Assessment of Water Quality in the Molnár János Cave – Budapest, Hungary

Abstract

Molnár János Cave (MJC) is the only underwater cave and the only active one in the Buda Thermal Karst system (BTK). At MJC, there is a large amount of water that can be considered as a possible source of drinking water. We evaluated the physical and chemical parameters of the cave water to understand natural and possible anthropogenic interference in water quality. Therefore, measurements of temperature and chemical compositions were performed for dripwaters and water from the cave conduits over a four-year period and compared to historical data. Statistical analysis of the produced data revealed yearly changes as well seasonal periodicity in the component ion concentrations. In the case of dripwaters, we observed a periodicity that revealed information about the origin of the dripwater. For the first time, we had identified seasonal variations in conduit waters. Previous studies only analyzed water at the entrance of the cave. Then, this research focuses on the water from the newly discovered inner passages.