Caracterización de la calidad del agua en la cuenca del río Paute (A.J. Burgay)

Abstract

Water quality characteristics suffer alterations of different nature due to the contact with different materials through which it travels. The research was conducted in the four main rivers of the city of Cuenca, Tomebamba, Machángara, Tarqui and Yanuncay belonging to the Andean region of Ecuador, which are part of the Paute river basin. The purpose of this research is to characterize different easily detectable water quality parameters, such as water temperature, turbidity, apparent color, total and fecal coliforms and pH. Subsequently, determine the relationship between water quality characteristics with plant cover and geology Has been used databases provided by the Telecommunications, Potable Water and Sanitation Company of Cuenca (ETAPA), from 1984 to 2018. After data validation, a spatial analysis was proposed in which key points were selected to assess its behavior (high, medium and low watershed). A temporary analysis, which took as reference the months with the highest and lowest rainfall that occurred within the analysis period. This has been done in order to establish the influence that generates the geology and the change of vegetation cover in the behavior of water quality characteristics. In general, water quality decreases as one move towards the city of Cuenca, due to the increase in surface area discovered (urbanization). The change between the winter and drought periods also influences the quality, especially in the turbidity and apparent color, which in the presence of rains, increase their value.