Resumen

ARIAS MORONTA, Juan Miguel; NUNEZ RAMOS, Pedro Antonio; BENEGAS NEGRI, Laura  y  NEY RIOS, José. Spatial distribution of water quality in mining areas of the Maguaca river, Dominican Republic. RIIARn [online]. 2025, vol.12, n.1, pp.113-121. ISSN 2409-1618.  https://doi.org/10.53287/xjrp1251vz83x.

Mining produces negative externalities for agriculture, polluting water bodies. The Maguaca River has a habitat with a permanent flow and diverse flora and fauna. Due to its proximity to a mining area, it could be presenting elevated levels of heavy metals and affecting the quality of its waters. For this reason, research was conducted to determine the spatial behavior of the water quality of the Maguaca River, linked to mining activities in the municipality of Cotuí, Dominican Republic. Non-probabilistic sampling was carried out at seven sampling points (PM) in the Maguaca and Yuna rivers. Water samples were taken at time t1 (December 2020, rainy season) and t2 (February 2021, dry season), and the concentration of heavy metals (PM) was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry and physicochemical variables. Lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), and cadmium (Cd) were analyzed. For Pb, values between 0 and 0.0009 mg l-1 were obtained; Cr between 0 and 0.0009 mg l-1 in t1 and t2; in Ni between 0 and 0.021 mg l-1 in t1 and from 0.0009 to 0.013 mg l-1 in t2; and Cd between 0 and 0.0009 mg l-1 for t1 and t2, respectively. At t1, the pH was between 7.93 and 8.44; EC (µS cm-1) between 131.7 and 327.5; salinity (g kg-1) between 0.077 and 0.161; Turbidity (TNU) remained between 0.1 in the source and exceeded the LMP with 10.8 in PM 7; O2 (%) between 36.6 and 46.9; BOD (mg l-1) between 3.11 and 11.81; COD (mg l-1), between 6.35 and 24.67; iron (Fe) (mg l-1), between 0 and 0.11. Also, capacity values between 0.46 and 20.46 m3 s-1 were obtained in December 2020 and 0.44 to 19.84 m3 s-1 in February 2021. The results show a varied behavior of the water quality of the Maguaca River, fluctuating according to the area and the measured parameters. Water quality is affected in the upper part (mining), lower part of the basin (town) and middle part with agricultural activities.

Palabras clave : heavy metals; spectrophotometry; interpolation; pollution.

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