures and high evapotranspiration rates, that are generally higher than the precipitation rates, causing a negative hydric balance and big volume losses by evaporation. The water volume reduction increases the nutrients’ concentration and, therefore, exacerbates the eutrophication process, deteriorating the water quality. Thereby, we hypothesized that the eutrophication process of semiarid reservoirs is intensified both by the extreme climatic events of prolonged drought, and by the diffuse pollution due to the basin land use and occupation. The study aimed to test whether the land use and occupation activities of the basin and the severe drought events intensify the eutrophication process of a semiarid tropical reservoir. To verify the influence of human activities carried out in the water supply of drainage basin on the soil quality and the eutrophication process, we conducted the mapping of the kind of use and occupation, as well the calculation of erosion for each activity and the soil quality evaluation of the riparian zone and water quality of the water supply. For the water analyses, the samplings were carried out monthly in the deeper point, near dam. For the soil, deformed composite samples were taken for the physical and chemical attributes analysis, according to the identified land use and occupation classes. The results showed that extreme droughts drastically reduces the water volume and elevates the nutrients concentration, contributing, thus, to a bigger degradation of water quality. Furthermore, we verified that human activities in the drainage basin promote the diffuse pollution, by increasing the soil susceptibility to erosion and nutrients contents. Summarizing, our results support the investigated hypothesis that activities of land use and occupation and extreme drought generate a combined effect that provide the intensification of eutrophication process of semiarid reservoirs.

Alteração do estado trófico durante um evento de seca prolongada e seus impactos na biomassa algal de um manancial tropical da região semiárida

The main consequence of eutrophication is an increase in algal biomass, mainly cyanobacterial blooms. The high evaporation and low precipitation, characteristics of semiarid regions, contribute to the nutrients availability increase in drought periods and consequent aggravation of eutrophic condition in reservoirs. Climate changes tend to intensify eutrophication symptoms, mostly in a semiarid region. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of an extended drought in algal biomass in Parelhas’s Boqueirão, a mesotrophic reservoir located in a semiarid tropical region. The low volume was associated to water quality degradation and to the high nutrients concentrations and low water transparency. The increase in nutrients availability in the water column, consequence of reduced precipitation and low reservoir’s volume, provided the necessary resources for algal growth and allowed a change in trophic state in Boqueirão reservoir. This study showed how an extended drought decreases water quality. The effect of drought in Boqueirão was late detected due to the reservoir´s low initial nutrients concentration. The reservoir´s volume reduction increased the nutrient availability along with the algal biomass increase and the reservoir´s trophic state change of mesotrophic to eutrophic.

Desenvolvimento de filtros cerâmicos impregnados com nanopartículas de prata para desinfecção de água potável

Brazil has vast amounts of hydric resources, whose quality has been deteriorating due to pollutant dumping. Household waste disposal is one of the main sources of water pollution, stimulating bacteria proliferation and introducing microorganisms, including those from fecal matter. Conventional water disinfection methods are a solution, but on the downside, they lead to the formation byproducts hazardous to human health. In this study, aiming to develop bactericidal filters for the disinfection of drinking water; silver nanoparticles were deposited on alumina foams through three routes: sputtering DC, dip coating and in situ chemical reduction of silver nitrate. The depositions were characterized through X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and EDS element mapping. The influence of the depositions on permeability and mechanical properties of the ceramic foams was assessed and, in sequence, a preliminary antibacterial efficiency analysis was carried out. Characterization results indicate that the chemical reduction routes were efficient in depositing homogeneously distributed silver particles and that the concentration of the metallic precursor salt affects size and morphology of the particles. The antibacterial efficiency analysis indicates that the chemical reduction filters have potential for water disinfection