Water Security Assessment of Groundwater Quality in an Anthropized Rural Area from the Atlantic Forest Biome in Brazil

Abstract

The exploitation of natural resources has grown mainly due to the high rate of population growth that changed over time around the planet. Water is one of the most needed resources essential for survival. Despite all the efforts made to improve water security, an environmental impact related to anthropogenic influence remains of great concern, which is the alteration of surface and groundwater quality. In many regions around the world, there is limited or no access to rural and urban water supply while there is a need to improve sanitation facilities. This work evaluated the spatial distribution of groundwater and surface water quality as well as their changes in wet and dry seasons of the tropical climate in the Atlantic Forest Biome. The study area is under anthropogenic influence, which is in the municipality of Igarassú, Pernambuco State, Brazil. The analysis of the raw water was based on Standard Methods for Examination of Water and Wastewater, as referenced in the Brazilian Ministry of Health Consolidation Ordinance that sets standards for drinking water. The temporal analyses indicated a variation on water quality from the wet to the dry seasons, whereas the spatial results revealed deviations from the Brazilian’s Water Supply Standards for some physicochemical parameters. There was an increase in the values of some parameters during the wet season in some hydrological compartments. The anthropized rural area from the Atlantic Forest Biome is affecting the water quality. It is, therefore, necessary to develop environmental policies and put them into practice by implementing engineering projects that guarantee proper treatment for raw water in order to bring the water quality back to a good status in this region.

Impacts of Land Use Types on Shallow Groundwater Quality Sources in Mathira East Sub-County in Kenya

“…Water quality parameters for both shallow boreholes and wells deteriorated from forests, then tea, and coffee with those in urban areas being the most affected. The most affected water parameters, namely turbidity, conductivity, nitrates and phosphates were attributed to land-use changes especially the intensi cation of agricultural activities (Lwimbo et al, 2019;Vieira et al, 2020). The MES is situated in high (AEZ 2) and medium (AEZ 3) potential agro-ecological zones and supports high mixed agriculture that relies on rainfall and irrigation from rivers and shallow groundwater sources.…”

“…Human population in conjunction with other root causes are precursor of developments that demands the conversion of limited lands to unsustainable uses such as agriculture, forestry, settlements, hotels, mines, infrastructure, energy production, and aquaculture. For instance, pollution of surface and shallow groundwater resources has been attributed to agricultural intensi cation, poor waste disposal, and wastewater e uents (Lwimbo et al, 2019;Vieira et al, 2020).…”

“…To increase the body of data on shallow boreholes and wells in MES, this study investigated the relationship between land-use types and water quality. The study predicted that water quality in shallow boreholes and wells was strongly dependent on climate, geology, vegetation cover, and land use system (Griebler & Avramov, 2015) as well as groundwater sources conservation practices (Lwimbo et al, 2019;Vieira et al, 2020). Additionally, densely populated areas with insu cient water supply, inadequate proper sanitation, and poor environmental planning are likely to contribute to groundwater pollution (Vieira et al, 2020).…”

Frequency Analysis on Groundwater Consumption and Water Billed to the Community in Kelantan

“…In contrast, the communities that operate a small amount of groundwater are overburdened with work and only have time to spend at home for a short time. According to estimates, 70% of the world's water is used for irrigation and agriculture, with the remaining 22% going to industry and only 8% going to home consumption [13].…”

The Assessment of Hydrological Availability and the Payment for Ecosystem Services: A Pilot Study in a Brazilian Headwater Catchment

“…Water security involves ensuring water quantity and quality acceptable for livelihood. It is related to the development of solutions to manage and mitigate impacts of scarcity and possible risks regarding environmental conditions and climate uncertainties, in order to guarantee human well-being, socioeconomic development and preservation of ecosystems [12][13][14][15][16][17].…”