Irrigation Water Quality of a Community Garden Complex in the State of Piaui, Northeastern Brazil

Microbiological, physical, chemical, cytotoxic, and genotoxic analyses of waters from ten tubular wells intended for irrigation of a community garden complex in the state of Piaui, northeastern Brazil, were carried out in two periods of 2018 (rainy and drought). All wells in both periods were contaminated with total coliforms, and wells P1, P3, P5, and P10 also had fecal coliforms. The waters, in the two collections performed, presented low concentration of dissolved oxygen, and nitrate and chlorine concentrations higher than allowed by law. Water from P1, P3, P5, and P10 were cytotoxic to root meristem cells of A. cepa in the two periods studied. However, no water sample was genotoxic to root meristems. The results show that the analyzed waters are contaminated with untreated effluents as well as with pesticides. Such conditions are pointed out because the rivers near these wells are degraded by human activities, and the gardens where the wells are found have ditches, sinks, and black cesspools for the disposal of sewage. In view of this, the intervention of the State Government in these places is necessary, since the evaluated wells irrigate community gardens in overcrowded poor neighborhoods, and from there comes part of the food of their residents. Another activity for the government is to put in place management plans for the restoration of rivers and the implementation of public sanitation in the neighborhoods where the wells are located.