EQUITY IN WATER QUALITY: A PARALLEL STUDY BETWEEN BRAZIL AND NEW YORK CITY
Research Team: Magou Adj, Dionna Edmondson, Kanaary Amin and Diyon Saunders
Collaborators from Brazil, Specialists in Public Policy: Tatiana Damasceno and Alex Alberto
SUMMARY
Exponential population growth, environmental pollution, climate change, and public health are strongly associated with water quality and its accessibility. We all agree that every single person in this world deserves clean water to fulfill their essential needs and development. In this project, our team addresses the correlation between ethnic/racial distribution in neighborhoods of New York City (NYC) with the water quality of local ponds. The water ponds of Van Cortlandt Park (The Bronx), Central Park (Manhattan), and Prospect Park (Brooklyn) were selected based on their geographic distribution to assesses conventional water quality parameters (i.e. salinity, acidity, nutrients, etc.). Ethnicity data and our experimental results indicate that Brooklyn (highest Black residents percentage - 36%) has poorer water quality when compared to the other ponds, followed by Manhattan (second highest Black resident percentage - 33%). These results align with the water quality observed in Brazil, where Manaus (highest indigenous resident percentage - 65.5% and highest poverty index) displays poorer quality parameters. This study demonstrates that local water ponds and streams reflect potential socioeconomic gaps and ethnic distributions in NYC and in Brazil.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
In this multi/interdisciplinary project the team members were able to:
- Conduct field trip studies in water sampling and water quality parameters determination.
- Gather and analyze ethnicity data, poverty indexes and water quality parameters to be displayed for a wide audience.
- Interact with Brazilian collaborators to establish parallel/disparities in water quality and ethnicity distribution.
- Associate scientific data with the relevance of ethnic studies and their impact in the dynamics of cities and countries.
INTRODUCTION
Water is known to be vital for ecology and life in general, but also serves as a positive indicator of economy, health and sustainable development. According to the US Bureau of Reclamation of California, although 71% of Earth’s surface is covered by water, only 3% of Earth’s water is fresh and “technically” available for human consumption. However, most of this fresh waster is locked up in glaciers, polar ice caps, atmosphere, in soil, or lies too far under the Earth’s surface to be taken at an affordable cost. This situation leaves living organisms with close to 0.5% of Earth’s water for consumption and human activities in general. This small portion of fresh water is present on Earth as groundwater, surface-water runoffs (i.e. lakes, rivers, reservoirs) and snow. In the US, this available fresh water is commonly used in three main brackets: Domestic use (8%), Agriculture (33%) and Industry (59%). It is also important to highlight that more than half of the people in the US get their fresh water from groundwater sources. Just to display the water spent in common Domestic usage, we could mention a few activities: For example, it is known that washing clothes consumes between 20-30 gallons of water, whereas washing a car and taking a bath consumes close to 30-40 gallons of freshwater. Recently, Climate Change and slow increases of temperature worldwide are causing higher evaporation rates of freshwater, which end up in oceans or atmospheric moisture, making this water unavailable for human consumption. We are also depleting the last deposits of underground water and break their water cycle by not allowing their natural refills. In addition to the shortage of freshwater that our planet is currently undergoing, anthropogenic activities such as mining, car industries, farming, battery manufacture, among others, pollute the scarce resources of freshwater making them not only unavailable, but also toxic to vulnerable human populations, animals and plants. The scientific community has addressed this issue and proposed multiple decontaminating methods to purify water at low costs. On the other hand water quality is expressed under different scopes, which were measured in this project.
Citations:
* Bureau of Reclamation, Central California Area Office, last seen: 12/11/2024. https://www.usbr.gov/mp/arwec/water-facts-ww-water-sup.html
* Facts sheet on Water Quality Parameters, US Environmental Protection Agency, last seen 12/11/2024. https://www.epa.gov/awma/factsheets-water-quality-parameters
* Your Guide to New York City Water Quality, HOMEWATER, last seen: 12/11/2024. https://www.homewater.com/blog/your-guide-to-new-york-city-water-quality
Table 1: Water quality parameters studied in this project and their relevance
PARAMETER | EXPECTED VALUE | IMPORTANCE |
Alkalinity | 20-200 ppm | reflects the capacity of the water to mitigate acid pollution. |
Ammonia | < 17 ppm | indicates the presence of decaying organisms or generation of biological residues (urine). |
Conductivity | < 840 uS | correlated to the presence of dissolved solids and minerals. |
Dissolved Oxygen | 80-120% | associated with appropriate aquatic life conditions. |
Hardness | 151-300 ppm | measures the amount of calcium and magnesium in water. Bad for pipes and boilers. |
Nitrite | < 1ppm | contributes to algal bloom and habitat degradation. |
Nitrate | < 10 ppm | contributes to algal bloom and habitat degradation. |
pH | 6.5 -8.5 ppm | acidity level of a water body |
Phosphate | < 0.05 ppm | biological nutrient that causes algal blooms and habitat degradation. |
Salinity | < 1000 ppm | describes the amount of salt in water. |
Total dissolved solids | < 1000 ppm | harmful for aquatic life, limiting the growth of organisms. |
METHODOLOGY -EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
The team met during two consecutive weeks (October 18th and October 25th, 2024) and traveled to Van Cortlandt Park, Central Park and Prospect Park carrying a water quality kit composed of meters for Dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, salinity, total dissolved solids, quantification strips for nitrite, nitrate, hardness and alkalinity, as well as portable meters for colorimetric measurement of ammonia and phosphate. All team members were trained in the use of these devices prior to the field trip. All analysts worn personal protection equipment, including nitrile gloves, hands sanitizer and distilled water. Chemicals and waste resulting from the measurements were taken back to BMCC for their proper disposal. A short video of the water analysis experience is shared in this video, enjoy it!
RESULTS
The water quality measurements were taken to BMCC, the values of both measurements were averaged and displayed in the following image. Click on each (+) sign to reveal the experimental data for each location.
In addition to the water quality analysis, we also conducted a meticulous ethnicity and poverty research, available in the literature. According to these data, The Bronx has the largest Hispanic population (~41%) and surprisingly, a relatively small Black population (~11%), and a poverty index of 24.4%. On the other hand, Manhattan displays higher percentages in their Black and White populations, with ~33% and ~37%, respectively, with a poverty index of 15.6%. Lastly, this data also indicates that Brooklyn has a Black population of 36% followed by Hispanic (~32%), with a poverty index of 14%.
Our team gladly partnered with specialists in ethnic studies and science in Brazil. This partnership included the immersion in Brazilian culture, economic gaps and race distribution across the country and how they have impacted water quality. A joint effort decided on the research of water quality of 3 strategic regions in Brazil: the north west region (Manaus), the north east of the country (Salvador, Bahia) and the south of Brazil (Porto Alegre). A deep bibliographic research confirmed the race/ethnic disparities in this regions and encouraged us to dig into their water quality reports. Our findings indicate that Manaus has a large indigenous population (~66%), Salvador has a predominantly mixed and Black community (~52% and 29%, respectively), whereas Porto Alegre displays a white population of ~79%. It is also important to highlight that Manaus has the highest poverty index (40%), followed by Salvador and Porto Alegre, with 36% and 13%, respectively.
Water quality in Brazil is also strongly associated with ethnicity gaps and poverty situations. According to the literature, Manaus has poorer water conditions, reporting high acidity values, as well as nutrient content (phosphates). A more detailed list of data from Brazil is displayed in the map below. Click on each (+) sign to reveal our findings.
These results led us to further investigate on the pollution sources in Brazil. According to our collaborators, water is not properly treated and regions like Manaus and Salvador, due to poor government management and religion reasons. These combined issues have created critical pollution problems in these places.
The quality of water in Manaus, Salvador, and Porto Alegre greatly affects public health, economy, and quality of life due to unique conditions:
Manaus
In Manaus, water pollution from untreated sewage and industrial waste causes waterborne diseases despite abundant resources. Poor infrastructure and rainy season flooding worsen contamination risks. Sustainable water management could boost agriculture, fisheries, and tourism, benefiting the economy. Investing in treatment plants and purifiers can reduce health hazards. Harnessing the Amazon River for hydroelectric power could be an option if done responsibly.
Salvador
Salvador's coastal location makes it prone to pollution from urban runoff and industrial discharge, harming marine life and public health. Poor access to clean water in impoverished areas leads to diseases like diarrhea. To improve the situation, focusing on clean water could attract tourism, implementing rainwater harvesting, managing stormwater, and expanding desalination technologies for coastal waters utilization.
Porto Alegre
Water quality in Porto Alegre is compromised by pollution from sewage and agriculture, affecting its use for recreation and industry. To address this, regulations on industrial discharge and reforestation can help improve the Guaíba River. Clean water projects can support public health and industries like food processing. Maintaining clean water bodies can also boost economic value through ecological tourism.
Citations:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmentalism_in_Rio_Grande_do_Sul?
* https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03469-6
* https://www.scielo.br/j/vb/a/DdC9mKFZrjHPfn9tQ47dDwk/
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) shared in 2018, an interesting report in the availability of water supply systems in different regions of Brazil. These findings clearly align with the ethnic and poverty indicators that we found. Indigenous population (shaded in gray in this image below) only satisfy their water supply system up to 59%. One of our target cities, Manaus, is located in this region. On the other hand, Salvador and Porto Alegre exhibit higher water supply percentages, but not as high as large metropolis like Brasilia, Rio Di Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Although water quality is really not described in this report, we could assume that residents of the northern part of Brazil need to obtain their water from rain, streams of waters, and spring, which are not necessarily in optimum conditions (see the interactive Map of Brazil above and click on the (+) signs).

Although Rio Di Janeiro has close to 93% of water supply system, however faces multiple pollution issues, mostly attributed to the lack of sustainable management of industrial runoffs and domestic sewage, and climate change. In the image below, (top left) Rocinha, which is a community in the outskirts of Rio Di Janeiro, faces constant water shortages, mostly in community with low income. The "favelas" in Rio Di Janeiro, also demand better water quality conditions, as demonstrated by a recent 2020 report in water quality (bottom left). Moreover, the recent 2022 Census in Brazil indicated that "Black, mixed-race, and indigenous people are the most affected by resource and rights deprivations in Brazil, which leaves them more vulnerable to the effects of climate change"., according to CONECTAS News. Lastly, InfoAmazonia also emitted a report on water quality of Amazonic cities like Manaus. As observed in the picture (bottom right) the Amazon river in the city of Manaus has been converted in the dumpster of the city, housing plastic bags, food residues, metal scraps, and more, which increases the incidence of endemic infections such as cholera, and bring insects that are associated with contagious diseases like malaria, dengue and more.

Aldem Bourscheit and Steffanie Schmidt
.CONCLUSIONS OF OUR STUDY
This project has not only allowed us to conduct hands-on activities in water quality analysis and field work in disciplines that are not directly associated with our majors. Our team is composed of Media Arts, Ethnic Studies, Science and Engineering Science majors, and we all contributed to an ultimate goal: "identifying trends of ethnic/race/economic gaps in the accessibility of optimum water quality conditions". Each team member was able to contribute with our strengths, either technical, organizational or creative to come up with these results.
Our team has identified these conclusions:
- Lower alkalinity and hardness, combined with higher nitrite and ammonia levels indicate the Prospect Park pond has poorer water quality. Experimental observations of a greener appearance confirm these findings.
- Central Park pond has a medium water quality, mostly attributed to the presence of non-resident visitors (tourists), who feed animals, and vert nutrients to the ponds. This causes an increase in phosphates, salinity and total dissolved solids in the water.
- Van Cortlandt Park pond shows the best quality of water, supported by the absence of human activities and large fluxes of tourists, at least during the time we conducted the studies.
- Ethnic/race/economy research indicates that higher Black communities (mainly Brooklyn) reports the lower water quality parameters. However, poverty index seems to be strongly associated.
- Bibliographic research on Brazilian water quality indicates that high poverty and percent of indigenous populations (mainly in the north west – Manaus) displays more inferior water quality conditions and accessibility.
- Research also indicates that limited water supplies, non sustainable practices, remote geographic location, and pollution could be responsible for these deficient water quality conditions.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Our project team would like to thank The President’s Fund for Innovation, the Department of Ethnic & Race Studies BMCC, Ohio State University Office of International Affairs, and the Center for Latin American Studies for their sponsorship, the program directors (Prof. Acosta and Anderson) and collaborators Tatiana Damasceno and Alex Alberto.
The Research and Nature Student Club at BMCC is also acknowledged for their support with chemicals and water analysis kits needed for the experiential learning portion of this project.