LANDSCAPE & WATER QUALITY IN THE CORREGO DA ONCA WATERSHED IN TRES LAGOAS, MATO GROSSO DO SUL, BRAZIL

Freshwater is a limited asset, so the land use type and the pollution degree of water bodies may compromise the properties and quantity of water resources and thus influence the limitations on its uses, as well as the population`s quality of life. Currently, it is noted that water properties are deteriorating depending on the type of use, cover and management of the land expressing its landscape. Given this fact, the present article aims at evaluating the implications of landscape transformations in water quality in the Corrego da Onca river basin in Tres Lagoas, Mato Grosso do Sul. The methodology used correlates landscape with physical and chemical quality of its surface water. For this survey, seven strategic points were sampled and performed field measurement of the parameters: air and water temperatures, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Electrical Conductivity (EC), Turbidity, Redox Potential or Oxide Reduction Potential (ORP) and the Total Dissolved Solids - TDS by means of a Horiba U50 multiparameter analyzer. The results pointed out that once the drainage of Corrego da Onca has passed through the three urban lagoons in the city of Tres Lagoas, it begins to receive greater contribution from clandestine connections of domestic sewage in stormwater networks, emissions which promote the reduction of its framework in water use indication classes of the National Environment Council - CONAMA, 357/2005 resolution falling from Class I to Class II. Furthermore, the downstream creek of the sewage treatment plant (ETE) close to BR 262, was totally dry.