In order to distinguish sampling methodologies and physical, chemical and field parameters to study the water quality a river, students of the Environmental Engineering undergraduate program in our branch campus in Guayaquil carried out on-site measurements using potentiometers and oxygenometers in the Daule River.

The academic activity allowed students to differentiate applicable methodologies in the field and then use them in the laboratories, an action that facilitated an in-depth analysis of water pollution in the river through the biochemical demand for oxygen, iron, ammonium and total coliforms.

"The water samples collected in the river must be transferred in a chemical laboratory to continue with the analysis of other parameters that determine water quality," said Carmen Palacios, director of the Environmental Engineering undergraduate program. Several activities were programmed to carry out the sampling, such as the evaluation of the quality of a body of water, the preparation of materials, reagents and equipment, planning of sampling points, sampling, and the analysis of parameters that are quality indicators. This process can take between one or two weeks depending on the number of samples to be analyzed.

These activities allow students to gain real life experience in determining if a river is polluted or not by putting what they have learned into practice.