Contaminant Trends in Urban Groundwater: Case Study from Ljubljana (Central Slovenia)

Abstract

Urban areas can significantly alter the quality status of aquifers if appropriate strategies to prevent and detect groundwater contamination are not implemented in time. The prevention of groundwater contamination should be a priority due to its potential long-term impact on the environment and the high cost of remediation. For effective and sustainable groundwater management, it is crucial to proactively monitor a wide range of compounds to prevent their spread, progression and increasing concentrations. This study is one of the few to analyse the trends of various urban groundwater contaminants (nitrate, sulphate, hexavalent chromium, pesticides, PCE and TCE) from a groundwater management perspective. Characteristic trends are assessed using linear regression and the Mann–Kendall method, while significant changes in trends are determined using the Darken and Pettitt tests. The time span of the analysed trends covers the transition period before and after the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) and the Groundwater Directive (2000/60/EC). This study confirms the effectiveness of enforcement measures to protect groundwater quality, as evidenced by several statistically significant decreasing trends. On the other hand, this study emphasises the importance of intervention-targeted sampling campaigns and the reporting of raw analytical values according to the ISO 11843 series of standards. This approach is essential to detect upward trends in emerging contaminants at an early stage and prevent them from reaching levels that could negatively impact the economy or even jeopardise the safety of drinking water supplies.