Water quality assessment of La Tembladera wetland in Ecuador using Water Quality Index

Abstract

In developing countries, tropical wetlands are essential for human livelihoods since they storage and provide freshwater for domestic, industrial, and agricultural uses. Unfortunately, tropical wetlands are subjected to anthropogenic impacts, such as direct discharge of municipal, industrial and livestock wastewater, leading to water pollution, and thus, affecting directly or indirectly people's health. Therefore, water quality assessment of these unique ecosystems using practical tools, such as Water Quality Index (WQI) is of great importance. This study aims to assess the water quality of one tropical Ramsar wetland La Tembladera for human consumption in wet and dry tropical seasons using WQI. This index was calculated using the following physical, chemical, and biological parameters: potential hydrogen (pH), turbidity, electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved oxygen (DO), biological oxygen demand (BOD5), chloride ions (Cl-), sulfates (SO42-), nitrates (NO3-), iron (Fe2+), Escherichia coli ( E. coli ), and Clostridium perfringens ( C. perfringens ). The WQI calculations revealed high values for the wet and dry tropical seasons, displaying values of 416.63 and 427.1, respectively. The obtained values indicate that the water of La Tembladera wetland is unsuitable for human consumption. These results might be valuable for legislative decision-makers to develop further recommendations and plans to improve the water quality, either for drinking purposes or other needs.