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Impact of rapid urbanization on stream water quality in the Brazilian Amazon

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Abstract

The most populous city of the world’s largest watershed (Manaus, Amazon Basin, Brazil) is experiencing an extensive urban expansion since the early 1970s, with an attendant cost in environmental degradation. The upland area of the Manaus municipality is characterized by several streams. In this work, we aim to gradually measure the anthropogenic effect on water quality: we monitored three streams flowing over three zones: a preserved (where the streams take source), a peri-urban (where rural and leisure activities occur), and an urban area. From June 2013 to May 2015, we characterized the water quality of these streams. Statistical analyses reveal peri-urban activity does not significantly impact the water quality. Indeed, when the disturbance remains space-, time- and intensity-limited, the streams have the capacity to assimilate the anthropogenic pollution. However, looking at a seasonal finer scale, peri-urban activity slightly affects the natural pattern of water quality, but these changes remain moderated when compared to the original pattern of water quality. Over urban area, the water quality presents significant higher alkalinity, mineralization, turbidity, suspended material, biochemical and chemical oxygen demands, and lower acidity and dissolved oxygen. These alterations originate with sewage deficiency, presence of landfill sites, enhanced leaching of upturned soil and domestic waste. The natural seasonal patterns of water quality are totally disturbed (inversion, intensification) in the urban area. During the wet season, enhanced rainfall in conjunction with human activity generates local seasonal processes of dilution (e.g. negative anomalies for most of the dissolved elements) and concentration (positive Mg and Fe anomalies). The latter can be linked with enhanced leaching during the rainy period (positive Mg and Fe anomalies) and nitrification activity in the urban area (positive NO3 and negative NH4 anomalies).

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Acknowledgements

This research was done under the auspices of FAPEAM (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas) through Edital Universal FAPEAM—EDITAL No 021/2011 (Proc. 062.00340/2013). We would like to thank Dr. Francoise Yoko Ishida and Erika Schloemp for English proofreading, to our colleagues Sérgio Magno Valério de Souza, Osvaldo Pinto de Albuquerque, Bruno Charrière e Afonso Ligórios da Mota for the help during the field work, to Gleice Guerreiro Temoteo and Regison da Costa Oliveira for the confection of the figure of the points sampled.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Coordination of Environmental Dynamics (CODAM), National Institute for Research in the Amazon (INPA), Av. André Araújo, 2936, Petrópolis, Manaus, Amazonas, 69.067-375, Brazil

    Sávio José Filgueiras Ferreira, Eduardo Antonio Ríos-Villamizar, Sebastião Átila Fonseca Miranda, Domitila Pascoaloto, Ana Rosa Tundis Vital, Maria Terezinha Ferreira Monteiro, Maria do Socorro Rocha da Silva, Thaís Rivera Brandão da Cunha, Almir Salgado dos Santos & Hillândia Brandão da Cunha

  2. Centre of Education and Research On Mediterranean Environments (CEFREM), University of Perpignan Via Domitia, 52 avenue Paul Alduy, 66860, Perpignan, France

    Sebastien Pinel

  3. Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS), Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht (HZG), Hamburg, Germany

    Steffen Bender

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  1. Sávio José Filgueiras Ferreira
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  2. Sebastien Pinel
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  3. Eduardo Antonio Ríos-Villamizar
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  4. Sebastião Átila Fonseca Miranda
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Correspondence to Sávio José Filgueiras Ferreira or Sebastien Pinel.

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Ferreira, S.J.F., Pinel, S., Ríos-Villamizar, E.A. et al. Impact of rapid urbanization on stream water quality in the Brazilian Amazon. Environ Earth Sci 80, 316 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-021-09621-7

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