Abstract
The chemical composition of groundwater is a product of the evolution and transformation of major ions, which come from natural hydrogeochemical processes or from anthropogenic interference. The objective of this study was to identify the hydrogeochemical processes and the influence of anthropogenic activity on the variation of chemical composition in Toluca Valley groundwater. The type of water in the zone is fundamentally Mg–Ca–HCO3. Three groups with different evolutionary tendencies were identified: one within a local recharge zone and two others in an intermediate region with anthropic activity. The latter, which show contamination by inorganic matter (fertilizers) and organic matter (urban or industrial wastewater). The content of N–NO3− (0.024–0.219 mEq L−1), N–NH4+ (0–0.022 mEq L−1), Porg (0.03–1.02 mEq L−1) and PO43− (0.0–0.28 mEq L−1) indicated contamination coming from inorganic and organic matter. These chemical compounds were identified by way of a 3D fluorescence technique. The results of this study demonstrate that the main processes that affect and control the chemical composition of the water in the Toluca Valley aquifer are weathering of silicates, the ion exchange and a mixture process generated by a source of anthropic contamination.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adimalla N, Venkatayogi S (2018) Geochemical characterization and evaluation of groundwater suitability for domestic and agricultural utility in semi-arid región of Basara, Telangana State, South India. Appl Water Sci 8:44
Ahamed A, Loganathan K, Jayakumar R (2015) Hydrochemical characteristics and quality assessment of groundwater in Amaravathi river basin of Karur district, Tamil Nadu. South India Sustain Water Resour Manag 1:273–291
Ahmed MA, Abdel-Samie SG, Badawy HA (2013) Factors controlling mechanisms of groundwater salinization and hydrogeochemical processes in the Quaternary aquifer of the Eastern Nile Delta. Egypt Environ Earth Sci 68:369–394
Amali-Jacintha TG, Singh-Rawat K, Mishra K, Kumar-Singh A (2017) Hydrogeochemical characterization of groundwater of peninsular Indian region using multivariate statistical techniques. Appl Water Sci 7:3001–3013
An Y, Lu W (2017) Hydrogeochemical processes identification and groundwater pollution causes analysis in the northern Ordos Cretaceous Basin, China. Environ Geochem Health 40:1209–1219
APHA-AWWA-WPCF (2005) Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. WPCF Joint Editorial Board, Whasington
Arheimer B, Pers BC (2017) Lessons learned Effects of nutrient reductions from constructingwetlands in 1996–2006 across Sweden. Ecol Eng 103:404–414
Baker A, Spencer RGM (2004) Characterization of dissolved organic matter from source to sea using fluorescence and absorbance spectroscopy. Sci Total 333:271–232
Balaji E, Nagaraju A, Sreedhar Y, Thejaswi A, Sharif IZ (2017) Hydrochemical characterization of groundwater in around Tirupati Area, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh, South India. Appl Water Sci. 7:1203–1212
Barzegar R, Moghaddam AA, Tziritis E, Fakhri MS, Soltani S (2017) Identification of hydrogeochemical processes and pollution sources of groundwater resources in the Marand plain, northwest of Iran. Environ Earth Sci 76:297
Bouzourra H, Bouhlila R, Elango L, Slama F, Ouslati N (2015) Characterization of mechanisms and processes of groundwater salinization in irrigated coastal area using statistics, GIS, and hydrogeochemical investigations. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22:2643
Brunett E, Baró JE, Cadena E, Esteller MV (2010) Pago por servicios ambientales hidrológicos: caso de estudio Parque Nacional del Nevado de Toluca, México. Ciencia Ergo Sum, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México 17(3):286–294
Cruz VJ, Andrade C, Pacheco D, Mendes S, Cymbron R (2017) Nitrates in groundwater discharges from the Azores Archipelago: ocurrence and fluxes to coastal waters. Water 9:125–139
Devié G, Sakan S, Đorđević D (2016) Assessment of the environmental significance of nutrients and heavy metal pollution in the river network of Serbia. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23:282–297
Esteller MV, Andreu JM (2005) Antropic effect on hydrochemical characteristics of the Valle de Toluca aquifer (Central Mexico). Hydrogeol J 13(2):378–390
Fonseca-Montes de Oca RMG, Ramos-Leal JA, Solache-Ríos JM, Martínez Miranda V, Fuentes-Rivas RM (2019) Modification of relative abundance of constituents disolved in drinking water caused by organic pollution: a case of the Toluca Valley, Mexico. Water Air Soil Pollut 230:171
Fuentes-Rivas RM, Ramos-Leal JA, Jiménez-Moleón MC, Esparza-Soto M (2015) Caracterización de la Materia Orgánica Disuelta en Agua Subterránea del Valle de Toluca Mediante Espestrofotometría de Fluorescencia 3D. Rev Int Contam Ambie 31(3):253–264
Fuentes Rivas RM, Ramos-Leal JA, Morán-Ramírez J, Esparza-Soto M (2017) Chap 3, methodology with 3D fluorescence spectroscopy to characterize dissolved organic matter in soil dissolved organic matter (DOM). Nova Science Publishers, Inc., New York
Koretsky CM, Haas JR, Miller D, Ndenga NT (2006) Seasonal variations in pore water and sediment geochemistry of littoral lake sediments (Asylum Lake, MI, USA). Geochem Trans 7:11–37
Li P, Wu J, Qian H, Zhang Y, Yang N, Jing L, Yu P (2016) Hydrogeochemical characterization of groundwater in and around a wastewater irrigated forest in the southeastern edge of the Tengger Desert. Northwest China Expo Health 8:331–348
Li Y, Arocenal JM, Zhang Q, Thring RW, Li J (2017) Heavy metals and nutrients (carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus) in sediments: relationships to land uses, environmental risks, and management. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24:7403–7412
Maharana C, Gautam SK, Singh AK, Tripathi JK (2015) Major ion chemistry of the Son River, India: Weathering processes, dissolved fluxes and water quality assessment. J Earth Syst Sci 124(6):1293–1309
Martín del Campo MA, Esteller MV, Expósito JL, Hirata R (2014) Impacts of urbanization on groundwater hydrodynamics and hydrochemistry of the Toluca Valley aquifer (Mexico). Environ Monit Assess 186:2979–2999
Mockler EM, Deakin J, Archbold M, Gill L, Daly D, Bruen M (2017) Sources of nitrogen and phosphorus emissions to Irish rivers and coastal waters: Estimates from a nutrient load apportionment framework. Sci Total Environ 601–602:326–339
Morán-Ramírez J, Ledesma R, Mahlknecht J, Ramos-Leal JA (2016) Rock–water interactions and pollution processes in the volcanic aquifer system of Guadalajara, Mexico, using inverse geochemical modelling. Appl Geochem 68:79–94
Moran-Ramírez J, Ramos-Leal JA, Mahlknech J, Santacruz-DeLeón G, Martín-Romero F, Fuentes Rivas R, Mora A (2018) Modeling of groundwater processes in a karstic aquifer of Sierra Madre Oriental, Mexico. Appl Geochem 95:97–109
Ortega-Guerrero M (2009) Presencia, distribución, hidrogeoquímica y origen de arsénico, fluoruro y otros elementos traza disueltos en agua subterránea, a escala de cuenca hidrológica tributaria de Lerma-Chapala. México Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Geológicas 26:143–161
Pawluczuk J, Stêpieñ A (2010) Mineralization of organic nitrogen compounds in gyttja gyttja-muck soils in relation to the content of mineral nitrogen in groundwaters. Ecol Chem Eng 17(7):805–815
Ramos-Leal JA, Morán-Ramírez J, Silva-García JT, Fuentes-Rivas RM, Cruz-Cárdenas G, Ochoa-Estrada S, Estrada-Godoy F (2018) Identification of hydrogeochemical processes in a volcano-sedimentary aquifer of Ciénega de Chapala in Michoacán, Mexico. Arab J Geosci 11:422
Reddy AGS, Niranjan-Kumar K (2010) Identification of the hydrogeochemical processes in groundwater using major ion chemistry: a case study of Penna-Chitravathi river basins in Southern India. Environ Monit Assess 170:365–382
Sako A, Yaro JM, Bamba O (2018) Impacts of hydrogeochemical processes and anthropogenic activities on groundwater quality in the Upper Precambrian sedimentary aquifer of northwestern Burkina Faso. Appl Water Sci 8:88
Sakram G, Adimalla N (2018) Hydrogeochemical characterization and assessment of water suitability for drinking and irrigation in crystalline rocks of Mothkur region, Telangana State, South India. Appl Water Sci 8:143
Sánchez-Sánchez JA, Álvarez-Legorreta T, Pacheco-Ávila JG, González-Herrera RA, Carrillo-Bribiezca L (2015) Caracterizacón hidrogeoquímica de las aguas subterráneas del sur del Estado de Quintana Roo. México Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Geológicas 32(1):62–76
Sarikhani R, Ghassemi-Dehnavi A, Ahmadnejad Z, Kalantari N (2015) Hydrochemical characteristics and groundwater quality assessment in Bushehr Province. SW Iran Environ Earth Sci 74:6265–6281
Sengputa S, Nawaz T, Beaudry J (2015) Nitrogen and Phosphorus Recovery from Wastewater. Curr Pollut Rep 1:155–166
Soumya BS, Sekhar M, Riotte J, Banerjee A, Braun J (2013) Characterization of groundwater chemistry under the influence of lithologic and anthropogenic factors along a climatic gradient in Upper Cauvery basin, South India. Environ Earth Sci 69:2311–2335
Strokal M, Kroeze C, Li L, Luan S, Wang H, Yang S, Zhang Y (2015) Increasing dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus export by the Pearl River (Zhujiang): a modeling approach at the sub-basin scale to assess effective nutrient. Manag Biogeochem 125:221–242
Stumm W, Morgan JI (1995) Aquatic chemistry: an introduction emphasizing chemical equilibria in natural waters. Wiley, Hoboken
Trubetskaya OE, Richard C, Trubets OA (2016) High amounts of free aromatic amino acids in the protein-like fluorescence of water-dissolved organic matter. Environ Chem Lett 4:495–500
Valdez-Alegría CJ, Fuentes-Rivas RM, García-Rivas JL, Fonseca-Montes de Oca RMG, García-Gaitán B (2019) Presence and distribution of fluoride ions in groundwater for human in a semiconfined volcanic aquifer. Resource 8:116
Venkatramanan S, Yong-Chung S, Selvam S, Yeop-Lee S, Eldin-Elzain H (2017) Factors controlling groundwater quality in the Yeonjegu District of Busan City, Korea, using the hydrogeochemical processes and fuzzy GIS. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24:23679–23693
Vrzel J, Vuković-Gačić B, Kolarević S, Gačić Z, Kračun-Kolarević M, Kostić J (2016) Determination of the sources of nitrate and themicrobiological sources of pollution in the Sava River Basin. Sci Total Environ 573:1460–1471
Woldemariyam F, Ayenew T (2016) Identification of hydrogeochemical processes in groundwater of Dawa River basin, southern Ethiopia. Environ Monit Assess 188:481
Zsolnay A (2003) Dissolved organic matter: artefacts, definitions, and functions. Geoderma 113(3):187–209
Acknowledgements
The authors thankfully acknowledge the support of the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico, the Water and Sanitation Agency of Toluca for the permissions granted for the development of this project and Mexican Council of Science and Technology for the support given.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fonseca-Montes de Oca, R.M.G., Ramos-Leal, J.A., Morán-Ramírez, J. et al. Hydrogeochemical Characterization and Assessment of Contamination by Inorganic and Organic Matter in the Groundwater of a Volcano-Sedimentary Aquifer. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 104, 520–531 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-020-02819-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-020-02819-8