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Current and Emerging Issues Surrounding Water in the Americas

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A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Resources Management, Policy and Governance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2019) | Viewed by 72751

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Thomas C. Harmon

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Guest Editor

Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of California Merced, USA
Interests: groundwater and surface hydrology; pollutant transport; socio-environmental systems

Prof. Natalia Hoyos

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Guest Editor

Departamento de Historia y Ciencias Sociales, Universidad del Norte, Baranquilla, Colombia
Interests: physical geography; remote sensing and GIS; Tropical regions

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water issues in the Americas are as diverse and complex as the histories, cultures, economies, and geography of the Western Hemisphere itself. The aim of this Special Issue is to assemble the latest interdisciplinary work on understanding current and emerging water and water-related issues in Central and South America. Contributions are welcome on such topics as hydrology and climate change, land use and integrated watershed management, limnology, paleo-environmental reconstructions, conservation biology, sustaining biodiversity, stakeholder engagement, water policy and governance, ecosystem services evaluation, environmental education and other topics associated with the connections between water, ecosystems, and people in the Americas. All such work should support a long-term vision of healthy and sustainable aquatic ecosystems.

Studies driven by science, engineering and social science are welcome, but all should endeavor to connect concepts and findings across disciplines. Field campaigns, long-term monitoring efforts, case studies, stakeholder surveys, and capacity building efforts are equally welcome. Work highlighting strategies, challenges and lessons learned in regard to international, interdisciplinary team building, data access, and sustaining long-term efforts is especially desirable.

All submissions will be peer-reviewed per journal guidelines (see mdpi.com). The deadline for manuscript submission is 1 July, 2018.

Prof. Thomas C. Harmon
Prof. Natalia Hoyos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Aquatic ecosystems
Central and South America
Water issues
Hydrology and climate
Stakeholder engagement

Published Papers (13 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 5904 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Seasonal Fluxes of Dissolved Nutrients in Streams of Catchments Dominated by Swidden Agriculture in the Maya Forest of Belize, Central America

by David G. Buck, Peter C. Esselman, Shiguo Jiang, Joel D. Wainwright, Mark Brenner and Matthew J. Cohen

Water 2019, 11(4), 664; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w11040664 - 31 Mar 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3420

Abstract

The biogeochemistry of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in tropical streams and rivers is strongly regulated by the pronounced seasonality of rainfall and associated changes in hydrology. Land use and land cover change (LULCC) can also be a dominant driver of changes in stream biogeochemistry yet responses are not fully understood and vary across different LULCC scenarios. We measured dissolved and total nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations in four tributary streams of the Temash River watershed in southern Belize, Central America. The dominant land use practice in each of the four study catchments was swidden agriculture. We documented a strong seasonal control on the export of nutrients from these study systems with daily N fluxes increasing approximately 10-fold during the onset of the rainy season. P fluxes increased almost 4-fold during the same time period. Comparisons with nutrient export coefficients from other tropical streams suggest that nutrient export in streams of the Temash River watershed is similar or slightly lower. Establishing improved understanding of the terrestrial and hydrologic controls of N and P transport across the terrestrial-aquatic boundary and developing a comprehensive nutrient budget that includes inputs and outputs associated with crop production is warranted in future work. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current and Emerging Issues Surrounding Water in the Americas )

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18 pages, 9768 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Long-Term Annual Surface Water Change in the Brazilian Amazon Biome: Potential Links with Deforestation, Infrastructure Development and Climate Change

by Carlos M. Souza, Jr., Frederic T. Kirchhoff, Bernardo C. Oliveira, Júlia G. Ribeiro and Márcio H. Sales

Water 2019, 11(3), 566; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w11030566 - 19 Mar 2019

Cited by 34 | Viewed by 16820

Abstract

The Brazilian Amazon is one of the areas on the planet with the fastest changes in forest cover due to deforestation associated with agricultural expansion and infrastructure development. These drivers of change, directly and indirectly, affect the water ecosystem. In this study, we present a long-term spatiotemporal analysis of surface water annual change and address potential connections with deforestation, infrastructure expansion and climate change in this region. To do that, we used the Landsat Data Archive (LDA), and Earth Engine cloud computing platform, to map and analyze annual water changes between 1985 and 2017. We detected and estimated the extent of surface water using a novel sub-pixel classifier based on spectral mixture analysis, followed by a post-classification segmentation approach to isolate and classify surface water in natural and anthropic water bodies. Furthermore, we combined these results with deforestation and infrastructure development maps of roads, hydroelectric dams to quantify surface water changes linked with them. Our results showed that deforestation dramatically disrupts small streams, new hydroelectric dams inundated landmass after 2010 and that there is an overall trend of reducing surface water in the Amazon Biome and watershed scales, suggesting a potential connection to more recent extreme droughts in the 2010s. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current and Emerging Issues Surrounding Water in the Americas )

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19 pages, 4463 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effects of Land Use and Climate Change on the Water Yield of a Watershed in Colombia

by Sandra R. Villamizar, Sergio M. Pineda and Gustavo A. Carrillo

Water 2019, 11(2), 285; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w11020285 - 06 Feb 2019

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5776

Abstract

Land use and climate are two determinant factors of water yield within a watershed. Understanding the effects of these two variables is key for the decision-making process within watersheds. Hydrologic modeling can be used for this purpose and the integration of future climate scenarios to calibrated models widens the spectrum of analysis. Such types of studies have been carried out in many areas of the world, including the Amazon Basin of South America. However, there is a lack of understanding on the effect of land use/land cover and climate change on Andean watersheds of this continent. Our study focused on the evaluation of water yield under different land use and climate scenarios using the semi-distributed hydrological model known as the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. We worked on the Tona watershed (Colombia, South America), the most important source of water for a metropolitan population. Our results compared water yield estimates for historical conditions (1987–2002) with those of future combined scenarios for land use and climate for the 2006–2050 period. The modeling effort produced global estimates of water yield (average annual values) and, at the subwatershed level, identified strategic areas on which the protection and conservation activities of water managers can be focused. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current and Emerging Issues Surrounding Water in the Americas )

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16 pages, 1990 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Voluntary Management of Residential Water Demand in Low and Middle-Low Income Homes: A Pilot Study of Soacha (Colombia)

by Rocío Acosta Alarcón, Juan Pablo Rodríguez and Harn Wei Kua

Water 2019, 11(2), 216; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w11020216 - 28 Jan 2019

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3295

Abstract

The efficient use of water in urban contexts becomes a priority in the face of population growth and the potential vulnerability of water supply as a result of the impacts of climate change. This pilot study focuses on the use of educational strategies to promote the voluntary management of residential water demand. Three schools in the municipality of Soacha (Colombia) were involved, where students from 12 to 15 years old participated as promoters of water consumption educational campaigns within their families, covering a total of 120 low and middle-income families. Three intervention strategies (that is, a virtual platform, learning activities, and graphical tools) were carried out. The effects of these intervention strategies on changes in the water consumption were analyzed to establish the dependence of this variable with socio-demographic, economic, environmental and quality of life factors. Different information gathering tools were used, such as validated local water utility bills, surveys and self-reports. The graphical tools reduced consumption by 14%, but other strategies did not show significant reductions. However, according to self-reported data, all educational campaigns did have positive outcomes on the participants’ behavior. It was found that socioeconomic factors, such as type of housing, socioeconomic strata, living in a rented home, and quality of life variables (such as enjoying nature and culture, good and fluid family relationships, and material possessions) significantly affected the changes in water consumption behavior. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current and Emerging Issues Surrounding Water in the Americas )

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21 pages, 6868 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Modeling Streamflow Response to Persistent Drought in a Coastal Tropical Mountainous Watershed, Sierra Nevada De Santa Marta, Colombia

by Natalia Hoyos, Alexander Correa-Metrio, Steven M. Jepsen, Beverley Wemple, Santiago Valencia, Matthew Marsik, Rubén Doria, Jaime Escobar, Juan C. Restrepo and Maria I. Velez

Water 2019, 11(1), 94; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w11010094 - 08 Jan 2019

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 6461

Abstract

Droughts constitute natural hazards that affect water supply for ecosystems and human livelihoods. In 2013–2016, the Caribbean experienced the worst drought since the 1950s, and climate projections for the southern Caribbean predict less rainfall by the end of the 21st century. We assessed streamflow response to drought for a watershed in the Colombian Caribbean by analyzing the effects of drought length and land cover on streamflow recovery. We generated a calibrated SWAT model and created annual and monthly drought scenarios from rainfall records. We used our model to predict water yield for selected land covers (wet forest, shade coffee, shrub, and dry forest) under drought conditions. Annual scenarios resulted in water yield reductions of ~15 mm month⁻¹ (wet forest, coffee, and shrub) and 5 mm month⁻¹ (dry forest) for the first month after a two-year drought. Maximum water yield reductions for monthly scenarios occurred after a 10-month drought and were ~100 mm month⁻¹ (wet forest, coffee, and shrub) and 20 mm month⁻¹ (dry forest). Streamflow recovered within nine months (annual scenarios), and two to eight months (monthly scenarios) after drought termination. Drought response seems to be conditioned by climatic factors (rainfall seasonality and spatial variability) and catchment properties. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current and Emerging Issues Surrounding Water in the Americas )

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22 pages, 4283 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Landscape Drivers and Social Dynamics Shaping Microbial Contamination Risk in Three Maya Communities in Southern Belize, Central America

by Peter C. Esselman, Shiguo Jiang, Henry A. Peller, David G. Buck and Joel D. Wainwright

Water 2018, 10(11), 1678; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w10111678 - 17 Nov 2018

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4823

Abstract

Land transformation can have cascading effects on hydrology, water quality, and human users of water resources, with serious implications for human health. An interdisciplinary analysis is presented, whereby remote-sensing data of changing land use and cover are related to surface hydrology and microbial contamination in domestic use areas of three indigenous Maya communities in Belize, Central America. We asked whether a departure from traditional land-use patterns toward intensified use led to consequences for hydrology and microbial contamination of drinking water, and investigated how social factors in the three study communities may act to ameliorate human health risks associated with water contamination. We showed that a departure from traditional land use to more intensive cultivation and grazing led to significantly increased surface water runoff, and intensified microbial contamination of surface water sources sometimes used for drinking. Results further suggested that groundwater contamination was widespread regardless of land cover, due to the widespread presence of pit latrines, pigs, and cows on the landscape, and that human users were consistently subject to health risks from potential pathogens as a result. Given that both surface and groundwater resources were found to be contaminated, it is important that water distribution systems (piped water from tanks; shallow and deep wells) be monitored for Escherichia coli and treated when necessary to reduce or eliminate contaminants and protect public health. Results of interviews suggested that strengthened capacity within the communities to monitor and treat centralized drinking water sources and increase water treatment at the point of use could lead to reduced risk to water consumers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current and Emerging Issues Surrounding Water in the Americas )

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21 pages, 5498 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Socioeconomic and Environmental Proxies for Comparing Freshwater Ecosystem Service Threats across International Sites: A Diagnostic Approach

by Thomas C. Harmon, Robyn L. Smyth, Sudeep Chandra, Daniel Conde, Ramesh Dhungel, Jaime Escobar, Natalia Hoyos, Juan Pablo Lozoya, Mariana Nin, Gerardo M.E. Perillo, Stephanie Pincetl, M. Cintia Piccolo, Brian Reid, James A. Rusak, Facundo Scordo, Maria I. Velez, Sandra R. Villamizar, Beverley Wemple and Mariana Zilio

Water 2018, 10(11), 1578; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w10111578 - 04 Nov 2018

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5066

Abstract

In this work, we develop and test proxy-based diagnostic tools for comparing freshwater ecosystem services (FWES) risks across an international array of freshwater ecosystems. FWES threats are increasing rapidly under pressure from population, climate change, pollution, land use change, and other factors. We identified spatially explicit FWES threats estimates (referred to as threat benchmarks) and extracted watershed-specific values for an array of aquatic ecosystems in the Western Hemisphere (Ramsar sites). We compared these benchmark values to values extracted for sites associated with an international FWES threat investigation. The resulting benchmark threats appeared to provide a meaningful context for the diagnostic assessment of study site selection by revealing gaps in coverage of the underlying socio-environmental problem. In an effort to simplify the method, we tested regularly updated environmental and socioeconomic metrics as potential proxies for the benchmark threats using regression analysis. Three category proxies, aggregated from (i) external (global to regional, climate-related), (ii) internal (watershed management-related), and (iii) socioeconomic and governance related proxies produced strong relationships with water supply threat benchmarks, but only weak relationships with biodiversity-related and nutrient regulation benchmark threats. Our results demonstrate the utility of advancing global FWES status and threat benchmarks for organizing coordinated research efforts and prioritizing decisions with regard to international socio-environmental problems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current and Emerging Issues Surrounding Water in the Americas )

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42 pages, 2387 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Modeling Water Yield: Assessing the Role of Site and Region-Specific Attributes in Determining Model Performance of the InVEST Seasonal Water Yield Model

by Facundo Scordo, Thomas Michael Lavender, Carina Seitz, Vanesa L. Perillo, James A. Rusak, M. Cintia Piccolo and Gerardo M. E. Perillo

Water 2018, 10(11), 1496; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w10111496 - 23 Oct 2018

Cited by 45 | Viewed by 6056

Abstract

Simple hydrological models, such as the Seasonal Water Yield Model developed by the Natural Capital Project (InVEST SWYM), are attractive as data requirements are relatively easy to satisfy. However, simple models may produce unrealistic results when the underlying hydrological processes are inadequately described. We used the variation in performance of the InVEST SWYM across watersheds to identify correlates of poorly modeled outcomes of InVEST SWYM. We grouped 749 watersheds from across North America into five bioclimatic regions using nine environmental variables. For each region, we compared the predicted flow patterns to actual flow conditions over a 15-year period. The correlation between the modeled and actual flows was highly dispersed and relatively poor, with 92% of r² values less than 0.5 and 42% less than 0.1. We linked cryospheric variables to model performance in the bioclimatic region with the poorest model performance (the Low elevation Boreal Sub-humid region—LeBSh). After incorporating cryospheric conditions into the InVEST SWYM, predictions improved significantly in 30% of the LeBSh watersheds. We provide a relatively straightforward approach for identifying processes that simple hydrological models may not consider or which need further attention or refinement. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current and Emerging Issues Surrounding Water in the Americas )

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17 pages, 1686 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Paleoenvironmental Reconstructions Improve Ecosystem Services Risk Assessment: Case Studies from Two Coastal Lagoons in South America

by Maria Isabel Velez, Daniel Conde, Juan Pablo Lozoya, James Anthony Rusak, Felipe García-Rodríguez, Carina Seitz, Thomas Harmon, Gerardo Miguel Eduardo Perillo, Jaime Escobar and Sandra Patricia Vilardy

Water 2018, 10(10), 1350; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w10101350 - 28 Sep 2018

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3620

Abstract

Paleoenvironmental reconstructions are increasingly being used in conservation biology, ecosystem management, and evaluations of ecosystem services (ES), but their potential to contribute to the ES risk assessment process has not been explored. We propose that the long-term history of the ecosystem provides valuable information that augments and strengthens an ES risk assessment and that it should be considered routinely when undertaking risk assessments. We adjusted a standard ecosystem-based risk management (EBRM) protocol to include paleoenvironmental data, and tested the modified approach on two coastal lagoons in South America. Paleolimnological reconstructions in both lagoons indicate that salinity and nutrients (in Laguna de Rocha), and salinity (in Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta), as controlled by hydrologic connectivity with the ocean and freshwater tributaries, have been the key variables behind ecosystem’s function. This understanding, applied to inform various components and steps in the EBRM protocol, suggests that the maintenance of hydrological connections should be a management priority to minimize risk to ES. This work illustrates the utility of including paleoenvironmental data in an EBRM context and highlights the need for a more holistic approach to risk management by incorporating the long-term history of ecosystem function. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current and Emerging Issues Surrounding Water in the Americas )

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16 pages, 2523 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Drivers of Ecosystem Metabolism in Two Managed Shallow Lakes with Different Salinity and Trophic Conditions: The Sauce Grande and La Salada Lakes (Argentina)

by María Belén Alfonso, Andrea Soledad Brendel, Alejandro José Vitale, Carina Seitz, María Cintia Piccolo and Gerardo Miguel Eduardo Perillo

Water 2018, 10(9), 1136; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w10091136 - 25 Aug 2018

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3488

Abstract

Understanding the drivers and how they affect ecosystem metabolism is essential for developing effective management policy and plans. In this study, net ecosystem production (NEP), ecosystem respiration (R), and gross primary production (GPP) rates were estimated in relation to physicochemical, hydrological, and meteorological variables in La Salada (LS) and Sauce Grande (SG), two shallow lakes located in an important agricultural region with water management. LS is a mesosaline, mesotrophic-eutrophic lake, whereas SG is a hyposaline and eutrophic lake. GPP and R showed daily and seasonal variations, with R exceeding GPP during most of the study period in both lakes. Net heterotrophic conditions prevailed during the study period (NEP LS: −1.1 mmol O₂ m⁻² day⁻¹ and NEP SG: −1.25 mmol O₂ m⁻² day⁻¹). From data analysis, the temperature, wind speed, and lake volume are the main drivers of ecosystem metabolism for both lakes. Despite the significant differences between the two lakes, the NEP values were similar. The different hydrological characteristics (endorheic vs. flushing lake) were crucial in explaining why the two different systems presented similar ecosystem metabolic rates, emphasizing the importance of water management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current and Emerging Issues Surrounding Water in the Americas )

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17 pages, 1748 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nitrogen and Phosphorus Uptake Dynamics in Tropical Cerrado Woodland Streams

by Nícolas Reinaldo Finkler, Flavia Tromboni, Iola Gonçalves Boëchat, Björn Gücker and Davi Gasparini Fernandes Cunha

Water 2018, 10(8), 1080; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w10081080 - 14 Aug 2018

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4695

Abstract

Pollution abatement through phosphorus and nitrogen retention is a key ecosystem service provided by streams. Human activities have been changing in-stream nutrient concentrations, thereby altering lotic ecosystem functioning, especially in developing countries. We estimated nutrient uptake metrics (ambient uptake length, areal uptake rate, and uptake velocity) for nitrate (NO₃–N), ammonium (NH₄–N), and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) in four tropical Cerrado headwater streams during 2017, through whole-stream nutrient addition experiments. According to multiple regression models, ambient SRP concentration was an important explanatory variable of nutrient uptake. Further, best models included ambient NO₃–N and water velocity (for NO₃–N uptake metrics), dissolved oxygen (DO) and canopy cover (for NH₄–N); and DO, discharge, water velocity, and temperature (for SRP). The best kinetic models describing nutrient uptake were efficiency-loss (R² from 0.47–0.88) and first-order models (R² from 0.60–0.85). NO₃–N, NH₄–N, and SRP uptake in these streams seemed coupled as a result of complex interactions of biotic P limitation, abiotic P cycling processes, and the preferential uptake of NH₄–N among N-forms. Global change effects on these tropical streams, such as temperature increase and nutrient enrichment due to urban and agricultural expansion, may have adverse and partially unpredictable impacts on whole-stream nutrient processing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current and Emerging Issues Surrounding Water in the Americas )

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17 pages, 1829 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Mapping and Monitoring Lakes Intra-Annual Variability in Semi-Arid Regions: A Case of Study in Patagonian Plains (Argentina)

by Facundo Scordo, Vanesa Y. Bohn, M. Cintia Piccolo and Gerardo M. E. Perillo

Water 2018, 10(7), 889; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w10070889 - 03 Jul 2018

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3001

Abstract

In arid and semi-arid regions, the climatic impact on lakes is especially critical, as they are scarce and play an important role as a primary source of the water supply. However, in some extended regions with those climatic conditions, the implementation of an in-situ monitoring program of high temporal resolution of the water resources is not possible due to its logistics and costs. Thus, developing an accurate methodology to monitor the evolution of water bodies is especially critical in these areas. For example, with remote sensing images, lake area fluctuation can be analyzed. The main objective of this study was to identify an efficient remote sensing methodology, with a temporal resolution that allows for analyzing intra-annual lake area variations. For detecting lakes area changes six Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS, National Aeronautics and Space Administration products) indexes and layers were analyzed and compared. We applied the methods to the Musters (deep) and Colhué Huapí (shallow) lakes, which are located in the extra-Andean Argentine Patagonia plains (semi-arid region). The MODIS products have not been accurate to detect the areal variations of the deep lake, probably because the spatial resolution of these images is not specific enough to identify the slight variation that these lakes usually have on the extension of their area. On the contrary, MODIS products have been accurate to analyze the areal changes of the shallow lake. The Colhué Huapí lake area fluctuated between 105 km² to 797 km². The Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (a combination of green and middle infrared electromagnetic spectrum), as well as two bands that include a different range of middle infrared surface reflectance (2105–2155 nm; 1628–1652 nm), were the most accurate to identify the variation of the lake area. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current and Emerging Issues Surrounding Water in the Americas )

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16 pages, 1925 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ecosystemic Assessment of Surface Water Quality in the Virilla River: Towards Sanitation Processes in Costa Rica

by Leonardo Mena-Rivera, Oscar Vásquez-Bolaños, Cinthya Gómez-Castro, Alicia Fonseca-Sánchez, Abad Rodríguez-Rodríguez and Rolando Sánchez-Gutiérrez

Water 2018, 10(7), 845; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w10070845 - 26 Jun 2018

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4938

Abstract

Water quality information is essential supporting decision making in water management processes. The lack of information restricts, at some point, the implementation of adequate sanitation, which is still scarce in developing countries. In this study, an ecosystemic water quality assessment was conducted in the Virilla river in Costa Rica, in a section of particular interest for future sanitation development. It included the monitoring of physical, chemical, microbiological and benthic macroinvertebrate parameters from 2014 to 2016. Mutivariate statistics and water quality indexes were used for data interpretation. Results indicated that water quality decreased downstream towards more urbanised areas. Particularly, extreme values of phosphorous, nitrogen and E. coli were found. Sample sites were grouped in two clusters, which were consistent with land use. Benthic macroinverterbrates diversity was predominantly represented by Baetidae, Chironomidae, Leptohyphidae, Hydropsychidae, Simuliidae and Physidae. They were mostly influenced by water temperature, nitrite, ammonium, soluble reactive phosphorous, total solids, alkalinity, nitrate and total suspended solids. Three water quality indexes consistently showed the poor condition of the water body. The overall results indicate that the main sources of pollution in the river are likely to be wastewater discharges. Thus, special efforts should be undertaken regarding its regulation in the country. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current and Emerging Issues Surrounding Water in the Americas )

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