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Copyright of Revista de Gestão Ambiental e Sustentabilidade (GeAS) is the property of Revista de Gestao Ambiental e Sustentabilidade / UNINOVE and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The vulnerability of electric potential generation from water resources has been evidenced due to uncertainties of climatic origin and energy planning. Changes in rainfall regimes are multifactorial phenomena difficult to model. Rainfall is the main natural way of restoring the reservoir levels of hydroelectric power plants. The reduction in rainfall levels may increase in the coming years, resulting in a probable change of the energy matrix configuration of the state of Minas Gerais (MG). This could reduce the share of renewable sources increasing dependence on the importance of energy from fossil fuels, which are the immediate primary sources of energy available. Prior examinations have portrayed the depletion of hydroelectricity in Brazil, or its macro-regions, however this work tries to supply a more focused look at the effects on the electricity and social sectors of the state of Minas Gerais. The study developed in this paper aims to investigate the hydrological potential alteration impacts and consequences on the energy matrix of the state, the greenhouse gas emissions and the social reflexes of these changes due to scenarios motivated by climate change. The investigation intends to show the importance of the water-energy-emissions nexus for energy planning and decision-making, in order to evaluate the best options for dealing with adverse and potentially destabilizing conditions. The results of the analyses show that while hydropower demand was 5.24 Mtoe in 2015, in 2030 the supply of hydropower will be 5.81 Mtoe and 4.72 Mtoe, for the conservative and severe scenarios, respectively. In addition, the effect of climate change may require an increase in the share of non-renewable sources in the energy matrix, which could increase CO 2 e emissions from 4.2% to 7.4% by 2030, compared to the levels in 2016. • Reduction in rainfall levels will change the energy matrix configuration of MG state. • Population growth will boost demand for energy. • It is shown the importance of the water-energy-emissions nexus for energy planning and decision-making. • The energy matrix may considerably increase the CO 2 e emissions by 2030, compared with 2016 levels in the MG state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agricola e Ambiental - Agriambi is the property of Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agricola e Ambiental and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the rural areas of the developing countries, the access to water supply and sanitation services is still largely inadequate. Poor governance of the water sector is frequently singled out as a cause and reforms are required. Studies analyzing the great diversity of restructuring efforts currently being undertaken in the water sector have not succeeded in determining the most appropriate institutional and economic framework for such reforms. Moreover they underline the lack of documentation on actual projects and call for concrete models and tools for improving water and sanitation services (WSS) and for adapting water utility practice to real conditions. In this context, the Vida no Vale (Life in the Valley) project is aimed at bringing universal access to WSS for all inhabitants of both urban and rural areas, in the northeastern area of the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais. The project takes sustainable development as its guiding principle, and relies on the joint implementation of an innovative technical design, a governance model involving public participation and subsidiarity, and an economic structure combining financial viability and social equity. Designed at a consistent geographical and hydrological scale, it includes the creation of a regional subsidiary of the existing state water company as a keystone element. The institutional organisation also relies on the creation of a public board consisting of the 92 municipalities of the project region and of the State of Minas Gerais. This board will be in charge of the system's governance. This paper presents the first step of the project (2006), consisting of a feasibility study and the implementation of 9 pilot subprojects. During the feasibility study, the supply, demand and capacity to pay for water services were defined, existing infrastructure appraised, the necessary amount of investment assessed and an innovative operational model and a sustainable management system, including civil society participation, defined. The main features of the Vida no Vale project have been tested in 9 pilot sub-projects, and implemented in municipalities chosen for their low Human Development Index and for the lack of WSS, in both urban and rural areas. A second phase corresponding to the project's final implementation will run from 2007 to 2011. The Vida no Vale project design resulted in a logical and extensive framework which could be used for developing similar WSS projects in other poor, rural regions, its adaptiveness being a key feature for taking into account the specific, local conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the challenges faced by regulatory authorities in the water sector, the large number of municipal supply services to be inspected and the cost of on-site inspections are prominent. To overcome these issues, decisions regarding the priority of inspections based on indicators is an alternative. Therefore, this research aims to propose and evaluate the Regulatory Index of Quality of Water Supply Service (RIQS) to triage on-site inspections of water supply systems in cities of the state of Minas Gerais. The study was conducted with information from the Regulatory Agency of Water Supply and Sanitation Services of Minas Gerais (Arsae-MG). The methodology followed seven steps: (i) selection of available indicators; (ii) grouping of indicators according to their typology; (iii) screening of indicators; (iv) establishment of standardized scale; (v) evaluation of the relative importance of typologies and indicators, through the adaptation of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP); (vi) determination of the RIQS; and (vii) analysis of results. As a result, we selected 12 indicators to compose the RIQS, which deal with efficiency, effectiveness, and customer relationship. We noticed that the indicator of water supply service coverage (17.2%) had the highest weight in the calculation of the RIQS, and the index of requests for an inspection of the water connection served on time (2.1%) had the lowest weight. In addition, 95.1% of the 591 municipalities evaluated presented excellent or good performance. Based on these results, we show that the RIQS can be used to identify cities with low performance and prioritize inspections in the most urgent water systems. Furthermore, these outcomes reveal the possibility of extending and adapting the methodology to other regulatory agencies around the world for identifying the priority of inspections in water supply systems at a municipal level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Biológica Colombiana is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Biologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In hydrological modelling, it is important to consider the uncertainties related to a model's structures and parameters when different hydrological models are used to represent a system. Therefore, an adequate analysis of daily discharge forecasts that takes into account the performance of hydrological models can assist in identifying the best extreme discharge forecasts. In this context, this study aims to evaluate the performance of three hydrological models—Lavras Simulation of Hydrology (LASH), Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC), and Distributed Hydrological Model (MHD-INPE) in the Verde River basin. The results demonstrate that LASH and MHD can accurately simulate discharges, thereby establishing them as crucial tools for managing water resources in the study region's basins. Moreover, these findings could serve as a cornerstone for future studies focusing on food and water security, particularly when examining their connection to climate change scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates both the occurrence and removal of 24 compounds, including drugs and endocrine disruptors, in 8 water treatment plants (WTP) located in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais State, Brazil). The compounds 4-nonylphenol, 4-octylphenol, 17α-ethinylestradiol, 17β-estradiol, acyclovir, bisphenol A, bezafibrate, caffeine, dexamethasone, diclofenac sodium, diltiazem, estrone, estriol, gemfibrozil, ibuprofen, linezolid, loratadine, losartan, metformin, naproxen, paracetamol, promethazine, propranolol and sulfamethoxazole were monitored at 3 sampling points (raw water, filtered water, treated water) over 10 or 12 collection campaigns for each WTP. The results showed that bisphenol A occurred at higher concentrations during the dry period with a maximum concentration of 3257.1 ng L−1, while the compounds 4-nonylphenol and losartan exhibited higher concentrations in the rainy period with maximum concentrations of 8577.2 ng L−1 and 705.8 ng L−1, respectively. Regarding the removal of compounds in the monitored WTPs, the clarification step demonstrated better removals for 4-nonylphenol, bisphenol-A, paracetamol, and sulfamethoxazole, whereas the disinfection step mainly removed the compounds 4-octylphenol and estrone. Margin of exposure (ME) assessment results indicated that only dexamethasone, ethinyl estradiol, diclofenac, estradiol, and estrone were classified as imminent risk or alert considering the 95th percentile concentration found in the samples of treated water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indicators are important tools to improve the efficiency of water supply systems. Considering that the performance could vary according to the systems' sizes, this research proposed financial, operational, and water quality indicators for water supply systems of municipalities with different populations in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The organisation and selection of the sample were based on available information in the National Sanitation Data System of 2014. We selected 363 municipalities of Minas Gerais and 56 predictors. Through multiple linear regression (MLR), we found that the commitment of revenues with expenditures and the ratio among revenues and expenses are the most relevant variables to describe the financial performance. Furthermore, water loss per connection and water-billing index were the most important to describe the operational performance. Finally, models related to water quality performance could not be established due to the low value of the coefficient of determination. We observed that supply systems have distinct variables to describe their financial and operational performance, according to their sizes. Small municipalities have a strong relationship with financial performance and expenses. Large counterparts have their performance related to the collection, which can be explained by the economy of scale. Considering the operational performance, we observed that larger municipalities have a strong relationship between their operational performance and water loss. These models are potential tools in the decision-making processes, which can be used to promote improvements in water supply systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of hydrogeochemical anomalies in karst water resources represents a crucial step in Brazil's water management plans. Accelerated urban and industrial development occurs in the region that includes the Carste Lagoa Santa Protection Unit, State of Minas Gerais, which may negatively impact its water quality. This paper establishes Natural Background Levels (NBL) of waters collected from deep tubular wells and springs for Si4+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, HCO 3 −, SO 4 2, Cl− to understand sources of possible geogenic and anthropogenic anomalies. Areas with surpassed thresholds were compared with geological, hydrogeochemical, and land use data. Every parameter, except for chloride, showed elevated concentrations due to lithologic origin. The NBLs for waters of wells and springs are, respectively, 17.9 and 12.7 mg/L (silica), 97.0 and 91.5 mg/L (calcium), 4.9 and 2.9 mg/L (magnesium), 6.2 and 3.8 mg/L (sodium), 1.0 and 0.3 mg/L (potassium), 285.5 and 254.6 mg/L (bicarbonate), 9.4 and 13.6 mg/L (sulfate). Chloride, analyzed only in groundwater, presented 6.7 mg/L indicating a possible influence of upstream urban areas of Lagoa Santa and Pedro Leopoldo municipalities. Volatile and Semivolatile Organic Compounds were also analyzed, but all of them were below the detection limit. This work is important to comprehend the NBL of major elements, reveal geogenic anomalies, and distinguish carbonate aquifer units from the impure ones. • We studied natural background levels under a hydrogeochemical point of view. • Most of the analyzed parameters indicated geogenic anomalies. • The Lagoa Santa and Pedro Leopoldo Members and SSH Formation are the most notorious geological influences on water quality. • When carefully determined, NBLs constitute a powerful tool for the management and protection of underground waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gridded meteorological systems greatly facilitate the analysis of the impacts of climate on crop development and productivity. Comparisons of these data with actual ground data validate this data source for various analyses in agricultural areas. The impact of the use of these grid data is an important evaluation for the temporal and spatial simulation of soil‐water availability for crops. We seek to verify how meteorological (ECMWF) data represents the surface water balance for Minas Gerais state. Monthly data for air temperature (T) and precipitation (P) from ECMWF were compared with the data from 771 ground stations (National Meteorological Institute, INMET) in the state of Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil for 1979–2017. Potential evapotranspiration was estimated by Thornthwaite method (1948), and water balance was estimated by the method proposed by Thornthwaite and Mather (1955), with an available water capacity of 100 mm. We temporally and spatially compared the two data sources, and the comparisons were evaluated for accuracy using mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) root mean square error (RMSE) and for precision using the adjusted coefficient of determination (R2adj). ECMWF T and P tended to be temporally and spatially similar to the INMET data. The largest deviation between INMET T and ECMWF T was 2.81°C, mainly in the southwest of the state (the Minas Gerais triangle) and part of the central region during winter and spring, and the smallest deviation was −0.19°C in the northeast. The largest deviation between INMET P and ECMWF P was 75 mm·mo−1 in the summer, mainly between January and February in the central region of Minas Gerais. ECMWF T and ECMWF P allowed an accurate estimation of the components of the water balance. For example, the lowest MAPEs were 1.21% for ECMWF water‐storage capacity (southern Minas Gerais), 9.16% for ECMWF water deficiency (Vale do Jequitinhonha e Mucurí), and 8.69% for ECMWF excess water (Vale do Jequitinhonha e Mucurí). ECMWF can be used to estimate WB to represent surface stations, provided they are calibrated according to the region and seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water resources management is meant to solve problems caused by the intensive use of this resource which is the consequence of economic and population growth. Water resources management is also responsible for preserving hydrological, biological and chemical functions of ecosystems, as well as ensuring that this resource will be maintained with adequate supply for future generations. In Brazil, a country with continental dimensions, streamflow gauge coverage is far from satisfactory. Therefore, the hydrological regionalization techniques are an option to estimate hydrological information in regions with few or no data. This methodology is based on the spatial similarity of functions, variables and parameters that tolerate this transference. The number of regionalization models and the need for ease of access to hydrological data transformed comparative studies of streamflow regionalization methodologies into an important topic of hydrology in Brazil. For this reason, the objective of this paper is to assess the models settled by Liazi et al. (1988), IGAM (2012) and Wolff et al. (2014) related to the variables Q 7,10 , Q 90 , Q 95 and Q ‾ in the upper Jaguari River basin, which is located between Minas Gerais and São Paulo States, and represents an important affluent to the Cantareira System. Firstly, Q 7,10 , Q 90 , Q 95 and Q ‾ were calculated using the historical flow data from five fluviometric stations located in Jaguari River basin. Then, these same variables were estimated using the regionalization methodologies proposed by Liazi et al. (1988), IGAM (2012) and Wolff et al. (2014). In order to determine the best hydrological regionalization method for the upper Jaguari River basin, the flow rates results calculated with the historical series were compared to those estimated by the models. Liazi et al. (1988) presented the best performance when compared to the other two methods. Its behavior was classified as very good by the index of agreement (d), the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) and the coefficient of determination (R2). IGAM (2012) exhibited an unsatisfactory fit for the statistical indicators of NSE and PBIAS. On the other hand, this method was classified as very good when the coefficient of determination (R2) was analyzed. The proposal of hydrological regionalization of Wolff et al. (2014) presented an adjustment, classified by the index of agreement (d), Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), percentage bias (PBIAS), and coefficient of determination (R2) as unsatisfactory, in general. The graphical behavior, however, demonstrated a good potential for future use of this model. In conclusion, it is recommended to apply similar comparative studies in other important sub-basins located between Minas Gerais and São Paulo States in Brazil to corroborate or not with the presented results. • Models of hydrological information transfer using multiple regression and geostatistics techniques were tested. • The model that uses geostatistics has the potential to estimate the average streamflow. • The hydrologically homogenous areas, average annual precipitation and basin drainage area model presented the best performance for average flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floating platforms at the hydropower plant reservoirs are attractive sites for aquaculture, fishing and other recreational activities. However, the unregulated construction of these platforms may negatively affect the fauna, flora and water quality of reservoirs. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of floating platforms on the limnological aspects of Nova Ponte hydropower plant reservoirs at the Center-West of Minas Gerais State of Brazil. The obtained data were analyzed using the correlation and regression analysis. Dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total coliforms and thermotolerant bacteria were plotted against the density of floating platforms. The density of platforms significantly (p-value > 0.05) impacted the analyzed limnological aspects of reservoirs. Based on the present results, 4 floating platforms/km2 (1 platform per 25 hectares) of surface water should be the maximum density in order to avoid the deterioration of water quality of reservoirs. With 4 platforms/km2, the expected values in fishing period were estimated to be 5.4 mg/L for biochemical oxygen demand, 375 most probable number per 100 mL of sample for thermotolerant bacteria and 6.1 mg/L for chemical oxygen demand. In fishingban period, the expected values were estimated to be 4.1 mg/L for dissolved oxygen, 3.4 mg/L for biochemical oxygen demand, 379 most probable number per 100 mL of sample for thermotolerant bacteria and 4.2 mg/L for chemical oxygen demand. This finding provides important base-line information which could help policy makers to take effective measurements for the appropriate management of surface water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron mining is one of the main activities of the State of Minas Gerais (Brazil). However, this activity offers significant environmental risks and may harm the local population. In 2019, the Brazil experienced large environmental disaster related to iron mining in the municipality of Brumadinho. The collapse of mining waste water Dam caused the mud spill composed of the mixture of water and tailings minerals that traveled from the dam through the network of local drainage. In this work, it is analyzed the environmental impact of the dam's collapse with the help of remote sensing image using two spectral bands (red and near infrared). The comparative study carried out by analysing Landsat OLI of several months enables evaluating the effect of the event on the water resources and also monitor the evolution of the situation by comparing multiple images. In the first step, direct digital values are measured along the rivers to compare the sediment load in each date, which allows monitoring the situation of the rivers. In a second step, the image series is combined using binary encoding to visualize changes in the catchment. The study shows that the Paraopeba and Córrego do Feijão rivers suffered a great impact from the dam break and that they are slowly recovering from the tragic event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rooftop rainwater harvesting systems for human consumption represent an alternative among individual technologies of water supply. However, this solution should not be treated exclusively as an emergency and pro-poor alternative when it is applied in the form of public policy intended for supplying water to rural populations of semi-arid regions. By aiming at the assessment of the role that this type of solution represents for rural populations, this study evaluates the Brazilian rainwater harvesting program which has already constructed 372,000 cisterns with a storage capacity of 16 m of water. A survey covering 623 beneficiaries of this program in 68 municipalities located across the state of Minas Gerais revealed that obstacles in terms of the articulation of water supply and health programs remain for the success of the program. In addition, the adoption of appropriate practices involved in the handling of the different components of the program depends on improving the awareness among the beneficiaries. This represents one of the major challenges for the effectiveness of the program. The present study indicates that the precarious living conditions of the population who beneficiates from the Brazilian rainwater harvesting program impose a major challenge to the overall effectiveness of the program and increases the level of involvement and responsibility on the part of the government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]