Study and Evaluation of Surface Water Resources Affected by Ancient and Illegal Mining in the Upper Part of the Milluni Micro-Basin, Bolivia

Abstract

One of the factors with the most significant impact due to pollution caused by mining activities is water. Surface water resources are limited, and in many cases, they are the primary water source for consumption; thus, its quality is a fundamental subject of study. The traditional way of studying water quality is to measure parameters and compare the results with tables of values established in the regulations. The quality of drinking water is characterized and controlled. However, this traditional comparison method may be subjective and insufficient to classify water quality as safe. Therefore, it is necessary to develop and complement the conventional monitoring, linking physicochemical analysis with remote perception. The different variables analyzed can be integrated and result in much more complete water quality indices, achieving the evolution of the monitoring programs of the water quality of the surface bodies. This research combines remote sensing with traditional monitoring to obtain a more robust and affordable indicator, resulting in a study of the central water bodies of Milluni. The main finding—the alarming contamination in the Milluni Chico and Milluni Grande lagoons—provides more accurate information to decision-makers to improve water management in Bolivia.

Zinc Recovery from a Water Supply by Reverse Osmosis Operated at Low Pressures: Looking for Sustainability in Water Treatment Advanced Processes

“…Although widespread mining activities ceased approximately 20 years ago, the impact of mining waste on water quality remains a serious national environmental problem [ 45 , 46 ]. Another problem affecting water quality in this area is small-scale and often illegal mining activities, about which precise information is unavailable [ 47 ].…”

Mathematical and Statistical Evaluation of Reverse Osmosis in the Removal of Manganese as a Way to Achieve Sustainable Operating Parameters

“…An analysis of Milluni's historical monitoring data exposes the presence of heavy metals at concentrations outside the permissible limits [9]. Other studies have corroborated the presence of high metal contents in Milluni, including Mn [65,[68][69][70]. Figure 3 shows the distribution of the lagoons in the upper part of the micro-basin.…”

Revealing Decadal Glacial Changes and Lake Evolution in the Cordillera Real, Bolivia: A Semi-Automated Landsat Imagery Analysis

“…To better understand the diverse patterns in temporal area changes of lakes and the factors influencing lake dynamics, we calculated glacierized catchments using the SRTM DEM and GLIMS datasets within ArcGIS Pro 3.2. Information on human activities was gathered through several approaches: analysis of dam records available in OpenStreetMap (OSM) (https://www.openstreetmap.org, accessed on 16 February 2023); examination of lakes affected by mining activities, as documented in the literature [36,37]; and visual observations using recent high-resolution images from Google Earth to observe lakes displaying noticeable alterations, such as discernible human-built structures.…”