Maquete temática: deterioração dos recursos hídricos

Abstract

The lack of basic sanitation is one of the worst infrastructural problems in Brazil. Practically half of the population does not have access to basic sanitation of any type. Every person may feel impaired, but some figures show inequalities: children are the most affected in terms of mortality; the regions North and Northeast have the worst coverage index; rural population is the most neglected. Rivers, shores and streets are frequent destinations of the waste water. The majority of sewage systems pollutes the environment, however this pollution is not easily observable since sewage goes subterraneous, to groundwater. Groundwater supplies rivers and reservoirs. Then, water quality of a spring can influence water quality of reservoirs. At the same time, there are solutions that can be implemented in rural areas to the treatment of sewage. One of the solutions is the model denominated “Tratamento de Efluentes Caseiros” (literally translated as “Homemade Effluent Treatment”), developed by Rocha (2001), which is a type of ecological sanitation. In this system, human dejects are fermented and mineralized, and plants absorb minerals and water. However, for implementing this technology, rural population needs to know it and understand its importance, what Environmental Education, or Rural Extension can help. The present work objected developing a thematic scale model that could help students to understand that technology operation, comparing it with a rudimentary sewage system (pit latrine). A thematic scale model reproduced those two designs, and obtained high perception from students about the final difference of water quality. Therefore, the thematic model scale can be utilized in classes of Environmental Education to approach contamination of water resources through sanitary sewage system.