The institute’s project evaluates samples of water consumed in rural communities in 12 municipalities in the Amazon
A project by the Leônidas & Maria Deane Institute (Fiocruz Amazônia) is entering the final stretch of analysis of samples of water consumed in rural communities in 12 municipalities in the Amazon, which will allow, through sampling, to identify the different forms of contamination of the water consumed by populations from localities, which use the river as a source of supply, or wells without maintenance and precarious operation.
Entitled Environmental Education Project in Rural Communities in the State of Amazonas: An action-research proposal for monitoring water quality, the work is funded by the State of Amazonas Research Support Foundation (Fapeam). The coordination is by the biologist and researcher-technologist at Fiocruz Amazônia, Luciete Almeira, head of the Bacteriology Center at the Microbial Diversity of the Amazon Laboratory with Importance for Health, in partnership with Funasa (National Health Foundation).
According to Luciete Almeida, over the course of 18 months, the project covered 11 of the 12 municipalities contemplated and generated reports of analyzes carried out on the water collected in the communities and a set of recommendations regarding sanitary and prophylactic measures to be adopted by both municipal and state authorities in the in order to improve the quality of the water consumed in those places and to identify the risk factors that may be influencing the illness of the community members.
“Our objective is to promote the Environmental Education of communities and demonstrate, in a proven way, that the water that the populations of these distant places are ingesting may be contaminated by organic matter, such as animal and human feces, in addition to other polluting particles, which could compromise seriously affect the health of families.” said the biologist.
In the week of July 31st to August 4th, it was the turn of the municipality of Silves, in the Middle Amazon, to receive the work. There, in addition to the rural communities, with access only by river – such as Divino Espírito Santo do Paraná do Pai Tomás, Santa Maria do Rebojão, São Raimundo do Bacabaí and São José do Pampulha, located about an hour by ferry from the headquarters of the municipality – collections were also carried out from the artesian wells that supply the urban area of the city.
“This Fiocruz activity is extremely important for our municipality since we need to know what type of water we are consuming and what we can do to improve the situation, in case of need for emergency measures”, said Silves Environment Secretary Janderlei Grana Gadelha, who accompanied the team during the collections.
In total, Silves has 32 rural communities distributed throughout its territory, formed by islands, many of them completely isolated during the period of ebb of the region’s rivers. The municipality is bathed by the Urubu (tributary of the Negro) and Amazon rivers, and borders Itacoatiara and Urucurituba.
Families survive from agriculture and small livestock and pigs, whose meat is consumed in the communities themselves. On the way, it is possible to see small plantations and corrals with cattle loose in the flooded pasture. “The presence of fecal coliforms intensifies with the grazing of animals that defecate in the areas where they circulate and often the riverside people use the water captured from the river for domestic tasks and even consumption”, Luciete said.
Another factor that influences water quality is the climate. The dry and flooding of rivers and lakes in the region, between the months of June (high water) and October (low water), significantly alters the routine of water supply for those who live in localities. In the 4 communities in Silves visited by the Fiocruz Amazônia and Funasa team, the reported difficulties are the same.
“Sometimes it is necessary to walk for more than an hour to reach the banks of the rivers”, Janderlei said. Artesian wells, implanted in some places, are the only alternative for residents, but without guarantee of supplying drinking water.
The research is being carried out in rural riverside communities in the municipalities of Parintins, Manaquiri, Silves, Borba, Iranduba, Careiro da Várzea, Careiro Castanho, Rio Preto da Eva, Urucará, Barreirinha, Manacapuru, Novo Airão.
In each of these municipalities, at least four communities were visited and water was collected both from artesian wells and from rivers, creeks and Salta Z systems – created by Funasa as an alternative for improving the quality of water consumed in riverside locations.
For this reason, a Funasa technician accompanies the team on trips and performs physical-chemical analyzes of the material he also collects. In Silves, in addition to the communities located on the shores of Lake Canaçari and the Amazon and Urubu rivers, water collected from the 5 artesian wells that supply the urban area were also collected.
For the coordinator of Health Surveillance in the municipality, Juciê Neves, the reports will provide the necessary information to support the demands for the implementation of new Salta Z systems in communities that do not yet have them and the maintenance of the systems where it already exists, as well as at the headquarters. from the city.
Luciete Almeida highlights the importance of the partnership with Funasa for the success of the project. “In addition to raising awareness in the community, with lectures on the importance of drinking water for our health and the procedures we must adopt to reduce the risk of water contamination, the project also contributes to the implementation of public policies focused on the issue. the supply of quality water to the populations”, affirm. According to Luciete, as soon as they are ready, the reports are sent to the municipal health departments of the 12 municipalities covered.
In Silves, the results of the analyzes are eagerly awaited. Of the 32 existing communities, only two have the Salta Z system. In the others, there is no exact idea of the quality of the water being consumed. The Salta Z system (Alternative Water Treatment Solution) is capable of filtering muddy and contaminated water from rivers and lakes, making it potable for human consumption in just a few minutes.
The technology, implemented by Funasa, makes a difference in the lives of riverside communities. It simplifies the conventional water treatment steps, in a tubular structure with powerful and adequate filters, to make the water potable, close to wells and rivers where the collection is made.
Clusters of communities, some isolated, grow in the floodplain areas of the municipality. “With the Salta Z system, the communities now have drinking water, but care must be taken to maintain the artesian wells”, explained the Sanitation technician at Funasa, José Moura dos Santos, who accompanies the trips along with the Fiocruz Amazônia team.
In the community of Paraná do Pai Tomás, also known as Paranazinho, the well installed more than 20 years ago now has Salta Z less than a year ago. “During the visits, we also observed the conditions of the artesian well, which needs to be in a clean area, without the presence of animals, and be done with the correct construction method”, Moura declared.
In Paranazinho, the system was well received by the 21 families residing in the community. “Before Salta-Z, we had many difficulties and illnesses. Most families used water from the well, without any treatment, for food and drink. Today, it has improved a lot.” said teacher Kiane Neves, from the Antonio Graciano de Farias Municipal School, which serves children in Paranazinho and Santa Maria do Rebojão.
At the school, researcher Luciete Almeida gave a lecture to students and teachers, in addition to distributing booklets on health and the environment and applying questionnaires, which are used to outline the profile of the communities visited. “Through the questions, we seek to obtain information about the number of families, the communities’ main sources of income, how garbage is collected and disposed of, what changes have occurred with the implementation of Salta Z, especially in relation to the incidence of waterborne diseases, among other information”, explains Luciete. “Children help spread information, they are the ones who make the difference”, says the biologist.
Despite being transparent, the water in Salta Z can also vary in quality if the system or the wells that supply it are not properly maintained.
This is the example of the Paranazinho community, where the well has never undergone maintenance since it was implemented and is located in a massapê area, with the presence of animal feces, waste water and sewage (from the bath and sink) contaminating the soil. “In this case, it is possible that we have changes in the water supplied by the system because the whole process requires maintenance care, but only after the results of the analyzes is it possible to confirm”, explains the Funasa technician.
Of the eight wells that supply the Silves neighborhoods, five had water samples collected by researchers from Fiocruz and Funasa. The oldest well is located in the Center. Next, collections were carried out in the Mucajatuba, Panorama, Plínio Coelho and Curaçá neighborhoods.
All, artesian wells over 100 meters deep and responsible for supplying more than 80% of the city. “It will be very important to have knowledge about the water that is consumed, because only then can we improve the quality of the product offered to the population”, reinforces Juciê.
Laboratory
Biologist Dandara Brandão, a master’s student at the Graduate Program in Living Conditions and Health Situations in the Amazon, follows the project that forms part of her master’s thesis.
She works in the bacteria collection at Fiocruz Amazônia and explains that, as soon as they arrive from the field, the samples are submitted to colimetry tests (to identify total and fecal coliforms); phenotyping methods (isolation and identification) by biochemical analysis; and genotyping methods (PCR and genetic sequencing) to identify pathogens found in water.
“It is important to point out that the workshops and collections are carried out in all municipalities contemplated with environmental education workshops; awareness for quality water intake, collected from the Salta Z systems, as well as other sources destined for consumption by the communities”, he said.
The Funasa technician explains that, in the field activity, it is possible to evaluate in loco aspects such as temperature, conductivity, total solids and the presence of organic matter and carry out a situational study for the possible implementation of the Salta Z system.
Course
As part of Fapeam’s funding, the Laboratory Bacteriology Nucleus, from Fiocruz Amazônia, will promote from August 21 to 25, the improvement course in monitoring the microbiological quality of water, aimed at laboratory technicians in the municipalities covered by the research.
“To configure the project, we planned activities with technicians and participants from the communities, agreeing on a programmatic content addressing topics such as water resources, sources of contamination, legislation, procedures and biosafety standards, main methods for assessing the microbiological quality of water, measures of prevention and health promotion, environmental surveillance, microbiology of fungi isolated in water, among others”, said Luciete, who coordinates the course.
Classes will be given by researchers from Fiocruz Amazônia and guests from other institutions. The course will be offered in online and face-to-face formats, with practical and theoretical classes. Two vacancies were made available for each municipality and all were filled.
With information from Fiocruz Agency.
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