Geographic System Information applied to the analysis of the relations of the quality of the water and risk in public health in the Natal City (RN).

Abstract

A Water Management System (WMS) was developed to visualize and to integrate data from different pollutant sources contained in the surface and underground waters of Natal, capital of the State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, aiming to help the improvement the water quality for human consumption. The data were obtained in official departments and in loco using a GPS, to complete a database with information related to the sampled point, with inclusion of pictures, profiles, analytic and other data. To these environmental data were added information about endemic diseases related to the water resources, and then cross-linked. This procedure allowed a better understanding of the current context of the water resources system, enabling thus a future management and administration of the water quality in the studied area. It was observed that this region lacks of an appropriate sanitation politics to avoid the pollution of the groundwater, as well as of an adequate administration in some areas located in the aquifer recharge zone, which are vulnerable to the contamination by nitrate and coliforms.