The Arenales River in Salta, Argentina, Source of Life or Illness?

HUGO R. POMA; D. GUTIÉRREZ CACCIABUE; B. GARCÉ; E. EMILIO GONZO; RAJAL, V.B.

Congreso; IWA World Water Congress and Exhibition. Montreal, Canadá. MONTREAL; 2010

International Water Association (IWA), Canadian Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA) and Canadian Association on Water Quality (CAWQ)

The Arenales River river runs west to east through a semi-rural area where the main uses are water supply for a drinking water plant, agricultural irrigation, and for livestock maintenance. Then to south-east, it crosses Salta city, and at the south discharges into the General Belgrano Reservoir, providing hydroelectric energy and water for different uses at downstream locations. When crossing the city, the river receives the impact of point and non-point source pollution, such as illegal discharges of raw domestic wastewater, storm-water, illegal and improper solid waste disposal, and discharges of industrial effluents. Despite these pollutants, the water is used for many purposes, including domestic in the poorest areas (hygiene, cooking, watering plants and vegetables that are growth for self-consumption, animals, etc.), industrial, and recreational where children are the primary consumers. The impact of these pollutants on the population is significant. Previous studies performed on the river (in water and sediments) showed increasing concentrations of some ions, trace elements, some of them in concentrations that affected the aquatic life; and the presence of various parasites (Musso, 2000). According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 24% of the global disease burden and 23% of all deaths can be attributed to environmental factors. In particular, an estimated 94% of the diarrheal burden of disease is attributable to environment, and is associated with risk factors such as unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation and hygiene. Children to 14 years of age contribute 19% and 1.5% of the diarrhea and intestinal nematode infections, respectively, within the environmental burden of disease (Prüss-Üstün and Corvalán, 2006). Spatial analysis conducted previously permitted to detect the regions of higher incidence of diarrhea and parasitosis in the zone of study, showing that the areas closest to the River are critical (Aramayo et al, 2009). The aim of this work was to characterize microbiologically the Arenales River in the section crossing the city and to evaluate its possible impact on public health.