ENVIRONMENTAL DIAGNOSIS AND ADAPTATION OF A RAPID ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL FOR VALE DO SOL STREAM, IN PRESIDENT PRUDENTE (SÃO PAULO/ BRAZIL)

• Grant number: 22/07170-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date until: December 01, 2022
• End date until: November 30, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Sanitary Engineering - Water Resources
• Principal Investigator: Danielli Cristina Granado Romero
• Grantee: Laura Rubim do Monte Jesus
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Presidente Prudente. Presidente Prudente , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Water is indispensable for all forms of life and for the balance of ecosystems. The exacerbated use of water resources related to the mentality of an inexhaustible resource, added to the pressure of urbanization on this good, has generated a scenario of degradation and pollution. Rapid Assessment Protocols (PAR) are used as a tool for the management, assessment and functioning of water resources. This research aims to characterize the environmental conditions of the course of the Vale do Sol stream and its surroundings, in addition to identifying the existing impacts in this region relating to land occupation in the basin. For the application of PAR, a previous adaptation of the protocol is necessary, which will be made based on the peculiarities of the sampled sections of the stream. After that, the adapted protocol will be implemented, analyzing the parameters and their respective scores, highlighting the variations in environmental conditions in dry and rainy periods and the influence of riparian vegetation on water quality conditions. Thus, this work aims to characterize and analyze the environmental conditions in the Córrego Vale do Sol, a tributary of the Córrego do Veado, belonging to the Santo Anastácio River Hydrographic Basin. PAR is a methodology that uses environmental quality indicators to evaluate a watercourse. These parameters take into account physical aspects of the water, analyzing parameters such as odor, oiliness, water transparency; stability and vegetation on the banks; and substrate present at the bottom. Thus, scores are assigned referring to each parameter individually and at the end, the result is given by adding all the values, indicating the degree of preservation of the natural conditions of the evaluated stretches. In addition to the application of PAR and the subsequent analysis of the scores indicated in each section, some water quality parameters will be analyzed for a more accurate environmental diagnosis, analyzes of pH, electrical conductivity and dissolved oxygen, material in suspension, will be carried out by the method of Teixeira and Kutner (1962) and turbidity. Through fieldwork and analysis of satellite images, land use and occupation in the region will be analyzed and related to the environmental conditions found in the stream and its surroundings. Giving special emphasis to the presence, extent and conditions of riparian vegetation, in accordance with current environmental legislation.