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Abstract
El crecimiento acelerado de la población a nivel mundial ha generado un aumento en la demanda del recurso hídrico y en los niveles de contaminación del mismo. Los residuos tanto de origen doméstico como industrial generan problemas a nivel ambiental y de salud pública. En el caso específico de la contaminación de origen doméstico, el mayor riesgo se presenta por las altas concentraciones de materia orgánica y microorganismos patógenos que pueden difundirse a través del agua. Determinar la presencia de los patógenos en el agua requiere de laboratorios especializados y técnicas costosas que tardan varios días. Como alternativa, se propone el uso de indicadores de contaminación fecal (bacterias, virus y parásitos), los cuales requieren técnicas más sencillas, rápidas y económicas. Con el objeto de conocer la presencia, concentración y comportamiento de indicadores bacterianos (coliformes fecales), virales (fagos somáticos y F específicos) y parasitarios (huevos de helminto, Giardia spp., y Cryptosporidium spp.) en nuestras condiciones ambientales, se realizaron varios muestreos en aguas superficiales, subterráneas, sistemas de potabilización y depuración en la Sabana de Bogotá (Colombia). Los resultados mostraron la presencia de los indicadores propuestos en todas las muestras de agua y concentraciones similares a las encontradas en otros países con condiciones ambientales diferentes.
Palabras clave: agua, calidad, contaminación, indicadores, riesgo sanitario.
Abstract
The world’s population is growing at such rate that not only the demands for water supply have raised considerably but also its contamination levels. Residues from domestic and industrial origin have generated environmental problems and public health issues. Water contamination coming from domestic origin, shows a higher risk because of the quantity of organic matter and the presence of pathogenic microorganisms. Due to determinations of these pathogens requires sophisticated laboratories and the techniques used for their detection are very costly and time consuming, it is proposed an alternative technique using bacteria, virus and parasites as faecal indicators, since they exhibit similar behaviour, and their determination techniques are a lot simpler, faster and low cost. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the occurrence, concentration and behaviour of indicators from bacterial origin as faecal coliforms, from viral origin as somatic coliphages and F-specific RNA bacteriophages, and from parasite origin such as helminth eggs, Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts. A series of samples were taken at surface, groundwater, drinking water and wastewater treatment system in the surrounding area of Bogotá (Colombia). The results show the presence of all microbial indicators in all water samples, in similar concentrations to those found in different countries with different environments.
Key word: contamination, indicators, quality, sanitary risk, water.
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