Livestock water quality determination in small dams

Abstract

The scarcity and low quality of water resources negatively impact food production processes. It is estimated that 8% of the world’s water supply is used in the livestock industries. This activity demands a large amount of water, which must be of high quality. Water quality monitoring in small dams for livestock allows for better decision-making in the management and water resources conservation. Such an approach avoids the risk of low production due to possible diseases. This work evaluated fourteen physicochemical parameters in samples from small dams. The results were used to build a water quality index in small dams (WQI-sd) for livestock. Seven water quality variables were chosen by using a Principal Component Analysis (PCA): electric conductivity, turbidity, chemical oxygen demand, dissolved oxygen, pH, total dissolved solids, and nitrates. These last three parameters are associated with negative welfare and production implications for the livestock. WQI-sd showed that 91% of the water samples were medium quality and the sample “Puerto La Palma” had bad quality. The water quality index for livestock in small dams could be used to generate information relatively quickly since it was built with 7 parameters, of which, more than 70% were determined in situ in a short time.