Volume of Contamination Poured in Ariguanabo Basin, Artemisa Province, Cuba

Abstract

In the Ariguanabo basin were identified and characterized a total of 88 contamination points (66 are populated centers, 14 associated to the centers of breeding of pigs and eight are production and service centers), many of which don’t have treatment of their residual waters. The values of the chemical oxygen demand (QOD), the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), the total phosphorus (Pt) and the total solids (TS) of 14 selected point of contamination amply exceed the established limits in the NC-27-2012. The populated centers with the biggest values of BOD5, QOD, nitrogen (Nt) and Pt and the breeding of pigs centers responsible for 46 % of DBO5, 38 % of DQO and more than 95 % of the TS and grease are the fundamental contribution of contamination in the basin. The risk of contamination of the underground waters is very high, even more when the biggest number of points (61%) is located in areas with high and extremely high grade of intrinsic vulnerability of the aquifer and the volume of contamination in the basin has come increasing in the last years.