Diagnosis of the quality of drinking water in the communities of the northeast rural sector of the municipality of León, Nicaragua

Abstract

It is widely known that one of the main sources of water for human consumption is groundwater, which is currently receiving pollution caused by human beings. The objective of this study was to characterize the quality of water for human consumption in the northeastern rural sector of León. Microbiological analyzes (N=69), physical-chemical analyzes (N=67) and pesticide analyzes (N=48) were performed. In addition, a survey was carried out on the characteristics of the water sources (wells), the use and treatment of their waters. The microbiological analyzes showed that 95.7% of the results do not meet the requirements established in the CAPRE standards. According to the standards of the UNAN-León microbiology laboratory, 97.1% of the samples are contaminated. 18.8% of the wells present physical-chemical contamination and 31.3% of the wells present contamination with pesticides. The main pesticide found was Chlorpyrifos, followed by DDT. Statistical tests significantly associated ( = 0.580, p<0.05) microbial contamination with the type of well. There is a significant degree of association between microbial contamination and the presence of animals near the well. The results suggest that the contamination occurs fundamentally due to the direct introduction of contaminated ropes into the wells