Qualidade da Água do Município de São Joaquim, SC

Abstract

Water is an essential substance for the maintenance of life, so it is necessary to ensure the standard of potability of the water distributed to the population and intended for ingestion, food preparation and personal hygiene. It must be ensured that it does not offer health risks and that it meets the quality requirements established by law. In view of this, the objective of the study was to carry out a data survey and present information on the quality of water samples collected by the Sanitary Surveillance of São Joaquim, Santa Catarina. The collection and analysis of water samples followed what was determined in Consolidation Ordinance No. 5/2017 and Ordinance No. 888/2021. The collections were carried out monthly, from 2019 to 2021, and the parameters analyzed to determine the water quality were the presence of total coliforms, Escherichia coli and turbidity. The study included 505 water samples, of which 398 were treated and 107 were untreated. Results indicated the presence of total coliforms in 16.62% of the samples and E. coli in 12.86%. It was observed that the treated waters had low levels of total coliform contamination, only 1.5% of the contaminated samples in 2019 and 2021, and lower for E. coli, with 0.8 and 0.7% of the samples in each one of these years. In contrast, untreated water varied annually between 74.3 and 75.0% of total coliforms and from 52.8 to 62.9% of positive samples for E. coli. Most of the samples showed satisfactory levels for turbidity, with only 3.8% of the total being unsatisfactory. The results showed two realities in the city of São Joaquim. On the one hand, a low rate of contamination was observed in samples of treated water in the city, with 1.0% total coliforms and 0.5% E. coli. On the other hand, a high rate of contamination in untreated water, with 74.8% of total coliforms and 58.9% of E. coli. Other studies conducted in the state of Santa Catarina, in water sources for domestic supply in rural properties, showed a high degree of microbiological contamination. Carrying out studies like this one is necessary to systematize the collected data and inform the population about the quality of the water that reaches users. In this way, it is extremely important that the water distributed to the population obtains all the parameters determined to guarantee the quality standard established by law and safeguard the health of consumers of this water