Applying Grey Clustering and Shannon’s Entropy to Assess Sediment Quality from a Watershed

Rony Camarena,Renato Acari,Chiara Carbajal,Alexi Delgado,Gerson Trejo,Betsy Vilchez,Fabian Chipana,Víctor Galicia

doi:10.14569/ijacsa.2021.0120975

Abstract

The evaluation of the quality of sediments is a complex issue in the Peruvian reality, mainly because there is no sampling protocol or norm for comparison, which leads to the assessment of sediments without a comprehensive analysis of their quality. In the present study, the quality of the sediments in the upper basin of the Huarmey river was evaluated in 30 monitoring points and 7 parameters, which are: arsenic, cadmium, copper, chromium, mercury, lead and zinc, which were compared according to the standards recommended by the Environmental Quality Guidelines for Sediments in freshwater bodies of Canada (Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines - CEQG, 2002. Sediment Quality Guidelines for Protection of Aquatic Life - Fresh water according to Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME)). The results of the evaluation, by grey clustering method and Shannon entropy, showed that 13 monitoring points resulted in good sediment quality, 1 monitoring point had moderate quality and 16 monitoring points presented poor quality; therefore, it can be concluded that the effluents and discharges of the mining activities that take place in the aforementioned location have a negative impact on environmental quality. Finally, the results obtained can be of great help for OEFA, the regional government, the municipalities and any other body that has oversight functions, since they will allow them to be more objective and precise decisions.

Highlights

The water resource of the Huarmey river basin in Ancash, Peru, represents the vital element for the supply of population, agricultural, livestock, mining, energy and ecological use [1], being important its optimal, rational and sustainable use
Good category: This means that no adverse biological effects are expected in these points and it is observed that monitoring point P11 has the best water quality and point P5 the lowest quality within this category, this may happen because the points are located in tributaries to the main river and the monitoring point P11 is more distant from the bridle path compared to the monitoring point P5 [2]
In the present quality study of the sediments of the surface water bodies of the upper basin of the Huarmey river, the 30 monitoring points of the basin could be classified, from which it was determined that 13 (43%) of the monitoring points presented good sediment quality, 1 (3%) moderate and 16 (54%) of poor quality

Summary

Introduction

The water resource of the Huarmey river basin in Ancash, Peru, represents the vital element for the supply of population, agricultural, livestock, mining, energy and ecological use [1], being important its optimal, rational and sustainable use. Due to the continuous complaints from the surrounding population expressing their discomfort over an alleged environmental impact on the water and sediment of the upper basin of the Huarmey river, an environmental monitoring was carried out, where there is a record of the existence of mining activity in exploration and operation stage (Minera Huinac SAC) [2]. It is important to mention that, at present, Peru does not have a sediment sampling protocol and nor does it have regulations or quality standards to evaluate this component. Sediment Quality Guidelines for Protection of Aquatic Life - Fresh water according to the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment [3]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion