Physicochemical Determination of the Quality of Surface Waters in the Highlands Region of Jalisco, Mexico

Abstract

Abstract The Highlands region is located in the north-eastern part of the state of Jalisco, it has a territorial area of 15,549 km², which corresponds to 19.4 % of the total area of the state, at the Río Verde basin, at the Hydrological region "Lerma-Santiago", in the western centre of Mexico, for the year 2020 a population of 873,731 inhabitants is forecast (2019), is located within the Río Verde basin, in the “Lerma-Santiago” Hydrological region, in central western Mexico. The agricultural activity in the region is of great relevance at the national level, which also generates high volumes of organic waste (solid and liquid), which in many cases are not handled properly causing serious environmental damage. This paper presents advances in the determination of the contamination of the surface waters of the 20 municipalities that make up the Jalisco Highlands region, making comparisons with available information for the years 2014 and 2016, physicochemical parameters such as: Dissolved Oxygen, Specific Conductivity, Salinity, Oxide-Reduction Potential, Ammonia Nitrogen and Chemical Oxygen Demand. In general, a certain degree of contamination is perceived in most of the bodies of water studied, exposing evidence of the gradual contamination of dams and rivers, mainly due to the discharge of wastewater (domestic and industrial) without treatment, as well as by dragging of waste organic solid, mainly in the municipalities of: Lagos de Moreno, San Juan de los Lagos, Union de San Antonio, Villa Hidalgo, Acatic, Tepatitlan and Arandas, the municipalities that presented less pollution in their surface waters were Teocaltiche, Jesus Maria and San Ignacio Cerro Gordo.