Evaluación de los afluentes que ingresa a la Laguna de Yahuarcocha, Provincia de Imbabura

The Yahuarcocha lagoon is a natural wonder and one of the most important tourist centers of Ecuador, in this sense around it are carried out a number of human activities (agriculture, livestock, trade, among others.), These anthropogenic activities are a focus of pollution, causing a problem of deterioration for the lake system, because the wastewater have as final destination the body of water of the lagoon. Taking into account the above mentioned, the general objective of this research is to evaluate the tributaries that enter the Yahuarcocha lagoon, using analytical techniques to determine the pollutant load that enters this body of water. To achieve the objective of the research, the following methods were used: deductive, inductive and experimental, complemented with physicochemical and microbiological techniques, which allowed us to obtain data to contrast between each of the tributaries that enter the lagoon. In this way, the following conclusions were reached: Six water inflows to the Yahuarcocha lagoon were identified, among which are the tributary near the Aduana, the San Antonio ditch, Manzana Huayco stream, the PTAR tributary, the Polo Golo stream and the El Quince - Rio Tahuando stream. Regarding the need to determine the status of the tributaries that enter the lagoon, the tributary near the customs house has a poor water quality index with a value of 48.853, while the others are in a regular index, with a range of 51.82 to 57.90. Once the pollutant load was calculated, it was determined that the 'San Antonio' irrigation ditch is the most polluting of phosphates 0.013 mg/s and the 'Manzano Huayco' stream of total nitrogen 0. 0249 mg/s of the six tributaries, although this is one of those that contain a lower concentration of pollutants (nitrates, nitrites, phosphates, oil and grease, etc.), but it contributes a greater amount of pollutants to the body of water of the Yahuarcocha lagoon, accelerating the process of eutrophication and can transform the lagoon into a swampy area and then become firm ground.

La laguna de Yahuarcocha, es una maravilla natural y uno de los más importantes centros turísticos del Ecuador, en tal sentido alrededor de ella se realizan un sin número de actividades humanas (agricultura, ganadería, comercio, entre otras.), estas actividades antrópicas son foco de contaminación, ocasionando un problema de deterioro para el sistema lacustre, porque las aguas residuales tienen como destino final el cuerpo de agua de la laguna. Teniendo en cuenta lo antes mencionado la presente investigación se plantea como objetivo general; evaluar los afluentes que ingresan a la laguna de Yahuarcocha, mediante técnicas analíticas para la determinación de la carga contaminante que ingresa a este cuerpo lacustre. Para alcanzar el objetivo planteado en la investigación se utilizaron los siguientes métodos: deductivo, inductivo y experimental complementándose con las técnicas fisicoquímicas y microbiológicas; las mismas que permitieron obtener los datos para contrastar entre cada uno de los afluentes que ingresan a la laguna. De esta manera pudiendo llegar a las siguientes conclusiones: Se identificó seis ingresos de agua a la laguna de Yahuarcocha, entre las que se encuentran el afluente cercano a la Aduana, la acequia San Antonio, quebrada Manzana Huayco, el afluente PTAR, la quebrada Polo Golo y la quebrada El Quince – Rio Tahuando. Con respecto a la necesidad de determinar el estado de los afluentes que ingresan a la laguna, el afluente cercano a la aduana marca un índice de calidad del agua mala con un valor de 48.853, mientras que los otros se encuentran en un índice de regular marcando un rango de 51.82 a 57.90. Una vez calculada la carga contaminante se determinó que la acequia “San Antonio” es la que más emite fosfatos 0.013 mg/s y la quebrada “Manzano Huayco” de nitrógeno total 0.0249 mg/, a pesar de que estos contenían una menor concentración de contaminantes como (nitratos,nitritos fosfatos, aceite y grasas, etc…), pero aportaban una mayor cantidad de carga contaminante al cuerpo de agua de Yahuarcocha, siendo así los principales nutrientes para el proceso de eutrofización, posteriormente se transformar la laguna en una zona pantanosa o terreno firme.

The Yahuarcocha lagoon is a natural wonder and one of the most important tourist centers of Ecuador, in this sense around it are carried out a number of human activities (agriculture, livestock, trade, among others.), These anthropogenic activities are a focus of pollution, causing a problem of deterioration for the lake system, because the wastewater have as final destination the body of water of the lagoon. Taking into account the above mentioned, the general objective of this research is to evaluate the tributaries that enter the Yahuarcocha lagoon, using analytical techniques to determine the pollutant load that enters this body of water. To achieve the objective of the research, the following methods were used: deductive, inductive and experimental, complemented with physicochemical and microbiological techniques, which allowed us to obtain data to contrast between each of the tributaries that enter the lagoon. In this way, the following conclusions were reached: Six water inflows to the Yahuarcocha lagoon were identified, among which are the tributary near the Aduana, the San Antonio ditch, Manzana Huayco stream, the PTAR tributary, the Polo Golo stream and the El Quince - Rio Tahuando stream. Regarding the need to determine the status of the tributaries that enter the lagoon, the tributary near the customs house has a poor water quality index with a value of 48.853, while the others are in a regular index, with a range of 51.82 to 57.90. Once the pollutant load was calculated, it was determined that the San Antonio irrigation ditch is the most polluting of phosphates 0.013 mg/s and the Manzano Huayco stream of total nitrogen 0. 0249 mg/s of the six tributaries, although this is one of those that contain a lower concentration of pollutants (nitrates, nitrites, phosphates, oil and grease, etc.), but it contributes a greater amount of pollutants to the body of water of the Yahuarcocha lagoon, accelerating the process of eutrophication and can transform the lagoon into a swampy area and then become firm ground.