Qualidade da água consumida em instituições federais de ensino no município de Mossoró-RN

Abstract

Mossoró (RN) became a reference in the formation of human resources and knowledge production and, among the various institutions, the Federal Rural University of Semi-Arid (UFERSA) and the Federal Institute of Rio Grande do Norte (IFRN) stand out. In these places, most of the water consumed by students and professionals is from drinking fountains. Therefore, water quality monitoring can be a guarantee of lower risk of disease and have this resource always available and in good quality. Thus, the objective of this work was to analyze the chemical and microbiological characteristics of drinking water from UFERSA and IFRN. The selection criteria were drinking fountains that were used by a larger number of people, both students and public servants and outsourced workers. Water samples were collected directly from the drinking fountain and, for this, 17 sites were selected at UFERSA and 4 sites at IFRN. The chemical characteristics analyzed were: pH; EC (electrical conductivity), K +, Na +, Ca + 2, Mg + 2, Cl-, SO4-2, CO3-2 and HCO3- and hardness. Microbiologically, total and thermotolerant coliforms were analyzed. Ion classification was performed by Piper Diagram, and estimated total dissolved solids (STD) using Qualigraf software. Based on the average concentration of the chemical elements (mmolc L-1) in the drinking water, the following general quantification is given: Na +> Ca + 2> Mg + 2> K + for cations e, Cl-> HCO3-> SO4- 2> CO3-2 for anions, however in some samples the HCO3- ion is larger than Cl-. When evaluating the total dissolved solids (STD) values in all drinking water samples, it was found that they were fresh water. In the overall classification, all drinking water samples were classified as sulfated or sodium chloride. The maximum allowed values for the analysis of pH, electrical conductivity, total hardness, chloride and the other parameters are within the quality standards for human consumption. By evaluating the water samples, total and tolerant coliforms were present in both institutions. The results show the need for sanitation of the drinking fountains of these places, in this case the administration will be informed to take proper care.