Propuesta de gestión ambiental del río Cachaco

Abstract

In the present study, an analysis of the water quality of the Cachaco river in the Rumiñahui Canton, was made. Based on the accessibility to the river, five sampling points were selected for the measurement of pH, water temperature, dissolved oxygen and the concentration of COD, BOD5 and fecal coliforms. According to the results obtained, the Cachaco river presents on average 2,28 mg/L of dissolved oxygen, high COD and BOD5 concentrations with averages of 347,47 mg/L and 141,4 mg/L respectively and a high concentration of pathogenic organisms (108 NMP/100 mL). Therefore, the Cachaco river has a high degree of contamination, presenting in the season of drought a total incidence of the sanitary flow, which causes the presence of rodents, accumulation of trash in the borders, bad aspect and bad smells. It is proposed to separate the wastewater flow for depuration with compact treatment methods due to the limitation of area in the sector. The alternatives include the treatment of activated sludge plus disinfection with ozone, a biofilm system plus disinfection with ozone and the maximum ozonation method. The current pollution profile of the Cachaco river was determined and the guidelines suggested to be used in future treatment designs were calculated.