ASSESSMENT OF PRESIDENTE GETÚLIO WATERFALLS BATHING CONDITIONS – SANTA CATARINA STATE, BRAZIL

Bagattoli, F. 1 , Serbent, M.P. 2* , Censi, G. 3. & Bachmann. S.A.L 4 (2018). Assessment of Presidente Getúlio waterfalls bathing conditions - Santa Catarina State, Brazil. Braz. J. Aquat. Sci. Technol. 22(1). eISSN 1983-9057. DOI: 11139/ bjast.v22n1. Human actions without proper planning can result in degradation of water bodies by compromising their varied uses, and among them, their recreational use. The district of Presidente Getúlio, in the Alto Vale do Itajaí region, Santa Catarina State, Brazil, has several waterfalls that serve as recreation environments. However, there is a lack of studies to assess the environmental quality of these areas. The objective of this study was to evaluate the bathing conditions of four waterfalls in Presidente Getúlio according to the bathing criteria established by Brazilian law. The indicative parameters of water quality evaluated were Escherichia coli , pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, turbidity and biochemical oxygen demand. The results indicate that the waterfalls have improper conditions of primary contact recreation due to pollution from various sources (fecal matter from livestock activities) and other sources (untreated domestic sewage). Fecal pollution of these recreational water bodies can lead to health problems due to the presence of infectious microorganisms.