Spatial and Temporal Changes in Water Quality Along the Basin

The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry

Springer Link

Año: 2015; p. 1 - 19

The hydrological system of the Suquía River comprises three drainage areas with different anthropogenic impacts. A water quality index proposed for the Suquía River Basin was calculated in order to characterise the condition of 23 sampling sites based on the physicochemical and bacteriological variables studied from 1995 to 2011. The data analysis indicates that the river water has good quality along the upper and middle basins, but suffers a significant degradation (to medium quality) while crossing Córdoba City. Even after 100 km downstream from the discharge of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) of the city, the water exhibits bad quality, without recovering the good levels observed upstream from the city. Moreover, some water quality parameters surpass the water quality guidelines established for the protection of the aquatic biota.