New Water and Biotic Quality Assessment Indices for a tropical reservoir based on fuzzy logic

Abstract

The complexity of evaluating the quality of an aquatic environment with its numerous variables has resulted in several quality indexes to synthesize all information in a single value. However, most of these indexes are based on few environmental variables, losing information from other relevant variables. This article presents a new model capable of representing the quality level of a tropical oligo-mesotrophic reservoir on a numerical scale, considering the subjectivity implicit in the concept of quality, and involving several physical, chemical and biological variables. The proposed model, called "Fuzzy Indices for Water Quality Assessment and Biotics" (FUZZY-WBQAI), is based on fuzzy inference systems, providing a way to deal with the uncertainty between the quality categories. A computational tool was developed, which automatically assesses the quality of water, considering different methodologies that depend on the stratification conditions and the longitudinal zone of the reservoir. The model calculates two indices: one for water quality and one biotic that uses metrics from the fish assembly. The model was effective in revealing the decrease in water quality in summer months with higher temperature and precipitation. The effect of the mixture of the stratified reservoir in winter in decreasing the water quality in an area of fish cultivation was highlighted. The biotic index was sensitive to spatial changes in the environmental quality of the reservoir. The results were considered satisfactory, in agreement with the specialized knowledge, and can provide a rapid diagnosis of water conditions in oligo-mesotrophic reservoirs in the tropics.

Environmental conservation index of urban streams of Cavouco and Parnamirim streams, Brazil

“…In this context, Andrade et al (2020) proposed fuzzy water quality and biotic assessment indexes for a reservoir in Brazil. Calheiros et al (2013) used fuzzy logic to assess the conservation of aquatic environments in the Pantanal ecosystem, Brazil.…”

Qualidade da água em bacia hidrográfica do nordeste brasileiro: aplicação do IQA CCME e do índice de poluição de Nemerow

“…Os programas de monitoramento devem empregar índices agregados, que convertem um conjunto de variáveis, expressas como parâmetros físico-químicos e biológicos, em uma pontuação de valor único. Dessarte, tais modelos facilitam a compreensão do estado da qualidade da água, tornando possível avaliar, expressar, comparar e comunicar a qualidade geral de qualquer fonte de água de forma intelegível (Carvalho et al, 2011;Andrade et al, 2020).…”