Índice socioambiental de la calidad del agua para consumo humano en fuentes subterráneas rurales, Cota Cundinamarca (Colombia)

Abstract

Water sources have historically been one of the bases for the development of the human population. Since ancient times, human settlements have been located near riverbeds for the development of various activities, such as livestock, agriculture, and communication. The general objective of this work was to develop a socio-environmental index to evaluate the conditions of water quality in underground supply sources in rural areas of the municipality of Cota, Cundinamarca, Colombia. The research question focuses on: What are the social and environmental analysis indicators and criteria that can improve the evaluation of water quality through the development of a socio-environmental index in the rural area of the municipality of Cota? Physicochemical parameters such as iron and turbidity were identified, which were outside the regulatory ranges, possibly due to deficiencies in the treatment systems, the lack of sewage and the inadequate disposal of wastewater, which contribute to water pollution. The index construction process was divided into three stages. The first consisted of the recognition and compilation of information in the literature about the most used indicators in the evaluation of water quality, followed by validation through semi-structured surveys that are applied in the rural area of Cota, specifically related to water sources. underground. The second stage consisted of the selection of socio-environmental indicators using an already established methodology, combined with the Delphi method and the applicability of the Hierarchical Analysis Process (AHP). Subsequently, information from public entities in Cota was incorporated to improve the applicability of the index. In the third stage, the data obtained from the selected indicators are quantitatively related, assigning them relative weights. An equation for the index is proposed, and the physicochemical parameters of water quality are selected. Scales were established that allowed evaluating the human impact on the municipality's underground water sources in rural areas, showing that quality of life indicators have a high impact for the municipality.