Applying Grey clustering and Shannon's entropy to assess sediment quality from a watershed

The evaluation of the quality of sediments is a complex issue in the Peruvian reality, mainly because there is no sampling protocol or norm for comparison, which leads to the assessment of sediments without a comprehensive analysis of their quality. In the present study, the quality of the sediments in the upper basin of the Huarmey river was evaluated in 30 monitoring points and 7 parameters, which are: arsenic, cadmium, copper, chromium, mercury, lead and zinc, which were compared according to the standards recommended by the Environmental Quality Guidelines for Sediments in freshwater bodies of Canada (Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines - CEQG, 2002. Sediment Quality Guidelines for Protection of Aquatic Life - Fresh water according to Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME)). The results of the evaluation, by grey clustering method and Shannon entropy, showed that 13 monitoring points resulted in good sediment quality, 1 monitoring point had moderate quality and 16 monitoring points presented poor quality; therefore, it can be concluded that the effluents and discharges of the mining activities that take place in the aforementioned location have a negative impact on environmental quality. Finally, the results obtained can be of great help for OEFA, the regional government, the municipalities and any other body that has oversight functions, since they will allow them to be more objective and precise decisions.