Resumen:
Lakes provide water services for different activities, such as supplying drinking water to
populations. Therefore, it is important to expand the information on reservoirs to
understand their behavior and improve their management. The Salve Faccha reservoir
(SFR) in the high Andes of Ecuador (3890 masl) since 1998 contributes 900 l/s to the water
supply Quito, which makes it a reservoir of high study interest. We sought to identify the
existence of stratification in the SFR by analyzing the temporal distribution of the
physicochemical parameters of the historical data and of the multiparametric hydrobuoy.
Determine seasons based on Walter-Lieth climates and wind behavior by wind roses. Using
heat maps, plot previously processed high-frequency data and search for thermoclines
based on water density and with monthly sample data, plot vertical isolines. The SFR
presented slight seasonal thermal stratifications (at 2.75 and 7.50m depth) and chemical
(between 5 and 10m depth) in the relatively dry season, influenced by the wind. Dissolved
oxygen (DO) has a greater variation in the water column in the relatively dry season and
without reaching anoxia. The wind influenced the slight hourly thermochemical
stratification. Turbidity, chlorophyll-a, oxidation and reduction potential (ORP) and pH did
not show significant changes or correlations with temperature and DO. I did not find a
marked stratification in the SFR. However, I did find slight variations in the relatively dry
season that suggest a stratification trend in the future. These results provide information
on interactions with climate, and can support reservoir and water resource management