FORMATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING STUDENTS APPLYING A METHODOLOGY TO ASSESS WATER QUALITY THROUGH PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL INDEXES: CASE STUDY OF MENZULI CREEK IN SANTANDER, COLOMBIA
Waste water discharges water bodies produce a steady detriment of organisms. Living organisms are indicators of pollutionaccording with its presence or absence. The purpose of this research was to find suitable bioindicators of water pollution inMenzuli Creek (Santander, Colombia), from its source to its mouth, in order to identify critical areas with the highest pollutionlevels. As a starting point, secondary information of previous physical and chemical sampling campaigns was collected andanalyzed to establish the most relevant sampling points. Once the sampling points were selected, a biological sampling wasperformed in order to gather and classify species that can be used as indicators of water pollution along the whole water bodyselected for this study. At the same time, water samples from the same sites were analyzed for physical and chemical characterization. Based on these analyses, the macro invertebrate species found in this creek, and comparing with related information of water quality indexes found in scientific literature, potential bioindicators were identified. The experimental methodology applied in this study also pretends to motivate the development of skills and competences in undergraduate students that will be useful for their professional growth as environmental engineers. Furthermore, the information on potential bioindicators of water pollution gathered throughout this study provides a good basis for the development of a guide of bioindicators of water quality in the metropolitan area of Bucaramanga and its surroundings.Keywords: Bioindicators, quality indexes, water pollution indexes.
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | spa |
| Published: |
Instituto de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
2013
|
| Online Access: | https://www.revistas.unam.mx/index.php/aidis/article/view/41076 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Waste water discharges water bodies produce a steady detriment of organisms. Living organisms are indicators of pollutionaccording with its presence or absence. The purpose of this research was to find suitable bioindicators of water pollution inMenzuli Creek (Santander, Colombia), from its source to its mouth, in order to identify critical areas with the highest pollutionlevels. As a starting point, secondary information of previous physical and chemical sampling campaigns was collected andanalyzed to establish the most relevant sampling points. Once the sampling points were selected, a biological sampling wasperformed in order to gather and classify species that can be used as indicators of water pollution along the whole water bodyselected for this study. At the same time, water samples from the same sites were analyzed for physical and chemical characterization. Based on these analyses, the macro invertebrate species found in this creek, and comparing with related information of water quality indexes found in scientific literature, potential bioindicators were identified. The experimental methodology applied in this study also pretends to motivate the development of skills and competences in undergraduate students that will be useful for their professional growth as environmental engineers. Furthermore, the information on potential bioindicators of water pollution gathered throughout this study provides a good basis for the development of a guide of bioindicators of water quality in the metropolitan area of Bucaramanga and its surroundings.Keywords: Bioindicators, quality indexes, water pollution indexes. |
|---|