Evaluation of surface water quality in basins of the Chilean Altiplano-Puna and implications for water treatment and monitoring.

ABSTRACT: Water quality characterization and assessment are key to protecting human health and ecosystems, especially in arid areas such as northern Chile, where water resources are scarce and rich in pollutants. The objective of this study was to review and assess available official water quality data in the Chilean Altiplano-Puna basins for a 10-year period (2008-2018), including water treatment systems. Within the 43,600 km² of Chilean Altiplano-Puna territory, only 16 official water quality monitoring stations had up-to-date data, and the sampling frequency was less than 3 per year. Most of the water samples collected at the evaluated stations exceeded the drinking and irrigation water Chilean standards for arsenic, boron, and electrical conductivity. Moreover, the characteristics of

SUBMITTER: Lizama-Allende K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9580442 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature