Natural and Anthropogenic Influence in Water Quality: The Case of Linares City, NE Mexico

Abstract

The aim of this research paper was to identify whether the water quality had been influenced either by the natural en- vironment or by anthropogenic activities or both in the municipality of Linares, the second largest city of the State of Nuevo Leon, NE Mexico. The superficial water (Pablillo River) and the groundwater quality (from a fractured and a porous aquifers hydraulically interconnected) were determined by comparing their chemical composition with maxi- mum permissible limits for water consumption and irrigation use. A hydrogeochemical modeling was performed to identify the distribution of aqueous species responsible for the presence of some dissolved or precipitated mineral spe- cies, as well as an identification of geochemical factors responsible of superficial and groundwater quality. A canoni- cal correspondence analysis was allowed to determine if the natural environment and/or anthropogenic activities were responsible for water quality. The parameters analysed in both aquifers, as well as in the Pablillo River, were total solids, suspended solids, nitrate, and chloride; barium and mercury were present in both aquifers. As a natural influ- ence, the predominant mineral species are as following: under-saturated anhydrite (porous aquifer), over-saturated aragonite, calcite, dolomite, and gypsum (both aquifers and Pablillo River), barite and whiterite (only in fractured aq- uifer). The geochemical factors responsible for natural contamination were rock dominance (fractured aquifer), and evaporation dominance (porous aquifer, Pablillo River). On the other hand, anthropogenic activities such as changes in soil use and the presence of point (old municipal landfill, pig farms, barite deposit), and diffuse (agricultural areas, septic tanks and latrines) pollution sources had influence in the presence of contaminants such as total and fecal coli- forms, nitrates, chlorides, mercury and barium. Several control and remediation strategies should be taken into account to prevent this pollution in the future