CLIMATOLOGICAL WATER BALANCE AND CHARACTERIZATION OF WATER RESOURCES IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF PENTECOSTE, CEARÁ

Abstract

The present work aimed to analyze the climatological water balance and the characteristics of surface water resources in the municipality of Pentecoste, Ceará. The research was divided into three stages: organization and inventory, field studies, and desk research. For the water balance the historical series of 30 years, 1991 to 2020, was investigated and applied to the Normal Water Balance program with the data referring to the coordinates of the rainfall station and average monthly data of precipitation and temperature. It was obtained as a result the description and detailing of the main water courses present in the municipality. In analyzing the volume of reservoirs for the historical series 2004-2021 it is identified that the water supply decreased with the dry period that began in 2011, being the most critical situation during the year 2017, in which the Sítios Novos weir recorded a volume of 0.12%, followed by the Pentecoste and Caxitoré weir with 0.14% and 3.61%, respectively. In regards to the water balance, it is highlighted that the largest precipitation is concentrated in February, March, and April, with respectively 122.35mm, 188.57mm, and 181.46mm. The potential evapotranspiration reaches its apex in December with 180.05mm, the highest temperature of the series, 28.3°C, occurred in November and December and the lowest was 26.7°C in April. The actual evapotranspiration reached the highest level in March with 145mm. It is also noteworthy that 10 months of the year are of water deficiency, except March and April, marked as a replacement, because they are the rainiest months.