Water Quantity and Quality Monitoring in Urban Basin: Case of Matanza-Riachuelo, Argentina (PAP014798)

Código

PAP014798

Autores

Andrés Carsen, JUAN CARLOS BERTONI, Juan Borus, Enzo Vergini, Silvina Helena Garrido, Rodrigo Villarreal

Tema

Urban Floods

Resumo

Matanza-Riachuelo River Basin (CMR; 2,238 km2) drains through Buenos Aires City (CABA) and 14 other districts of the metropolitan area. Given its complex socioeconomic and environmental status, Matanza Riachuelo is the most emblematic basin in Argentina and discharges in the Rio de la Plata River. Along this river, 8.3M of people are settled (20.7% of the Argentinian population) and more than 13,000 industries are located there. Since 2006, Autoridad de Cuenca Matanza Riachuelo (ACUMAR) was created to manage the basin, integrated by both the National and Provincial States and CABA. These entities are sentenced by the national justice; therefore, ACUMAR is under strict monitoring of the National Supreme Court of Justice. Main hydric problems arise from organic and inorganic pollutant being repeatedly discharged and, from the frequent floods. There are four basic types of flood origins: a) swollen tributaries, b) Southeast blow (causes a physical barrier at the river mouth due to the water elevation in Rio de la Plata River), c) extreme rains (pluvial flooding) and, d) rising water table levels. A combination of these effects is considered to be the fifth cause of flooding and may cause a critical situation in the vulnerable urban area. Financed by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (Loan BIRF 7706-AR) and in regard the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) view, it has been established a Water Quantity and Quality Monitoring Plan for the basin, performed in two steps. The goal is to accomplish a hydrologic monitoring providing an environmental control and management of the limit conditions of the river (drought and flood). During the first part (Phase I: Hydrometry) H-Q curves were plotted and the tidal effect was analyzed. There were 50 hydrometric stations installed and systematic flows measuring were performed at strategic sections of the basin. This was a 14 month project with a budget of U$S 450,000. For the in-development second part (Phase II: Quantity and Quality) an online water quality and quantity monitoring was planned. The data will be gathered at 32 remote stations and a central one is designated to gather, store and process the data of the telemetric net. The amount of the investment for the installation, operation and maintenance of the network is U$S 4.6M and will be executed in 30 months. Stations will have limnigraph sensors, digital water table measurement instruments, automatic pluviometers devices and the determination of 4 water quality parameters: dissolved oxygen, conductivity, pH and temperature. There will be four main stations also collecting online samples for advanced laboratory analysis. Those stations affected by tidal effect will incorporate ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) equipment for measurement of velocity and direction of the flow. Communication system will be based on mobile phone data recovery and a redundant radial system. CMR will become the most hydrologic monitored area of the country and is expected to implement a flood early warning system.