Identification of Aquifer Recharge Sources as the Origin of Emerging Contaminants in Intensive Agricultural Areas. La Plana de Castellón, Spain

Arianna Renau-Pruñonosa,Bruno B Ballesteros,Marta Hernández García,María Ibáñez,Félix Hernández,Enric Vázquez-Suñé,Ignacio Morell,Olga García-Menéndez,Clara Boix

doi:10.3390/w12030731

Abstract

In urban, industrial, and agricultural areas, a vast array of contaminants may be found because they are introduced into the aquifers by different recharge sources. The emerging contaminants (ECs) correspond to unregulated contaminants, which may be candidates for future regulation depending on the results of research into their potential effects on health and on monitoring data regarding their occurrence. ECs frequently found in wastewater, such as acetaminophen, carbamazepine, primidone, and sulfamethoxazole, may be good indicators of the introduction of the reclaimed water to the aquifers. The resistance of the ECs to removal in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) causes them to be appropriate sewage markers. Plana de Castellón (Spain) is a coastal area that has been characterized by intensive citrus agriculture since the 1970s. Traditionally, in the southern sector of Plana de Castellón, 100% of irrigation water comes from groundwater. In recent years, local farmers have been using a mixture of groundwater and reclaimed water from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to irrigate the citrus. The aims of the present study were: (i) to assess the occurrences, spatial distributions, and concentrations of selected ECs, including 32 antibiotics, 8 UV filters, and 2 nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, in groundwater in a common agricultural context; (ii) to identify the recharge (pollution) sources acting as the origin of the ECs, and (iii) to suggest ECs as indicators of reclaimed water arrival in detrital heterogeneous aquifers. The obtained data provided relevant information for the management of water resources and elucidated the fate and behavior of emerging contaminants in similar contexts.

Highlights

The deterioration in groundwater quality has become a major issue for many aquifers
The studies related to Emerging contaminants (ECs) can generally be categorized into three main groups: (1) assessments of occurrence in surface waters, such as rivers, wastewater, and treated water [3,11,12,14,15,16,17,18,19,20]; (2) assessments of the fate and occurrence in groundwater [21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29], and (3)
Found3,forand each the effluent of the WWTP (EWW), freshwater dam (FW-D),4.and samples forThe both are shown in Table ancompound example isinshown in Figure In groundwater samples (GW)

Summary

Introduction

The deterioration in groundwater quality has become a major issue for many aquifers. In urban, industrial, and agricultural areas, a vast array of contaminants may be found because they are introduced into aquifers through different recharge sources. Emerging contaminants (ECs) are compounds with different origins and chemical natures whose presence in the environment, or the related possible consequences of which, have largely gone unnoticed [1]. The ECs include a wide variety of compounds (and their metabolites), such as pharmaceuticals, industrial products, abused drugs, and personal care products [4,5,6,7,8,9,10]. Their potential ecological and health effects have caused growing concern [11,12,13]. The studies related to ECs can generally be categorized into three main groups: (1) assessments of occurrence in surface waters, such as rivers, wastewater, and treated water (e.g., water from a wastewater treatment plant, WWTP) [3,11,12,14,15,16,17,18,19,20];

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