EVALUATION OF THE WATER QUALITY OF THE COCÓ RIVER IN FORTALEZA, BETWEEN 2018 AND 2021, THROUGH IQA

Abstract

ABSTRACT

The Water Quality Index (WQI) is one of the main tools adopted in river basins in Brazil to determine the features of water resources. The Metropolitan watershed of Ceará has a significant importance as it encompasses the most populous area of ​​the State, its Capital city. The objective of this paper was to evaluate the historical water quality of the Rio Coco between 2018 and 2021. The data obtained were requested from the Ceará State Environmental Superintendence (SEMACE) and the WQI proposed by CETESB, the government sanitary company of São Paulo, contemplating 9 quality parameters. Seven monitoring points were selected from the period of 2018-2021, and distributed along the river, since its source to the outlet. In general, Rio Coco presented a low average WQI, with some points extreme badly. The period that had the lowest index was in 2020 and 2021, probably caused by the increase of the domestic sewage, what may be related by people staying indoors due to the Covid-19 quarantine. The points with the worst WQI were those arranged along its bed, where there is a large concentration of residences.

Keywords: Water Quality Index; Coco River; Watershed.