Impactos ambientais e qualidade dos recursos hídricos: uma análise sobre a Cachoeira Ata do Tarumã (Manaus-AM)

Abstract

In recent decades, significant changes have occurred in the natural environment of the Ecological Corridor of the Waterfalls of Tarumã, which covers the Alta do Tarumã Waterfall, located at the geographic coordinate: 03°00'29.3''S 60°03'20.9''W na city of Manaus-AM. One of the main factors responsible for such an event was the growing urban expansion to the West Zone of the city. Given the above, the objective was to analyze the environmental impacts and the quality of water resources in Cachoeira Alta do Tarumã. Specifically, know the environmental impacts on land use and coverage and on the quality of water resources in the Cachoeira Alta do Tarumã based on satellite images (2011, 2014 and 2020); verify the water quality from the aspects: electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH, total dissolved solids, temperature and turbidity (2021) and finally, evaluate which anthropic actions related to the expansion of the west zone of the city of Manaus impact the quality of the protected area water. The method used for the development of the research was of the empirical-analytical type with the use of the technique of the quali-quantitative type. To achieve the proposed objectives, the following methodological procedures were used: bibliographic, field, digital image processing and experimental. Based on satellite images, it was analyzed that the points classified as P1a, P1b and P2, which are located upstream of P3 (Cachoeira Alta do Tarumã) have undergone an intense urbanization process in recent years. Consequently, this process resulted in the suppression of vegetation and intensive use of the soil. It was found that the water resources analyzed are altered. One of the main factors is that the P3 suffers from negative environmental impacts of autochthonous origin and resulting from a past of illegal mining activities in the spatial section of the Alta do Tarumã Waterfall, which generated siltation in the watercourse bed and intensified erosive processes in the studied area, providing changes in the quality of water resources. It was also observed impacts arising from allochthonous actions, arising from the collected stretches P1a, P1b and P2 (outside the Ecological Corridor), which are in a constant process of urban growth and are located upstream of the Cachoeira Alta do Tarumã. These transformations significantly changed the landscape, the vegetation cover, the water body and the type of use of the Alta do Tarumã Waterfall, which used to be a leisure area for the Manaus population, currently, few people know of its existence. Thus, it was evaluated that the anthropic action is related to the expansion of the west zone of the city of Manaus-AM, which significantly impacted the water quality of the Alta do Tarumã Waterfall, contradicting one of the corridor's objectives, which is: to discipline the use and occupation of land in the protection zones of the Urban Ecological Corridor of the Cachoeiras do Tarumã, in order to prevent siltation and pollution of the affected watercourses. Therefore, there is an urgent need to implement public policies that are responsible for the area of the Hydrographic Basin, the Ecological Corridor and the Alta do Tarumã Waterfall, in order to work on ways to manage the existing watercourses in the study region. Keywords: Environmental impacts. Water resources. High Waterfall of Tarumã.