Em busca da sustentabilidade do arroio Pilão de Pedra na cidade de Ponta Grossa: ações e melhorias

Abstract

In Brazil, urbanization has been increasing in the last decades, often without urban and environmental planning. In the central region of the city of Ponta Grossa, is located the Pilão de Pedra stream, which presents a severe state of environmental degradation. The pollution caused by waste disposal, sewage discharges and irregular occupations are the main causes of these precarious conditions. The objective of this study was to raise awareness of the population close to Pilão de Pedra stream, as well as the government, disseminating the concept of sustainability. For this, between October of 2015 and August of 2017, three types of approaches were realized: the environmental education, interview with the population and evaluation of the quality of the water. Environmental education activities took place in October 2015 and February 2017, in the form of theater in two schools near the stream, together with a lecture by a representative of Sanepar. The interviews with the population around the stream occurred in June 2016 and May 2017, along 20 blocks, contemplating about 2km of the stream. This approach was carried out in the form of a questionnaire referring to the situation of garbage, water and sewage in the region. In order to evaluate the water quality of the stream, water was collected at three points in the stream in 2016 and 2017 and parameters were analyzed for the determination of the water quality index. For comparison of results, previous studies were used in points close to those analyzed in this study. An improvement in the water quality conditions of the stream was verified in comparison to the data collected in 2012. However, the stream still presents poor water quality index values. In this way, it is important to emphasize that actions, such as that of this study, need long continuity in order for social behavior changes to be effective.