Risk Assessment of Groundwater Contamination in the Gala, Tenguel, and Siete River Basins, Ponce Enriquez Mining Area—Ecuador

Paulo Campoverde-Muñoz, Luis Aguilar-Salas, Paola Romero-Crespo, Priscila E. Valverde-Armas, Karla Villamar-Marazita, Samantha Jiménez-Oyola and Daniel Garcés-León ()
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Paulo Campoverde-Muñoz: Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), Faculty of Engineering in Earth Sciences, Campus Gustavo Galindo km 30.5 vía Perimetral, Guayaquil P.O. Box 09-01-5863, Ecuador
Luis Aguilar-Salas: Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), Faculty of Engineering in Earth Sciences, Campus Gustavo Galindo km 30.5 vía Perimetral, Guayaquil P.O. Box 09-01-5863, Ecuador
Paola Romero-Crespo: Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), Faculty of Engineering in Earth Sciences, Campus Gustavo Galindo km 30.5 vía Perimetral, Guayaquil P.O. Box 09-01-5863, Ecuador
Priscila E. Valverde-Armas: Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), Faculty of Engineering in Earth Sciences, Campus Gustavo Galindo km 30.5 vía Perimetral, Guayaquil P.O. Box 09-01-5863, Ecuador
Karla Villamar-Marazita: Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), Faculty of Engineering in Earth Sciences, Campus Gustavo Galindo km 30.5 vía Perimetral, Guayaquil P.O. Box 09-01-5863, Ecuador
Samantha Jiménez-Oyola: Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), Faculty of Engineering in Earth Sciences, Campus Gustavo Galindo km 30.5 vía Perimetral, Guayaquil P.O. Box 09-01-5863, Ecuador
Daniel Garcés-León: Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), Faculty of Engineering in Earth Sciences, Campus Gustavo Galindo km 30.5 vía Perimetral, Guayaquil P.O. Box 09-01-5863, Ecuador

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Groundwater is a strategic resource, which is experiencing a growing threat of contamination worldwide. This study aimed to assess the vulnerability of the groundwaters in the basins of the rivers Gala, Tenguel, and Siete in the Ponce Enriquez mining area, considering as a hypothesis that anthropogenic activities (mainly mining and agricultural) conducted in the area generate a high risk of contamination. Vulnerability to contamination was quantified using the DRASTIC and GOD methods. In addition, the risk of contamination (Rc) was calculated considering the vulnerability index (I V ) and the danger index (I P ). Geographic information system (GIS) environment was used for the spatial analysis and the generation of vulnerability maps. The DRASTIC method showed that the negligible-to-low vulnerability category was predominant (50.7% of the area), followed by moderate vulnerability (25.6%), and high-to-extreme vulnerability (23.7%). Regarding the GOD method, the low and medium vulnerability categories were predominant in 41.4% and 27.5% of the area, respectively. Both methods agree that the center area, where the mining activities are located, has a vulnerability ranging from negligible to moderate. The I P was low in the eastern zone (58.7 km 2 ) and ranged from moderate (426.2 km 2 ) to high in the central and western zones (371.1 km 2 ), where mining activities predominate. The R C revealed that 20% of the study area corresponded to a high contamination index; from which, 87% comes from agricultural activities, 9% from mining activities, and 4% due to shrimp farms and urban areas. This is the first study that evaluates the vulnerability to the contamination of groundwater in a mining area of Ecuador. The results of this research can serve as a baseline for future research, since the methodology used provides information on the priority areas for the protection of aquifers, considering the current land use in the study area.

Keywords: anthropogenic pollution; groundwater vulnerability; DRASTIC method; GOD method; POSH method (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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