Pollution by total suspended solids and its relationship with the liquid-solid flow of the lower basin of Usumacinta River in Tabasco, Mexico

Abstract

Rivers are natural environments that collect water from basins and transport it in laminar flow to the sea. Gradual changes occur due to the erosion of the walls and the bottom of rivers and the deposition of solids that the current carries. In the Usumacinta River basin, there is a sinusoidal correlation between liquid and solid flow. The term solid flow refers to the amount of sediment in motion, gaining its name from the product between liquid flow and the concentration of suspended solids. 21 simple samples of surface water were taken from June to December 2017, in the municipalities of Tenosique, Emiliano Zapata and Jonuta, in the state of Tabasco, Mexico. The concentrations of total suspended solids exceed the maximum permissible limits of the NOM-001-SEMARNAT-1996 (Mexico), for urban public use. Moreover, according to CE-CCA-001/89 (Ecological Water Quality Criteria in Mexico), the surface water of the lower basin of the Usumacinta River is classified as polluted.