EVALUATION OF A MONITORING PROGRAM FOR WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN A NORTH AMERICAN TRANSFORTERY RIVER

Abstract

The monitoring of water quality is one of the most important steps for water quality management programs, since the decisions that are made are based on the available information, in addition to identifying areas where, due to the contribution of contaminants, they deteriorate the quality. of the water of the receiving bodies. The Rio Grande is one of the largest and most important in North America for being a transboundary body of water. CONAGUA has established a National Monitoring Network, which was analyzed for the area of ​​the Lower Rio Grande, from downstream of the Falcón International Dam to the City of Matamoros, Tamaulipas. It has five monitoring stations from 2000 to 2010 and the objective was to analyze the database of nine physicochemical and microbiological parameters applying the Canadian Water Quality Index for use as a supply source. The results indicated two zones, one with good to excellent water quality and the other with fair to polluted quality, which corresponds to the zone where anthropogenic and agricultural activities impact the river, contributing concentrations that exceed the environmental objective for public use. urban as a source of water supply. With this information and taking into account that the city of Reynosa has two treatment plants and one of them is undergoing expansion and improvement, surveillance monitoring is essential to detect improvements in the water quality of the Lower Rio Grande.