Potencial risco à poluição antropogênica no sistema aquífero Dunas/Barreiras da região metropolitana de Natal

Abstract

In the Metropolitan Region of Natal, the underground water potential is constituted by the Dunas- Barreiras aquifer system, which has large underground water reserves, capable of supplying the population for domestic, agricultural, livestock, and industrial uses, among others. This system has been contaminated by the urbanization process. In the struggle to effectively reduce groundwater contamination, aquifer risk assessment is one of the important pillars in the management of groundwater resources in a region. The present study aims to evaluate the potential anthropogenic risk in the Dunas-Barreiras aquifer system of the Metropolitan Region of Natal. This research used the method of overlaying layers of information with a map of vulnerability of the aquifer to anthropogenic contamination, developed with the GODS method, with the map of pollutant loads to the underground of the activities developed in the Metropolitan Region of Natal, made by means of the POSH method finally generating the map of the potential risk of groundwater contamination. This by means of geographic information systems and the method of map algebra. The configuration of the map shows that 7% of the total area of the NMR is at an extreme level, 24% at a high level, 25% at a moderate level, 24% at a low level and 20% at a very low level. It is evident that there is a predominance of high and extreme loads along the coastal area of the region. The research has helped to highlight how the intrinsic characteristics in the aquifer can allow the transport of pollutants to the groundwater in some areas, generating an extreme risk of groundwater contamination. This helps in structuring an initial diagnosis to improve strategic planning for sustainable territorial planning, in this case, with emphasis on the protection of aquifers.