Evaluación de la calidad del agua y propuesta de tratamiento de la fuente subterránea usada para abastecimiento de un campamento minero

Abstract

The Camilo Ponce Enriquez canton is home to numerous mining camps, many of which go to underground sources to satisfy their demand for water, however, their quality is unknown and they lack adequate treatment. This project evaluated the water quality of a specific source through 29 parameters during the seasons: dry and rainy, identifying non-significant differences between them (p> 0.05). The

CCME - WQI index categorized the water from the underground source as "contaminated", prohibiting its ingestion without optimal treatment. The comparison between the characterization results and the criteria established by the INEN 1108 and AM 097 standards revealed that the parameters Cd, As and fecal coliforms are exceeding the maximum allowed limits. Once the source problem was known, treatment alternatives were evaluated and compared, resulting as optimal coagulation - filtration technology, whose treatment train involves the pre - oxidation of As by chlorination, rapid mixing, coagulation - precipitation with lime and ferric chloride, and direct filtration (slow down-flow sand filter), processes that will remove 95% of As, 90% of Cd and 99% of pathogenic microorganisms, providing safe water to your consumers.