Paula Stein

Qualidade das águas do aquífero Barreiras no setor sul de Natal e norte de Parnamirim, Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil

The city of Natal is supplied largely by the Barreiras aquifer waters in spite of the importance of groundwater, its quality is being compromised by the lack of sewerage systems and appropriate treatment to allow disposal in the soil. The present study is to characterize hydrochemistry of a sector of the Barreiras aquifer in Natal and the metropolitan area by the sampling of groundwater for physical-chemical analysis in six wells located in the Launch Center Barreira do Inferno and surroundings. In the area investigated, groundwater preserve its natural quality, tend to be sodium chlorinated with an average electrical conductivity of 71.7 µS /cm. Studies indicate that the waters of the Barreiras aquifer are acceptable to consumption without harming human health according to the potability standards prevailing in Brazil. Despite this favorable scenario, there was evidence of a well (P5) located in a residential area in a initial process of change the natural quality of the aquifer by contamination of wastewater. This well has high values for some parameters (electrical conductivity, nitrate and sulfate) when compared to other analytical results obtained in the study. Although it is an isolated case and that the levels detected do not exceed the limits for drinking water, it deserves some attention to protect the water of Barreiras aquifer. The importance of the area in terms of water quality is extremely important, since it presents one of the few remaining preserved forest in the region and can be regarded as one of the strategic sectors for future extraction and meet the demand of urban groundwater.