Water quality modeling of the Medellin river in the Aburrá Valley

Water quality modeling intends to represent a water body in order to assess their status and project the effects of different measures taken for their protection. This paper presents the results obtained from the Qual2kw model implementation in the first 50 kilometers of the Aburrá-Medellín River, in their most critical conditions of water quality, which correspond to low flow rates. After the model calibration, three recovery scenarios (short-term, medium-term and long-term) were evaluated. In the first scenario the sanitation only improved in some streams, in accordance with the Plan of Sanitation and Management of Discharges that was considered. Medium and long-term scenarios, with the operation of the new Water Waste Treatment Plant (WWTP) of the Bello municipality and an increase in the sewage collection, were considered. The obtained results show the positive impact of the operation of the WWTP of Bello in the balance of BOD5, dissolved oxygen and nitrogen.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Giraldo-B.,Lina Claudia, Palacio,Carlos Alberto, Molina,Rubén, Agudelo,Rubén Alberto
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: Universidad Nacional de Colombia 2015
Online Access:http://www.scielo.org.co/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0012-73532015000400022
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Summary:Water quality modeling intends to represent a water body in order to assess their status and project the effects of different measures taken for their protection. This paper presents the results obtained from the Qual2kw model implementation in the first 50 kilometers of the Aburrá-Medellín River, in their most critical conditions of water quality, which correspond to low flow rates. After the model calibration, three recovery scenarios (short-term, medium-term and long-term) were evaluated. In the first scenario the sanitation only improved in some streams, in accordance with the Plan of Sanitation and Management of Discharges that was considered. Medium and long-term scenarios, with the operation of the new Water Waste Treatment Plant (WWTP) of the Bello municipality and an increase in the sewage collection, were considered. The obtained results show the positive impact of the operation of the WWTP of Bello in the balance of BOD5, dissolved oxygen and nitrogen.