Impacts of Anthropogenic Activities on Groundwater Quality in a Detritic Aquifer in SE Spain
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Impacts of Anthropogenic Activities on Groundwater Quality in a Detritic Aquifer in SE Spain Juan Antonio Luque‑Espinar1 · Mario Chica‑Olmo2 Received: 30 May 2019 / Revised: 8 October 2019 / Accepted: 11 October 2019 © Springer Nature B.V. 2019
Abstract The quality of both surface waters (SW) and groundwater (GW) can be affected by anthropogenic activities and by faecal pollution sources from humans and animals. This study investigated the concentration of a group of chemical markers for tracking anthropogenic pollution in the Vega de Granada aquifer (VGA). A group of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) such as amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, ibuprofen, paracetamol, pantoprazole and caffeine, trace elements (TEs) and other potential marker species of anthropogenic pollution were selected. The parameter values (PV) for these contaminants in many of the samples exceeded it the guideline values. We also analysed some vegetables (VEG) grown in the area. The most alarming finding was that amoxicillin, paracetamol, ibuprofen and caffeine were detected in all the samples. Geostatistical methods were used to map the spatial distribution of the estimated PC scores for each principal component extracted ( PCi). All the markers selected, including the CECs, appeared in different sectors of the aquifer. By analysing the results for the different parameters, it was possible to clearly define the areas affected by anthropic activities (urban and agricultural) and distinguish them from other areas with a water quality that is almost natural and is less influenced by human activity. This is a first attempt to map a group of CECs and TECs that can be hazardous to human health and the environment. Keywords Anthropic activities · Cecs · Geostatistics · Water resources · Sewage · Toxicity risk
Introduction Groundwater provides 75% of the drinking water in the European Union (EU) and is also an extensively exploited resource in many parts of the world. The pollution caused by industry, wastewater discharges and agriculture is a serious threat for human health and ecosystems (Li et al. 2019a, b). According to UNESCO “Every year, more people die from unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including war”. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-019-00327-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Juan Antonio Luque‑Espinar [email protected] Mario Chica‑Olmo [email protected] 1
Geological Survey of Spain (IGME), Urb. Alcázar del Genil, 4, 18006 Granada, Spain
Department of Geodinamycs, University of Granada, Av Fuentenueva s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain
2
This means that more research must be carried out to control the water contamination, especially by sewage, and to meet the demand for potable water. The increasing encroachment of cities into aquifer recharge areas has led to an increase in pollution in both groundwater and surface water resources, but few studies have assessed the contamination of recharge fro
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