WATER CHARACTERIZATION IN THE JANDIÁ CANAL AND PEDRINHAS CANAL IN THE CITY OF MACAPÁ, AMAPÁ, BRAZIL

Abstract

Macapá has the quality of its water bodies impaired due to anthropic action, in as much as part of the urban population lives in hangover areas, which bring several environmental issues to the city. Moreover, heavy rains increase the frequency of flooding, mainly for the population that lives living in nearby places to the Macapá canals. Thus, this study proposes to accomplish the physical-chemical and microbiological characterization in two points of flooding in the city: the Jandiá canal and the Pedrinhas canal, in order to evaluate if the quality standards fall within the maximum values allowed in the legislation. The characterization of the study water was performed using the following quality parameters: electrical conductivity, color, chlorine, total hardness, iron, ammoniacal nitrogen, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, total coliforms and Escherichia coli (E. coli). The analyzes of: electrical conductivity, color, iron, ecological oxygen, turbidity, total coliforms and E. coli, showed that the water quality is in disagreement with the current legislation for class 2 waters, confirming that the environment is negatively impacted, possibly due to the release of solid waste and domestic sewage into the canals. These factors contribute to several risks to the health of the population, with consequences directly related to waterborne diseases, and environmental issues, such as pollution of the canals.