Saladillo Stream

The Saladillo Stream is a small tributary of the Paraná River, that discharges into it between the cities of Rosario and Villa Gobernador Gálvez, in the province|Santa Fe|Argentina, at coord|32|59|56|S|60|36|39|W|. It serves as the political border between these two towns of the Greater Rosario area, and is one of the two important affluents of the Paraná in the area, together with the Ludueña Stream in the north.

Though referred to as a stream (following the common translation of the Spanish name "Arroyo Saladillo"), the Saladillo is in fact a river, with a catchment basin that encompasses 3,205 km² and services an important area of the south of the province of Santa Fe — both economically for agriculture, and demographically, since its last few kilometres are inside a densely populated area (Rosario has about 1 million inhabitants). The port of Villa Gobernador Gálvez is located on the mouth of the Saladillo.

Most of the watercourse is canalized, as well as its affluents, and it needs periodic dredging to support its massive use for agriculture, which in turn pollutes the water with chemical agents such as pesticides and fertilizers, and tends to fill the course with sediments produced by erosion. The marginal zones around the course are floodable. The lower course, which traverses populated areas, is also polluted by industrial and domestic waste.

References

* N. R. Biasatti, M. C. Romano, E. F. Pire, E. N. Micol, C. Diaz, & A. Fragapane. "Evaluacion Ambiental Del Arroyo Saladillo Y Su Cuenca, Santa Fe, Argentina - Un Caso De Estudio Abordado Desde La Óptica De La Ecología Del Paisaje." Retrieved from http://www.brocku.ca/epi/lebk/ecosur.html on 15:32, 16 September 2005 (UTC) (in Spanish).