Monitoring water quality in the Cabelo River basin

The objective of this study was to monitor water quality in the Cabelo River basin, with a view to assisting in the definition of measures for monitoring water quality and environmental management in that basin. The Cabelo River basin is located entirely within the municipality of João Pessoa, PB, between coordinates 7o08’53’’ and 7o11’02’’ south latitude and 34 47’26’’ and 34 50’33’’ west longitude, with an average altitude of 31.15 m. The research consisted of a survey using questionnaires on water use, georeferencing of point and diffuse sources of pollution using GPS, and water quality assessment. The main sources of pollution observed in the Cabelo River basin were: domestic and industrial sewage, solid waste, sand mining, urban expansion without infrastructure, agricultural exploitation, deforestation, mangrove filling, irregular beach occupation, and urbanization characterized by an occupation where condominiums, various subdivisions, and irregularly built residences predominate.