Comprehensive Study of Emerging Pollutants in El Hierro Island: A Showcase of Good Practices with Zero Pesticide Impact
- 1Madrid Health Department, Madrid City Council, Spain (gascocs@madrid.es)
- 2Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
- 3Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering. University of La Laguna, Tenerife (Canary Islands), Spain
- 4Insular Water Authority of El Hierro (CIAEH)/Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
- 5Department of Civil Engineering, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece
- 6Dept. Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), C/Jordi Girona 18-26, E-08034 Barcelona, Spain
The present study focuses on emerging pollutants (EPs) in groundwater, an understudied category with unclear regulatory guidelines regarding their impact on water resources. Regions heavily reliant on groundwater, crucial for agriculture, drinking, and other purposes, face heightened risks of EP contamination. The case study focuses on El Hierro (Canary Islands), a UNESCO-designated biosphere reserve largely powered by renewable energies. Employing high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, the concentrations of 70 EPs at 19 locations on El Hierro were assessed.
The findings revealed an absence of pesticides in groundwater, and diverse levels of ultraviolet (UV) filters, UV stabilizers/blockers, and pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs), with La Frontera emerging as the most contaminated municipality. Piezometers and wells exhibited the highest EP concentrations among the different installation types. Notably, sampling depth demonstrated a positive correlation with EP concentration, revealing four distinct clusters dividing the island based on EP presence.
Further research is essential to understand the factors contributing to the elevated concentrations of certain EPs at different depths. The results underscore the necessity to, not only implement remediation measures post-EP infiltration into soil and aquifers, but also prevent their introduction into the water cycle through homes, animal husbandry, agriculture, industry, and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs).
How to cite: Gasco Cavero, S., Marazuela, M. Á., Cruz-Pérez, N., Martín Rodríguez, L. F., Laspidou, C., Contreras-Llin, A., Quintana, G., Díaz-Cruz, S., Santamarta, J. C., and García Gil, A.: Comprehensive Study of Emerging Pollutants in El Hierro Island: A Showcase of Good Practices with Zero Pesticide Impact, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-20203, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-20203, 2024.
