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<p>Rapid urbanization and the expansion of institutional infrastructure increasingly stress surface freshwater systems, particularly in metropolitan regions with fragmented sanitation coverage. Small urban reservoirs are especially vulnerable because they receive overlapping pollution loads from diffuse urban sources and institutional point discharges, obscuring the dominant drivers of water quality degradation. This study assesses the relative contribution of these pollution pathways in the Mãe D’Água Dam, an urban reservoir located between a public university campus and a neighboring municipality with limited sewage infrastructure in southern Brazil. We implemented a comprehensive water quality monitoring plan and analyzed key physicochemical parameters at four strategic sampling points over 17&#xa0;months. We applied non-parametric statistical methods were applied, including Kruskal–Wallis tests with Dwass–Steel–Critchlow–Fligner post hoc comparisons, to compare conditions among sites and evaluate the effects of infrastructure interventions. The results show a marked reduction in institutional effluent discharge after the university’s sanitary network was connected to the municipal system, confirming the effectiveness of targeted point-source control. In contrast, pollutant concentrations at downstream sites remained statistically similar to those observed in the tributary receiving untreated domestic sewage, indicating that diffuse urban pollution exerts the dominant pressure on reservoir water quality. These findings establish water quality monitoring as a governance tool for guiding restoration priorities and sanitation investments in fragmented urban systems. By quantifying the interaction between diffuse and point-source pollution in a real urban setting, this study informs ongoing debates on monitoring strategies, decentralized sanitation management, and the role of institutional actors in protecting surface freshwater resources.</p>

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Urban development and sanitation inequality drive water quality degradation in the Mãe D'Água Dam in Brazil

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月7日

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  • Louidi Lauer Albornoz,
  • João Júlio Klusener,
  • Tiago Carrard Centurião,
  • Andréa Moura Bernardes,
  • Salatiel Wohlmuth da Silva

摘要

Rapid urbanization and the expansion of institutional infrastructure increasingly stress surface freshwater systems, particularly in metropolitan regions with fragmented sanitation coverage. Small urban reservoirs are especially vulnerable because they receive overlapping pollution loads from diffuse urban sources and institutional point discharges, obscuring the dominant drivers of water quality degradation. This study assesses the relative contribution of these pollution pathways in the Mãe D’Água Dam, an urban reservoir located between a public university campus and a neighboring municipality with limited sewage infrastructure in southern Brazil. We implemented a comprehensive water quality monitoring plan and analyzed key physicochemical parameters at four strategic sampling points over 17 months. We applied non-parametric statistical methods were applied, including Kruskal–Wallis tests with Dwass–Steel–Critchlow–Fligner post hoc comparisons, to compare conditions among sites and evaluate the effects of infrastructure interventions. The results show a marked reduction in institutional effluent discharge after the university’s sanitary network was connected to the municipal system, confirming the effectiveness of targeted point-source control. In contrast, pollutant concentrations at downstream sites remained statistically similar to those observed in the tributary receiving untreated domestic sewage, indicating that diffuse urban pollution exerts the dominant pressure on reservoir water quality. These findings establish water quality monitoring as a governance tool for guiding restoration priorities and sanitation investments in fragmented urban systems. By quantifying the interaction between diffuse and point-source pollution in a real urban setting, this study informs ongoing debates on monitoring strategies, decentralized sanitation management, and the role of institutional actors in protecting surface freshwater resources.