Water Characteristics in the City of Novo Hamburgo and the Need of Rational Use of Water Resources

Resumen

Water is the most characteristic element on Earth. Essential to life, it is probably the most precious resource for mankind. Although much negligence may be seen around the globe and much lack of vision regarding this resource, it is expected that mankind will show great respect towards our water resources, maintaining natural reservoirs and their quality. In fact, the future of humankind and many other species might be in jeopardy unless there is some improvement in the management of Earth's water resources and environmental education activities that help reduce misuse and generate balanced consumption. This management of water resources may be the most integrating environmental aspect, affecting all segments of our society, through many forms of using the soil, such as forest exploration, agriculture, industry, mining, among others. From these thoughts, this article intends to expose some hydric characteristics in the city of Novo Hamburgo and the relevance of the rational use of natural water resources, as well as the dangerous oscillations between pluviometric indexes, industrial pollution, and uncontrolled consumption that may, combined, bring harmful consequences to the population and the environment. Through the research of data obtained from the city's water department (COMUSA), several aspects found in treated and untreated water from the Sinos River were studied. The quality of the water collected by the city's water department has a decay in physico-chemical properties due to residential and industrial dejects launched above the suction pumps. Although the city's population increased, crude water demand decreased from 2003 to 2007.

Palabras clave: Water quality, Lack of water, Rational uses, Sinos River, Environmental Education