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Top1. Introduction
To take better advantage of the water quality monitoring practices in Amazon reservoirs, an Information Cycle is here proposed. It integrates water quality Monitoring Systems and the Modeling Process, along with the necessary information. Figure 3 depicts the Cycle which was specified and designed based on the required information product as well as the preceding part of the chain, as suggested by Guidelines on Monitoring and Assessment by ECE Task Force (UN/ECE, 2000), Ward (1999), Chapra (1997), NWQMC/USA – National Water Quality Monitoring Council and Brazilian Reservoir monitoring programs. The character of this Cycle is strategic rather than technical and it is flexible to include, for example, other experiences such as: the Closed-Loop Watershed Health Monitoring presented by Jones et al. (2002) since it supports the argumentation that the state of the water resources can be considered as representative of the health of the river basin and of the ecosystem.
Figure 3. Reservoir water quality monitoring and modeling information cycle
The mean objective of this research is to strengthen the water quality management among others essentials tools. In addition, the research offers an interesting option for managers regularly face the challenges, such as: 1 – maximization and applicability of the science; 2 – efficiency of the Monitoring and Assessment System; 3 – better information transfer; and 4 – simulation of the present and future sceneries.
From the side of the Simulation, steps of the use processes from well-know models (QUAL CE-QUAL-W21, CAEDYM2) and methodologies from recognized authors (Chapra, Jorgensen, Tundisi) were analyzed. Such effort added to the proposed cycle (Figure 3) the capabilities for simulating water quality, hydrodynamic and transport dynamic. The Tucuruí, Balbina, Samuel, Coaracy Nunes and Curuá-Una reservoirs were the cases studies to exemplify the Information Cycle. In summary, designers of water quality monitoring and models will handle an additional tool to carefully examine the existent or projected monitoring program and be more accountable for information results. Water Quality, in its turns, has become increasingly more important in reservoir management for a number of reasons, nowadays, it is closer related to water uses which have been added to reservoir management along with time, for instance: water supply, navigation, fish and wild life conservation and recreation differently from hydropower which was the principal goal at the construction phase in these five Amazon reservoirs. Furthermore, the main idea of this paper is to motivate the discussion on the relationship and integration of Water Quality Monitoring Systems and Modeling Processes based on experiences and, also, on the published documents. The Cycle, Figure 3, pretends to orient the reservoir managers to rethink the monitoring networking design and strength the use of model in these water bodies.