Chapter 18 - Groundwater pollution of Pearl River Delta

Abstract

Groundwater pollution in urbanized areas (UAs) is commonly complicated due to various human activities. This chapter discussed the groundwater pollution in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) where high levels of urbanization and industrialization are. High levels of manganese, iron, ammonium, iodide, nitrate, and arsenic in groundwater often occur in the PRD. The reductive dissolution of iron/manganese (oxyhydr)oxides, the release of arsenic and iodide adsorbed onto iron/manganese (oxyhydr)oxides, and the mineralization of organic matter in strata are mainly responsible for high levels of manganese, iron, arsenic, iodide, and ammonium in groundwater. By contrast, high level of nitrate in groundwater originated mainly from the leakage of domestic sewage and industrial wastewater. About 5% groundwater was detected 18 organic pollutants, and naphthalene was the most frequently detected organic pollutant with detection rate of 2.51%. The occurrence of organic pollutants in groundwater originated mainly from the industrialization.