Water Quality Assessment: A Quali-Quantitative Method for Evaluation of Environmental Pressures Potentially Impacting on Groundwater, Developed under the M.I.N.O.Re. Project

Abstract

Background: At global level, the vulnerability of aquifers is deteriorating at an alarming rate due to environmental pollution and intensive human activities. In this context, Local Health Authority ASL Lecce has launched the M.I.N.O.Re. (Not Compulsory Water Monitoring Activities at Regional level) project, in order to assess the vulnerability of the aquifer in Salento area (Puglia Region) by performing several non-compulsory analyses on groundwater samples. This first paper describes the quali-quantitative approach adopted under the M.I.N.O.Re. project for the assessment of environmental pressures suffered by groundwater and determines the number of wells to be monitored in specific sampling areas on the basis of the local potential contamination and vulnerability of the aquifer. Methods: We created a map of the entire Lecce province, interpolating it with a grid that led to the subdivision of the study area in 32 quadrangular blocks measuring 10 km × 10 km. Based on current hydrogeological knowledge and institutional data, we used GIS techniques to represent on these 32 blocks the 12 different layers corresponding to the main anthropic or environmental type of pressures potentially impacting on the aquifer. To each kind of pressure, a score from 0 to 1 was attributed on the basis of the potential impact on groundwater. A total score was assigned to each of the 32 blocks. A higher number of wells was selected to be monitored in those blocks presenting higher risk scores for possible groundwater contamination due to anthropic/environmental pressures. Results: The range of total scores varied from 2.4 to 42.5. On the basis of total scores, the 10 km × 10 km blocks were divided into four classes of environmental pressure (1st class: from 0,1 to 10,00; 2nd class: from 10,01 to 20,00; 3rd class: from 20,1 to 30,00; 4th class: from 30,01 to 42,50). There were 11 areas in the 1st class, 9 areas in the 2nd class, 8 areas in the 3rd class and 4 areas in the 4th class. We assigned 1 monitoring well in 1st class areas, 2 monitoring wells in 2nd class areas, 3 monitoring wells in 3rd class areas and 4 monitoring wells in 4th class areas. Conclusion: The methodology developed under the M.I.N.O.Re. project could represent a useful model to be used in other areas to assess the environmental pressures suffered by aquifers and the quality of the groundwater.

PET-Bottled Water Consumption in View of a Circular Economy: The Case Study of Salento (South Italy)

“…Information conveyed to citizens about the good quality of water supplied by public network should be combined with information about environmental impacts of plastic packaging especially in areas where plastic recycling is low. Providing the right information is a good strategy to induce people to adopt conscious, conscientious, and eco-friendly habits [46].…”

“…The study was part of the M.I.N.O.RE. (Non-Mandatory Regional Water Monitoring) project funded by Apulia Region in order to investigate the qualitative and quantitative state of the groundwater in Salento Peninsula and the consumption of drinking water among the people living in the study area [46].…”

Drinking Water Master Plan for the Management of Water Resources on a University Campus

“…Transportation and distribution systems guarantee water reaches consumers with adequate quality and pressure. However, the contamination of freshwater sources by human activities affects the effectiveness of these types of systems (e.g., toxic waste, organic and inorganic) [15], causing water quality failures of transport and distribution systems (e.g., biofilms, microorganisms, chemical leaching, among others) [16]. On the other hand, climate change poses many risks to human health, among which the supply of safe drinking water (DW) is a global problem [17].…”

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“…In Italy and, in particular, Apulia (Southern Italy), the water emergency has experienced alternating phases of crisis and progressive worsening over the years [ 2 , 3 ]. Against this background of not-comforting prospects concerning the water availability of the territory, various initiatives to investigate the related problems and actions to define the planning necessary for containment measures have been launched [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. The remediation actions set have followed a logic of “prevention”, with accurate targets for reducing loads in relation to specific needs and the intended use of each water body, corresponding from time to time to evaluations of the effects of the actions taken.…”