Degradação ambiental e a qualidade da água em nascentes da área urbana do Município de Assis (SP)

Abstract

The shortage and poor quality of water are a real and recurring problem, since urban spaces concentrate the higher demand for potable water, to meet human consumption and basic needs. The springs and watercourses present in these environments are, in most cases, involved in processes of pollution and environmental degradation. Due to its local importance and the need for preservation, this case study aimed to characterize the eight perennial water sources, present in the urban area of the municipality of Assis (SP), outlining recovery, preservation and improvement actions in water quality. Two water collection campaigns were carried out for physical-chemical analysis, in 2022, which the evaluated parameters were dissolved oxygen, temperature, hydrogen potential, turbidity, thermotolerant coliforms and conductivity. These results were compared to collections from 2018 and 2019, when it was possible to identify that these parameters, in most of the study points, had a poor evolution. Macroscopic analyses, which qualify the springs in terms of the degree of preservation, were also carried out in the 2022 campaigns, which only confirmed the negative results of the physical-chemical analyses, which obtained a degree of preservation classified as very bad, due to the evident environmental degradation found in these localities. These results demonstrated that these urban springs have suffered from the intense process of land occupation and its use, where evidence of degradation was identified, which directly influence the quality of their waters. At the same time, there is no perception of Public Power and society in general about the proper management of the demand for these water courses. And this set of data allowed us to propose priority actions, involving these social actors in the creation of environmental education programs, recovery of degraded areas, good practice programs for urban waste disposal, restrictions on uses and occupations in areas of permanent preservation; the objective is mitigating the negative impacts identified in these springs and, thus, guaranteeing the quality of these waters, not only for this one, but also for future generations.