Hydrological and environmental diagnostic of the Cachoeira das Pombas’s watershed, Guanhães, MG, Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate hydrological and environmental issues of Cachoeira das Pombas watershed, in Guanhães, eastern Minas Gerais State, Brazil, to support its management plan. The characterization of water springs included the definition of its types, assessment of flow persistence, conservation state, outflow values, and the hydrological and environmental conservation state of the watershed. For a detailed analysis, the watershed was studied considering each of its small watersheds. Analyzing the hydrological and environmental conservation state of the watershed, it was concluded that an integrated management of natural resources is necessary inasmuch as the flow rate showed to be irregular, with great variation between the rainy and dry seasons and several erosion and silting spots observed during the study period.