Model based on grey systems to assess water quality from mines in operation and environmental liabilities

Currently, water is essential for human activities, as it is an indispensable source for life and human development. However, one of the main problems that today's society presents is the contamination of water bodies, which reduces water quality. In addition, it generates social conflicts because a body of water contaminated with heavy metals or other wastes can cause critical illnesses. The case study focuses on La Libertad, Peru. There are two open pit mines and several mining environmental liabilities; close to these mines is the Moche River. The methodology used in this paper was the grey clustering method that uses the center-point triangular whitenization weight functions, also known as CTWF, which is based on grey systems. The results showed that there is contamination around the monitoring points around the mining companies and environmental liabilities since these monitoring points present subcategory A3, which is, according to Peruvian legislation, a type of water that needs to be purified with advanced treatment. These results could help to inform the state about the risks presented in the water body so that the governmental entity can proceed to carry out actions to monitor and control effluents from mining environmental liabilities present in the area and mining units.