POTENCIAL HÍDRICO DA SUB-BACIA DO ALTO DO RIO TOCANTINS E RIO PRETO, NO MUNICÍPIO DE IPIRANGA DE GOIÁS

Abstract

Water resources have always been and will be one of the greatest potentials of natural resources essential for any region development; therefore, it is essential to know the water quality dynamics, the influence of land use and occupation, and the seasonality effect importance for water resources engineering. This paper has as general objective to evaluate the water potential of the Córrego Seco river microbasin, the morphometric aspects, and the soil use and occupation, focusing on the cultivated areas and on the water sources in the municipality of Ipiranga de Goiás, Goiás State, Brazil. The mapping of soil use and occupation provides decision-making to monitor the hydrographic basins, aiming to territorial planning for the sustainable and legal use of natural resources. For example, this work monitored the flow of ten streams and the land use and occupation in the Córrego Seco microbasin, belonging to the Alto do Rio Tocantins and Rio Preto basins in the municipality of Ipiranga de Goiás. Such monitoring was carried out from April 2021 to April 2022. Streams are of fundamental importance in this municipality, because they can supply water to irrigate extensive areas of sugarcane cultivation, to support livestock, and to irrigate other small grain crops and vegetable gardens, common in this region. Therefore, this study focused on characterizing the temporal and spatial variability of the water amount in the springs, in addition to verify the water availability. The highest flow found was in Córrego Seco IIA with 4,611.1 L/s; in the dry season, especially August 2021, the flow reached a lower value (74.7 L/s). The flow responses of the monitored streams were correlated with the rainfall regime in the region and with the use and occupation of the microbasin's soil. From the perspective of sustainable management of hydrographic basins, it is suggested that landowners established in the Córrego Seco microbasin invest in watershed protection techniques to reach the limits of the Permanent Preservation Area of the springs as required by environmental legislation.