Diagnóstico participativo de calidad de agua como herramienta para la gestión ambiental. El caso del Municipio de Vichadero, Rivera, Uruguay.

The current investigation comes from concerns expressed by local social actors in the municipality of Vichadero, Rivera, Uruguay and the lack of data on the conditions of the bodies of water in the area. The objective based on the perception of the community, was to identify the main environmental problems of the area, from a socio-environmental diagnosis using participatory methodologies, empowering through the collective production of knowledge from the people involved. This approach was put in dialogue with the results of physical-chemical and mutagenic analysis of the quality of surface water in the micro watershed of the area. This research provides evidence that similar processes could promote the involvement of local actors in monitoring and research processes associated with the environmental management of a locality.