A year of monthly monitoring water for human consumption in a region with high agricultural and farming impact in Salta, Argentina

MERCEDES C. CRUZ; DOLORES GUTIÉRREZ CACCIABUE; OSCAR GAMBONI; LUIS ROMERO; MARÍA S. VICENTE; ELIO E. GONZO; VERÓNICA B. RAJAL

Naxos

Simposio; 15th International Symposium on Health-Related Water Microbiology; 2009

IWA

This study was performed in a semirural area to the west of the Salta city in the northwest of Argentina, which is crossed by the Arenales River. The river is used as a water source for a drinking water plant, for agricultural irrigation, and for livestock maintenance. The poor water quality of the river and an associated irrigation channel were reported previously together with high incidence rates of diarrhea in the area. The region is agriculture intensive, and there are many farms (mainly poultry) on the margins of the river and the channel that were identified as sources of pollution.The aim of this study was to determine the quality of groundwater intended for human consumption in the region to test the hypothesis.Both wells showed consistent results and were clearly different from the river for pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, calcium, magnesium, and bicarbonates. Ammonia and nitrates showed much higher values for groundwater due to the impact of land activities. Microbiological quality of the river was generally better than the wells. This is especiallywww.watermicro2009.Both wells showed consistent results and were clearly different from the river for pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, calcium, magnesium, and bicarbonates. Ammonia and nitrates showed much higher values for groundwater due to the impact of land activities. Microbiological quality of the river was generally better than the wells. This is especially apparent when the concentration of fecal coliforms is analyzed: ten of twelve measurements were lower for the river than for groundwate