QUALIDADE DE ÁGUA E DIAGNÓSTICO SOCIOAMBIENTAL DAS FAMÍLIAS DO ASSENTAMENTO FLORESTAN FERNANDES

Abstract

Inadequate use of land and agrochemicals, agricultural activities and deforestation negatively affect water quality. The springs represent the main source to meet the water demands in the Florestan Fernandes Settlement – AFF, located in the south of Espírito Santo. Aiming to know the constituent problems of the complex reality of water scarcity, this work carried out a field research with eight families of the settlement in order to construct a socio-environmental  diagnosis, identify the perception of families about the environment in which they live and problematize questions about their use and land occupation and its interference with the availability of drinking water and spring preservation. Questionnaires were applied to 08 families that use spring water and to determine the environmental quality of water, we used the Water Quality Index (WQI). The results showed that AFF's main activity is agricultural. Burning domestic waste, the use of black pits and animal excrement can all contribute to the degradation of spring water. Most families use some means for disinfecting water. The classified seven springs with good quality and one reasonable