Diagnóstico dos impactos ambientais provocados pelo lançamento de esgoto ao longo do trecho urbano do Rio Mearim em Bacabal/MA

Abstract

Environmental impacts are changes caused to the environment through human action, where the disorderly growth of the population in urban areas has caused a series of changes in geographic space, directly affecting people's quality of life, as well as aquatic ecosystems. River water is an efficient natural source for supplying the personal, economic and social needs of living beings. However, the release of domestic sewage into water sources causes major problems for the environment, such as loss of biodiversity and vulnerability of the local population living on the banks of affected rivers. The Mearim river in the city of Bacabal/MA, has great housing and financial importance, however the quality of its waters has been affected by natural and anthropogenic practices, where the excessive increase in polluting elements and solid waste has generated drastic environmental impacts, bringing, in turn, the need to adopt viable mitigating measures to solve such problems. Thus, the present work aimed to analyze the environmental impacts caused by the discharge of sewage along the urban stretch. Therefore, in order to obtain the veracity of this work, the location and characterization of an urban stretch of the Mearim River was carried out, in order to diagnose sewage emission points and waste accumulation. For this, a qualitative approach was applied through interviews and a semi- structured questionnaire with 10 questions about basic sanitation for some residents. A field survey was also carried out using a checklist on the main environmental impacts allocated to the research region. Finally, the work culminated in the implementation of a flyer with sustainable solutions, with the aim of raising awareness among the local population of the evident problems. The results showed that the water quality of the Mearim River is affected due to inadequate waste disposal and sewage disposal. Analysis of the affected points allowed the diagnosis of unfavorable environmental impacts, such as the presence of erosion, loss of biodiversity and risks to human health. By producing a flyer containing mitigating actions, it was observed that the population is aware of how to act, understanding the damage caused and realizing the importance of contributing to the reduction of impacts, in order to improve the environmental quality of the river and the population.