Abstract

CAN-CHULIM, Álvaro; ORTEGA-ESCOBAR, Héctor Manuel; SANCHEZ-BERNAL, Edgar Iván  and  CRUZ-CRESPO, Elia. Irrigation Water Quality in the Sierra Norte in Puebla, México. Tecnol. cienc. agua [online]. 2014, vol.5, n.5, pp.77-96. ISSN 2007-2422.

Water is crucial to the state of Puebla because of its importance to increasing economic development. Most of the surface water is found in the Sierra Norte, where it is primarily used for agriculture. Wastewater and water from thermal springs spill into the river channels, modifying the quality. Since different sources and concentrations of surface water are used in agriculture, its concentration and chemical compositions were determined in order to evaluate its quality for use in agriculture. The primary quality parameters and their values were: pH, mean of 7.7, minimum 6.1 and maximum 9.2; mean electric conductivity 346, minimum 61.0 and maximum 1913.0 µS cm^-1; sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) with SAR means RAS = 1.0, RASaj = 1.4 and RASº = 1.0; residual sodium carbonate, with positive values in the springtime and negative in autumn; and boron, mean of 0.7, minimum 0.0 and maximum 4.0 mg L^-1. Surface water in the Sierra Norte is suitable for irrigation. Its ionic concentration is low since it comes from runoff, with greater variations where it receives water from thermal springs and more moderate variations where it receives wastewater. The hydrogeochemistry indicates that the dominant chemical characteristics result from the physical and chemical processes of the water due to the regional geology. The water is bicarbonate, with variations in sodium and calcium. Sodium is predominant in the dry season and calcium predominates in the rainy season.

Keywords : Adjusted SAR; bicarbonate water; corrected SAR; dilution; precipitation.

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