Water quality assessment, by statistical analysis, on rural and urban areas of Chocancharava River (Río Cuarto), Córdoba, Argentina.

EDUARDO A. GATICA; CÉSAR A. ALMEIDA; MIGUEL A. MALLEA; MARIA DEL C. CORIGLIANO; PATRICIA GONZALEZ

ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT

SPRINGER

Lugar: Holanda; Año: 2011

0167-6369

Water quality has degraded dramatically in Chocancharava River (Córdoba, Argentina), due to point and non point sources. This paper aims to assess spatial and temporal variations of physical and chemical parameter of the river. Six sampling sites and six sampling campaigns were developed. During the period 2007- 2008 wet and dry seasons were included. Ecological, physical and chemical variables (twenty four) were measured, and Riparian Corridors Quality Index (RCQ) was calculated. Considering a multivariate system, analysis of variance (ANOVA), principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) were used. From statistical analysis, the river was divided in two zones with different degree of contamination. The most polluted zone is due to pollution inputs of urban, industrial and agricultural sources. This area showed a remarkable deterioration in water quality, mainly due to wastewater discharges. According to Riparian Quality, better results were found in sections of poor water quality, due to the fact that the river bank forest was less degraded down stream of the sewage discharge.