Organic carbon simulation in polluted rivers: applicability in water quality planning and management

ABSTRACT

The main goal of this paper was to develop and evaluate the applicability of an organic carbon simulation model to simulate the water quality in polluted rivers. The methodological approach is based on the hypothesis that different fractions of organic carbon, such as particulate, dissolved, labile and refractory, can differently impact in the oxygen depletion due its origin and composition, and. The study was conducted at Iguassu River, located in Upper Iguassu Watershed, with a quantitative and qualitative monitoring of organic carbon fractions, the model and the automatic calibration routine development. The model was implemented in Excel spreadsheet and VBA language, considering a one-dimensional and permanent flow. Multiple diffuse and point sources can be considered during the simulation. The calibration is based on Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm, with 6 control stations in 107 km river length. The case study was developed at Iguassu River, located in a high urbanized basin in Curitiba-PR, an area about 3.000 km² with approximately 3 million people. The results indicated that the current approach considering distinct organic carbon fractions simulations have potential to be applied in water resources planning and management models.

Keywords:
Organic carbon; Mathematical modelling, Water quality management; Urban rivers