Water quality for human consumption in a rural community: Case of Corral de Piedra, Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Abstract

The present work was developed between 2015 and 2018 in the community of Corral de Piedra, Nicoya, Guanacaste. In this area there are two seasons: dry and rainy; however, drastic climate change has led to extreme changes in rainfall patterns and strong periods of drought. In this study, the quality of communal drinking water was assessed, determining it depicts high compliance with decree 38924-S in terms of physicochemical and microbiological parameters. According to Mora-Alvarado et al [1] wells and springs’ water quality criteria, the results obtained from analysis of most sampling sites in the community of Corral de Piedra showed excellent quality conditions. A hydrogeochemical characterization of the water extracted from the well was carried out using the Piper diagram, resulting in bicarbonated - calcium type water. The application of the Kendall correlation matrix yielded 25 significant correlations, pH - nitrate and conductivity - bicarbonate being the ones with the highest correlation. Finally, the focal components analysis was performed and it showed that 5 main components explained the data variance in a significant way (85,6%).