EVALUATION OF WATER QUALITY AND ANTHROPOGENIC EFFECTS ON LENTIC SYSTEMS. CASE: LAGUNA DE CALDERAS, SAN VICENTE PACAYA, GUATEMALA

This research work corresponds to the analysis of a lentic system (lakes, lagoons, estuaries, among others), based on the behavior of certain physicochemical variables and their relationship with land use within the watershed underlying said water resource. In this case, the behavior of the mentioned variables was analyzed in Calderas Lagoon, Guatemala. A preliminary visit was conducted where aspects of significance such as sampling points, type of vessel to be used to reach the defined points, among others, were analyzed. The main objective was to establish the water quality parameters of Calderas Lagoon and the incidence of land use on its values, analyzing supervised classification maps categorizing the different uses within the watershed. It was determined that the water quality of Calderas Lagoon has been declining, and critical values found in the parameters of temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and transparency occur in areas near land uses corresponding to agriculture, urbanization, and industry.