Degradação geoecológica por aterros de resíduos sólidos: Estudo aplicado a UGRHI-22 e ao lixão de Pirapozinho SP

Abstract

The relation between the natural and social components provides the necessary reflection to understand the dynamics of a particular landscape. The study of their geological, pedological, geomorphological, hydrological, climatological and biological conditions assists in the identification of potential fragilities and/or potentialities of the physical environment. The 22nd Unit of Water Resources Management (UGRHI-22) can be seen as a strategic location, because it includes the meeting of the Paraná and Paranapanema rivers, in the extreme west region of the State of São Paulo. The area, however, is subject of constant environmental degradation, resulting from the territorial occupation and polluting practices over the years. Still, the resources available also inherited the problems of a naturally fragile landscape. Therefore, it is known that one of the current problems, in terms of environmental contamination, comes from the decomposing processes carried out inside the mass of solid waste, disposed in landfills throughout the region. Therefore, this research aims to associate the potentialities and fragilities of the remaining natural resources with the risk of contamination. Inserted in the UGRHI-22 are currently 22 solid waste landfills in fully operation, often on unsuitable areas and favoring the local contamination. Thus, the preset study carried out a survey of the natural components on the studied region by means of GIS programs, identifying the physical characteristics of each of these areas and associating them with the impacts from the mentioned activity. Field works were also conducted (during the years 2013, 2014 and 2015) in each one of the 22 landfills locations, in order to discover their local conditions, such as soil type, relief, water resource proximity, as well as another geotechnical and administrative specifics. Those analyses, however, were the first step of this research, being only one of the two scales adopted. Thus, with the purpose to better illustrate the data and surveys conducted in the region, we decided to apply the same analysis methodology to a local dump, in the city of Pirapozinho - SP. That dumpsite it is known, by the responsible environmental agency (in this case, CETESB, 2014), as the worst landfill inserted in the UGRHI-22 region. So cartographic studies and discoveries in fieldwork helped identify the condition in this area, contributing to the development of the local board. Therefore, with the information obtained, it was possible to prove that the dumpsite in Pirapozinho SP only reflects the problems encountered in another municipalities of the UGRHI-22, such as the mistaken choice of area and the difficulty of the government in dealing with the adequate disposal of their solid waste, contributing to higher degradation rates.