Nitrogen (N) pollution in shallow groundwater within the Jianghan Plain—a depositional basin along the Yangtze River in China—is a serious issue affecting the local water supply. There is little concern regarding temporal variation patterns of groundwater N in regions with intensive groundwater/surface-water interactions thus far. In this study, a 2-year field monitoring program and a set of incubation experiments were jointly applied to characterize the seasonal variation mechanisms of groundwater N. Groundwater monitoring suggested that temporal N variations in monitoring wells of 25 and 10-m depth were correlated with fluctuations in water levels, with lower NH₄-N and higher NO₃⁻-N concentrations corresponding to groundwater discharge during the dry season, and with higher NH₄-N and lower NO₃⁻-N concentrations corresponding to groundwater recharge during the wet season. Batch sediment incubation experiments showed that buried organic carbon in sediments from the field site could not promote NH₄-N release, but exogenous organic carbon and oxidant input could catalyze organic N mineralization, resulting in NH₄-N release. Nevertheless, NO₃⁻-N release was limited in all incubations. Thus, the temporal variation patterns could be divided into (1) groundwater N in type-1 wells (25 and 10 m), controlled by the annual reversal of groundwater flow gradient, which determined whether there was input of exogenous organic carbon or oxidants, ultimately affecting organic N mineralization, denitrification and other transformation processes, and (2) groundwater N in type-2 wells (<4 m depth), which showed no significant seasonal variation, implying the process is mainly controlled by surface inputs in the shallower subsurface.

A partir da comprovação por vários estudos que as sementes de Moringa (Moringa oleifera L.) apresentam a capacidade de clarificar e purificar água potencialmente fora de especificações para consumo humano. Objetivou-se com o presente projeto avaliar se a semente de moringa tem capacidade de purificar água residuária de curtume. Foi utilizada água residuária bruta, coletada antes das estações de tratamento de dois curtumes no município de Maringá, Paraná. As sementes de moringa foram obtidas nos municípios de Umuarama e Floraí, Paraná. As sementes foram retiradas do fruto antes do processo de deiscência e trituradas em meio de água destilada. O sistema foi realizado em sistema descontínuo de tratamento, utilizando vasos de 25litros, onde foram utilizados 15 litros de água residuárias de curtume. Foram feitos uma testemunha e três tratamentos com a mesma concentração 8,0 g L-1 variando a fração em função do tempo de 4, 8 e 12 horas. Foram avaliados os parâmetros: pH, nitrogênio amoniacal, turbidez, DBO e DQO. Os melhores resultados obtidos foram no parâmetro nitrogênio. = The evidence from several studies have indicated that the seeds of Moringa (Moringa oleifera L.) have the ability to clarify and purify water potentially out of specification for human consumption. The objective of this project was to evaluate whether the seeds of moringa are capable of purifying wastewater from tannery. Untreated wastewater was used, collected before entering the treatment plants of two tanneries in the city of Maringá, Paraná, Brazil. The moringa seeds were collected in the municipalities of Umuarama and Floraí, Paraná, Brazil. Seeds were removed from the fruit before dehiscence and crushed within distilled water. The system was carried out in batch processing, using 25-liter pots, and 15 liters of wastewater from the tannery. One control and three treatments were used. All groups contained the same concentration 8.0 g L-1 but were done in 4, 8 and 12 hours. The following parameters were evaluated: pH, ammonia nitrogen, turbidity, BOD and COD. The best results were obtained in the parameter nitrogen.

Santa Catarina State has encouraged the use of cisterns as a technology to offer water in quantity and quality to livestock. The region is characterized by severe droughts in the summer months. The aims of the study were: to monitor physical, chemical and microbiological rain water quality parameters of a cistern; to evaluate if water had quality for pigs and beef cattle water consumption. Concentrations of nitrate, nitrite and ammonia were in accordance with the standards for animal consumption. E. coli was present in some samples. The rainfall and speed of wind influenced the concentrations of nitrogen. Investigations of the relations between these environmental parameters and water quality must be conducted to avoid agricultural and livestock emission sources to have a negative impact on water quality. The water stored in the cistern showed satisfactory quality for use of pigs and beef cattle drinking. This gives support to the utilization of this technology to improve the water use efficiency for livestock. | Na região do Meio Oeste Catarinense tem-se incentivado a utilização de cisternas como tecnologia capaz de ofertar água aos rebanhos. A região é caracterizada por secas severas nos meses de verão. Os objetivos da pesquisa foram: monitorar variáveis físicas, químicas e microbiológicas de qualidade da água de chuva de uma cisterna; avaliar se a água armazenada possuía qualidade para dessedentação de suínos e bovinos de corte. As concentrações de nitrato, nitrito e amônia mantiveram-se de acordo com os padrões para o consumo animal. A E. coli esteve presente em algumas amostras. A quantidade de chuva e velocidade do vento influenciaram as concentrações dos elementos nitrogenados. Investigações a fim de aprofundar esse conhecimento devem ser conduzidas para que as fontes emissoras agrícolas e pecuárias não representam alto impacto negativo para a qualidade da água. A água armazenada na cisterna apresentou qualidade satisfatória para o uso na dessedentação de suínos e bovinos de corte o que corrobora a utilização da tecnologia, visando o uso eficiente da água pelas produções pecuárias.

In order to determine if artificially collected water fog in the mountainous located in central the region of Veracruz state is suitable for human consumption; a preliminary sampling was made, from January to March (2010), the period with more fog frequency. The objective was to analyze the physical, chemical and biological aspects concerning water quality. It was found that this water is not suitable for direct human consumption, since it contains heavy metals such as mercury, coliform organisms and high amounts of ammonia nitrogen, though it is suitable for direct use in agriculture. However, it is possible to apply a sanitation treatment for human use at a cost of 0.00341 USD L-1 not including the labor cost neither the necessary infrastructure. Various causes can lead to this water pollution are discussed and it is concluded that collected fog water is not suitable for human consumption, but it might be used for agriculture.