Evaluación de la contaminación provocada por actividades antropogénicas en el río Chibunga, cantón Riobamba, provincia de Chimborazo

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the contamination caused by anthropogenic activities in the Chibunga river. Initially, an observation visit was made to assess the study area, identifying 400 inhabitants and 25 activities located in an area of influence of 50 meters on each shore from the river. A sample of 216 inhabitants and those in charge of said activities were surveyed with five sections to obtain socioeconomic and demographic information, provision of public services, perception of quality and environmental contamination, environmental awareness and information on relevant activities. In the field phase, ten sampling points distributed in urban and rural parishes of the canton were selected, and two sampling periods were defined with an interval of 90 days with two repetitions in each one. In the laboratory, nine parameters were evaluated to obtain the ICA according to Brown: faecal coliforms, pH, DB05, nitrates, phosphates, temperature difference, turbidity, SDT and OD. Values in the REGULAR and BAD quality ranges were obtained. The points with the worst ICA average were 6 and 8, with an assessment of 47, followed by points 5 and 7, with 48. On the contrary, the best ICA were obtained for sites 1, 2 and 3 with 67.66 and 63 points, respectively. The activities that most affect the contamination of the channel are those related to agriculture and livestock. The main problem identified was the direct discharge of residual and industrial water and the scarce management of solid waste. Finally, it is recommended to reinforce environmental education in the population of the canton, in addition to establishing guidelines linked to the mitigation of pollution, just as it is relevant to consider the construction of a WWTP.