A research team involved with the Desertification Research Centre (CIDE, UV-CSIC-GVA) has started to work on the analysis of groundwater in zones affected by the DANA in Valencia. After analysing samples from wells, gutters, and ponds; the results will determine if groundwaters have been affected by contaminants, as well as design future protective measures for aquifers before these weather events.
The major floods of last October caused the damage or destruction of urban buildings and industrial facilities that harboured polluting components and substances, such as electronic devices, vehicles, hydrocarbons, oils, phytosanitary products, and endocrine disruptors that derive from medication. All of these substances may have been dragged by the water and seeped into the aquifers. The preliminary analysis of the situation indicates that the groundwater may have been affected in both its hydrodynamic and its quality.
A team composed of the staff of the Institute for Environmental Diagnosis and Water Studies (IDAEA-CSIC), the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME-CSIC), the Experimental Station of Zaidín (EEZ-CSIC), and theDesertification Research Centre (CIDE, UV-CSIC-GVA) has taken samples from well water, fountains, and gutters, in the most intensely affected zones by the DANA, and also in the vicinity of the Albufera Natural Park. The analyses include the identification of the presence of pesticides, PFAS, flame retardants, drugs, volatile compounds and metals, and personal care products.
“The goal is to determine what kind of contaminants may have got in. We don’t know, but there might be car battery acid, industrial contaminants, or pharmaceutical compounds. That’s why we take different types of samples to analyse the presence of a wide spectrum of contaminants in groundwater”, explains Estanislao Pujades, researcher at IDAEA.
Researchers at the Research Group in Food and Environmental Security of the Universitat de València (SAMA-UV), assigned to the CIDE, are lending their support by carrying out complementary analyses of the collected sample left by the DANA in the Albufera Natural Park of Valencia. The analyses include the identification of the presence of pesticides, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, flame retardants, drugs, and personal care products. “Groundwater may show effects of disturbance, like the floods caused by the DANA long term. Therefore, with these analyses we intend to establish a baseline to compare the evolution over time of the concentrations of contaminants in the Natural Park”, explains Julián Campo, researcher at CIDE.
Due to the magnitude of the catastrophe and the elevated volume of mud and residues, the project will also study the repercussions that, on the quality of groundwater, have had the chosen zones for their accumulation and processing. In this last phase, the analysis of the real impact will allow the design of recommendations and protocols for action to minimise its effects on underground water resources, with the purpose of being able to be incorporated in future flooding events.
This is the first sampling campaign of the project, which expects doing it every two months. The work has been coordinated with the Disaster and Emergency Counselling Group (GADE) of the CSIC.
