Correlation between land use and groundwater quality

This work describes the correlation between the parameters of land use (cropped area, built area, pasture, exposed soil and intermediate vegetation) and groundwater quality (pH, total dissolved solids - TDS, K⁺, Na⁺, Fe⁺³, Ca⁺², Mg⁺², NO₂ ^-, NO₃ ^-, total-P and coliforms) in southern of the Espírito Santo state, Brazil. The delimitation of areas that influence wells and the identification of land use classes were made using Geographical Information System. Through canonical correlation analysis, it was possible to estimate two indexes: land use index and water quality index, both standardized. The canonical correlation was significant between the first pair of canonical variables, indicating linear relationship between the groups. Thus, it was possible to confirm that land use influenced groundwater quality, mainly by the increase in the concentration of some chemical elements.

land use; water quality; groundwater