Nitrate pollution in the Delicias-Meoqui aquifer of Chihuahua, Mexico

Abstract

Nitrate concentration higher than 10 mg L -1 in drinking water can cause health problems, especially in infants. Nitrates from a variety of surface and subsurface sources, such as fertilizers, are soluble in water and can leach into groundwater causing quality degradation. Groundwater from Delicias-Meoqui aquifer supplies drinking and irrigation water to six municipalities in the state of Chihuahua. A part of the area overlying this aquifer corresponds to the irrigation district DR-005, one of the most important hydro-agricultural works in Mexico. An evaluation was conducted using historical water quality data from 134 drinking water wells to make a preliminary diagnosis concerning nitrate presence in that aquifer. Water analyses showed that 34% of samples have nitrate concentrations equal or higher than the 10 mg L -1 drinking water standard. Most of these samples were from the Delicias, Saucillo and Meoqui municipalities, with approximately 180,000 inhabitants total. Undoubtedly, the high nitrate concentrations can be attributed to pollution within the irrigation district DR-005 where nitrogen fertilizers in large quantities are applied, dissolve in water and move with it through the soil profile down to groundwater. This preliminary evaluation will contribute to the development of preventative strategies that can protect groundwater in proximity to agricultural production systems from nitrate contamination.

Percepción de la problemática ambiental en Delicias, Chihuahua, México

“…Se confirmó la contaminación con arsénico (As), plomo (Pb), cadmio (Cd), coliformes fecales, alto contenido de sólidos, desechos orgánicos provenientes de las actividades ganaderas y presencia de contaminantes de origen industrial (Gutiérrez et al, 2008). Estos resultados concuerdan con un análisis de acuíferos contaminados con As (Espino-Valdés et al, 2009), el cual, en altas concentraciones puede causar problemas cardiovasculares y cáncer de piel; también existe contaminación con nitratos (NO3-) (Espino et al, 2007) y una problemática de suelo salino causado por el uso de aguas de irrigación (Martínez, 2008;Rivas et al, 2018).…”

Groundwater Quality

“…The results indicated that groundwater in the Khar watershed was mainly affected by hardness, and shallow groundwater was contaminated by NO 3 from agricultural sources. Some special diagrams for evaluating the groundwater quality for human consumption were introduced by Fiorucci (2007) (Espino et al, 2007). The Lower Ponnaiyar River…”

Heavy metals in water of the San Pedro River in Chihuahua, Mexico and its potential health risk

“…The first involving the weathering of soils and rocks [1][2][3] with its products being transported by air [4,5] and water [6], and the second involving a variety of anthropogenic activities that have created a societal health risk in rivers that receive a substantial amount of waste, as it is the case of the Rio San Pedro. In diverse aquatic environments within the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, the evidence of contamination points to anthropogenic activities [7][8][9]. For instance, the Conchos River is considered essential for more than a million inhabitants [10] and receives wastewater discharges from urban drainage as well as waste products from agriculture and industrial activities [7].…”

“…In diverse aquatic environments within the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, the evidence of contamination points to anthropogenic activities [7][8][9]. For instance, the Conchos River is considered essential for more than a million inhabitants [10] and receives wastewater discharges from urban drainage as well as waste products from agriculture and industrial activities [7]. In addition, the Conchos watershed ails from other kind of anthropogenic-related impacts such as water-level fluctuations caused by dams and channelizing.…”