Water quality of five rural Caribbean towns in Colombia

The water quality in drinking water or raw water supplies in the Colombian Caribbean region was evaluated using the risk index for water quality (IRCA) and the water quality index (IAP) proposed by CETESB, Brazil. The following towns were selected: Mahates, supplied with surface water from the Canal del Dique, San Joaquín, Malagana and San Basilio de Palenque, which use groundwater, and Mandinga, supplied by an artisanal dam. Physical and chemical parameters, heavy metals, microbiological parameters (total coliforms and Escherichia coli ) and pesticides (organochlorine and organophosphorus compounds) used in the region for agriculture and livestock were determined. Groundwater showed a high hardness and surface water a high turbidity. Critical concentrations of pesticides were not detected, but microbiological contamination was found in water supplies and aqueducts, as well as Fe, Cr and Ni levels in water supplies, and Pb and Ni in aqueducts, higher than those allowed by both quality indices. The water supplies of the towns presented unsafe IRCA and IAP in the majority cases. This investigation studied the contamination in water supplies and aqueducts in the Colombian Caribbean region to provide environmental authorities with the necessary information to establish strategies and regulations to reduce the risks of water contamination.