The availability of inorganic nutrients and certain microbiological agents indicates the quality of the water where this availability is found, and is thus a key indicator for monitoring aquatic life. In this context, the present study was aimed to to evaluate the bathing waters of the Veneza Resort located in the Itapecuru river basin in Caxias, state of Maranhão, Brazil, according to physical, chemical and microbiological parameters. The study was conducted from July to December 2010. The parameters studied were determined by titrimetric chemical analysis and the physical method of spectrophotometric analysis. The microbiological parameters for identification of fecal coliforms were determined using the multiple tubes method. During this period there were levels of phosphorus (phosphate and total phosphorus) above the maximum allowed, thus causing low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water, beginning the process of eutrophication, disequilibrium with the metabolism of the ecosystem.
Eutrophication; microbiological contamination; environmental impacts