Salinization at the mouth of the São Francisco River: impacts on the Potengi community, Alagoas, Brazil

Abstract

The salinization process at the mouth of the São Francisco River has been caused serious damage to the ecosystem and the quality of life among riverine populations. This study aimed to assess the perception of the riverine populations regarding the effects of water salinization at the mouth of the São Francisco River, and also to analyze the quality of water that is provided to the Potengi community in Piaçabuçu, Alagoas, Brazil. For data collection, semi- tructured interviews were conducted with 22 riverine residents. The analyses of water samples were carried out at four places in the community, in which analyzes of pH, electrical conductivity, determination of salinity, and turbidity of the water were made. It was possible to identify, during the performance of this study, the inefficiency of the public authorities, both concerning the informative and mitigating actions, as the exposure of the population to high levels of sodium and turbid water, leading to changes in the parameters concerning data established by the World Health Organization (WHO). The results revealed that one of the samples analyzed presented a saline level 17 times higher than the limit established by the WHO, and a turbidity index was 15.6 times higher than the technical limit established. Therefore, these changes have affected the health of the community, directly compromising the use of water and the composition of the biota in the region.

Impacts of land cover changes on energy flow and the water cycle in the brazilian semiarid region

“…After successive reductions in flow rates, between 2013 and 2017, salinity increased from 8 to 64 times, ranging from 1.4 ‰ for flow rates of 1105 m³/s in October 2014, and 15.4‰ for flow rates of 741 m³/s (Fonseca et al, 2020). The saline intrusion was observed 16 km from the mouth, which caused the replacement of agricultural activities for carcinoculture by the riverside population, in addition to a reduction in water quality, which reached turbidity levels 15.6 times higher than recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) (Soares et al, 2020;Vital Filho et al, 2020).…”

“…In the area of water resources, especially involving Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and water management, research mainly covers some topics, such as the development of methodologies for identifying and measuring water deficits and droughts (ALVALÁ et al, 2019;BRITO et al, 2018;SANTOS, 2020;MARENGO;MARENGO;TORRES;TOMASELLA et al, 2018), or assessments of hydrological and climatic data to know the advantages and disadvantages of their uses (DA SILVA et al, 2020;SANTOS et al, 2021), in addition to the use of hydrological models that help identify changes in the hydrological cycle of river basins from anthropogenic interventions in the natural environment and ongoing climate change (CREECH et al, 2015;DE JONG et al, 2018;FREITAS, 2021;SILVA et al, 2021a). Other important studies, integrated into the human sciences, are the impact assessments caused by extreme events, whether due to excess or lack of water, in societies.…”