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. La consul a d’aques a esi queda condicionada a l’accep ació de les següen s
condicions d'ús: La di usió d’aques a esi pe mi jà del se ei TDX (www. esisenxa xa.ne ) ha
es a au o i zada pels i ula s dels d e s de p opie a in el·lec ual únicamen pe a usos p i a s
emma ca s en ac i i a s d’in es igació i docència. No s’au o i za la se a ep oducció amb inali a s
de luc e ni la se a di usió i posada a disposició des d’un lloc aliè al se ei TDX. No s’au o i za la
p esen ació del seu con ingu en una ines a o ma c aliè a TDX ( aming). Aques a ese a de
d e s a ec a an al esum de p esen ació de la esi com als seus con ingu s. En la u ili zació o ci a
de pa s de la esi és obliga indica el nom de la pe sona au o a.
ADVERTENCIA. La consul a de es a esis queda condicionada a la acep ación de las siguien es
condiciones de uso: La di usión de es a esis po medio del se icio TDR (www. esisen ed.ne ) ha
sido au o izada po los i ula es de los de echos de p opiedad in elec ual únicamen e pa a usos
p i ados enma cados en ac i idades de in es igación y docencia. No se au o iza su ep oducción
con inalidades de luc o ni su di usión y pues a a disposición desde un si io ajeno al se icio TDR.
No se au o iza la p esen ación de su con enido en una en ana o ma co ajeno a TDR ( aming).
Es a ese a de de echos a ec a an o al esumen de p esen ación de la esis como a sus
con enidos. En la u ilización o ci a de pa es de la esis es obligado indica el nomb e de la
pe sona au o a.
WARNING. On ha ing consul ed his hesis you’ e accep ing he ollowing use condi ions:
Sp eading his hesis by he TDX (www. esisenxa xa.ne ) se ice has been au ho ized by he
i ula o he in ellec ual p ope y igh s only o p i a e uses placed in in es iga ion and eaching
ac i i ies. Rep oduc ion wi h luc a i e aims is no au ho ized nei he i s sp eading and a ailabili y
om a si e o eign o he TDX se ice. In oducing i s con en in a window o ame o eign o he
TDX se ice is no au ho ized ( aming). This igh s a ec o he p esen a ion summa y o he
hesis as well as o i s con en s. In he using o ci a ion o pa s o he hesis i ’s obliged o indica e
he name o he au ho
PhD Thesis
Assessmen o g oundwa e echa ge
in u ban a eas
Hyd ogeology G oup (GHS)
Ins i u e o En i onmen al Assessmen and Wa e Resea ch (IDAEA)
Spanish Resea ch Council (CSIC)
Depa men o Geo echnical Enginee ing and Geosciences,
Uni e si a Poli ècnica de Ca alunya (UPC) Ba celonaTech
Au ho :
Isabel Tubau Fe nández
Ad iso s:
D . En ic Vázquez Suñé
D . Jesús Ca e a
No embe , 2015
The au ho wish o acknowledge he inancial suppo o he Minis y o Educa ion and
Science o Spain, he Technical Uni e si y o Ca alonian (UPC), he Ca alan wa e
au ho i y (ACA), he company o d inking wa e Te -Llob ega (ATLL) and he Ba celona
me opoli an company o hyd aulic se ices and was e ea men (EMSHTR). Thanks a e
o CLABSA, AGBAR, CETAQUA, ci y council o Ba celona, San Ad ià del Besòs,
Badalona and San a Coloma de G amane , EUSAB (Es acionamen s U bans de San
Ad ià del Besòs)
and o companies and indi idual owne s o wells sampled in his s udy.
i
I. Abs ac
In he ci y o Ba celona and he ownships si ua ed in he del aic a ea o he Besòs Ri e ,
g oundwa e is ecognized as an aspec o u ban wa e cycle managemen . The e is g oundwa e
seepage in o in as uc u e and buildings ha in u n equi e d ainage, a pa o which is in oduced
in o sewage sys ems. Sensi ized by his issue, ci y councils ha e had hyd ologic s udies ca ied
ou o analyze i s causes and o plan al e na i e ways o using hese esou ces while educing
ea men cos s, and minimizing he impac s ha g oundwa e and d ainage ha e on in as uc u e
and ice e sa. Based on hese s udies, and s a ing in 2000 some o his has been used o
municipal p ac ices (ga den i iga ion and s ee cleaning). Subsequen ly, due o a d ough ha
a ec ed he egion be ween Ap il 2007 and Janua y 2009, he go e nmen en i y in cha ge o
Ca alonian wa e sou ces (ACA) aims o ge g ea e use ou o u ban g oundwa e in his a ea.
This equi es a comp ehensi e unde s anding o he hyd ogeological cha ac e is ics o he
en i onmen , he a ailabili y and quali y o hese esou ces, and he app op ia e ools o p ope
assessmen and managemen . This has been he amewo k o his hesis.
Recha ge is one o he mos impo an aspec s o wa e balance in aqui e sys ems in u ban a eas.
U baniza ion o he a ea al e s he na u al hyd ological cycle and di ec wa e echa ge in o
aqui e s by in il a ion is educed. In u n, e apo anspi a ion dec eases and new echa ge sou ces
appea . This hesis p esen s, i s , a me hodology ha allows o he quan i ying o a iabili y in
space and ime o he echa ge in u ban a eas. Po en ial sou ces o echa ge ha ha e been
conside ed a e: (1) di ec in il a ion om ain and u ban uno , (2) losses om he sewe sys em,
(3) losses om he wa e supply sys em, and (4) o he speci ic sou ces o echa ge (i.e. i e
in il a ion, seawa e in usion, e c.). Recha ge calcula ions a e ini ially pe o med by applying
analy ical equa ions unde a ious hypo heses. These esul s ha e been e alua ed in he
hyd ogeological con ex h ough a nume ical model o low and anspo in he whole a ea o
s udy.
Secondly, and also h oughou he s udy a ea, de ec ion o some subs ances in g oundwa e has
been analyzed. These subs ances and hei deg ada ion p oduc s, po en ially p esen in
echa ging sou ces associa ed wi h u ban en i onmen s, belong o so-called 'eme ging o ganic
pollu an s'. These a e o ganic chemical compounds used in he o mula ion o daily p oduc s o
widesp ead use, such as pha maceu icals, emulsions, ca e p oduc s and pe sonal hygiene,
household and indus ial de e gen s, plas ics, pes icides and he bicides, among o he s. The e is
ela i ely li le known abou hese subs ances’ in oduc ion o and e olu ion in he aqui e s.
O ganic pollu an s whose e olu ion and beha io in he g oundwa e is be e unde s ood can be
deg aded by na u al p ocesses con olled mainly by oxida ion- educ ion p ocesses. E en in si u
s imula ion echniques ha e been de eloped which a e able o accele a e hese p ocesses o
na u al a enua ion o con amina ed en i onmen s. Thi dly, in a p elimina y way o a enua ion
p ocesses de ec ion, a me hodology is p esen ed using an end-membe mixing analysis (EMMA)
and MIX o compu e mixing a ios and iden i y hyd ochemical eac ions. The me hodology consis s
o (1) iden i ying he po en ial sou ces o echa ge, (2) cha ac e ising echa ge sou ces and mixed
wa e samples using hyd ogeochemis y, (3) selec ing chemical species o be used in he analysis
and (4) calcula ing mixing a ios and when depa u es om he mixing line exis , iden i ying
hyd ochemical p ocesses. This app oach has been applied in a pilo a ea in he Besòs Ri e Del a.

ii
II. Resumen
En la ciudad de Ba celona y municipios ubicados sob e los e enos del aicos del ío Besòs, el
agua sub e ánea es un ac o que se iene en cuen a en la ges ión u bana del ciclo del agua. La
il ación de aguas sub e áneas en edi icios e in aes uc u as obliga el d enaje de es as aguas,
pa e de las cuáles son e idas a la ed de alcan a illado. Sensibilizados po es a p oblemá ica los
ayun amien os implicados enca ga on es udios hid ogeológicos pa a analiza las causas y
plan ea al e na i as pa a el ap o echamien o de es os ecu sos, educi los cos es del
a amien o, así como minimiza los impac os que las aguas sub e áneas y d enajes puedan
causa a las in aes uc u as y ice e sa. A aíz de es os es udios y desde el año 2000, pa e de
és as se des inan a usos municipales ( iego de ja dines y limpieza de calles). Pos e io men e y
debido a un pe íodo de sequía que a ec ó desde ab il de 2007 a ene o de 2009, la en idad ges o a
de los ecu sos híd icos de Ca aluña (Agència Ca alana de l’Aigua, ACA) plan eó un mayo
ap o echamien o de los ecu sos de agua sub e ánea en es e en o no u bano. Es o equie e un
buen conocimien o de las ca ac e ís icas hid ogeológicas del medio, de la disponibilidad y calidad
de es os ecu sos, así como de dispone de las he amien as adecuadas pa a su e aluación y
co ec a ges ión. Es a esis se enma ca en es e con ex o.
La eca ga es uno de los aspec os más ele an es del balance híd ico en los sis emas acuí e os
de zonas u banas. La u banización del e i o io al e a el ciclo hid ogeológico na u al, la eca ga
di ec a de agua a los acuí e os po in il ación se educe, disminuye la e apo anspi ación y
apa ecen nue as uen es de eca ga. En es a esis se p esen a, en p ime luga , una me odología
pa a cuan i ica la a iabilidad espacial y empo al de la eca ga en zona u bana. Las uen es
po enciales de eca ga que se han conside ado son: (1) in il ación di ec a de llu ia y de agua de
esco en ía, (2) pé didas del sis ema de alcan a illado, (3) pé didas de la ed de abas ecimien o y
(4) o as uen es especí icas de eca ga como la in il ación de agua de ío o la in usión ma ina,
en e o as. El cálculo de la eca ga se ha ealizado inicialmen e de iniendo y aplicando
ecuaciones analí icas bajo di e sas hipó esis. Es os esul ados se han e aluado en el con ex o
hid ogeológico median e un modelo numé ico de lujo y anspo e en oda la zona de es udio.
En segundo luga , ambién en oda la zona de es udio, se analiza la p esencia en las aguas
sub e áneas de algunas sus ancias po encialmen e p esen es en uen es de eca gas asociadas
a en o nos u banos, y de las que se iene ela i o poco conocimien o de su in oducción y
e olución en los acuí e os. Es as subs ancias o sus p oduc os de deg adación pe enecen a los
denominados ‘con aminan es o gánicos eme gen es’; se a an de compues os químicos
o gánicos empleados en la o mulación de p oduc os de uso co idiano y muy ex endido, como son
p oduc os a macéu icos, emulsiones, p oduc os pa a el cuidado e higiene pe sonal, de e gen es
domés icos e indus iales, plás icos, pes icidas y he bicidas, en e o os.
Con aminan es o gánicos cuya e olución y compo amien o en las aguas sub e áneas es más
conocido pueden deg ada se median e p ocesos na u ales con olados p incipalmen e po
p ocesos de oxidación- educción. Incluso se han desa ollado écnicas de es imulación in-si u
capaces de acele a es os p ocesos de a enuación na u al sob e medios con aminados. En una
línea p elimina de de ección de p ocesos de a enuación se p esen a, en e ce luga , una
me odología pa a la e aluación de po cen ajes de mezcla e iden i icación de p ocesos
hid oquímicos Pa a ello se emplean p ocedimien os y he amien as es adís icas. Consis e en (1)
iden i icación de las po enciales uen es de eca ga, (2) ca ac e ización de las uen es de eca ga
y las mezclas de agua usando especies químicas, (3) selección de las especies químicas que an
a se usadas en el análisis y (4) cálculo de los po cen ajes de mezcla e iden i icación de p ocesos
hid oquímicos cuando és os se sepa an de la línea de mezcla. Es a me odología se ha aplicado a
las aguas del ío Besòs y las aguas sub e áneas de una zona pilo o en el Del a del Besòs.
iii
III. Resum
En la ciu a de Ba celona i municipis ubica s sob e els e enys del aics del iu Besòs, l’aigua
sub e ània és un ac o que es é en comp e en la ges ió u bana del cicle de l’aigua. La il ació
d’aigües sub e ànies en edi icis i in aes uc u es obliguen el seu d ena ge, una pa de les quals
s’aboquen a la xa xa de cla egue am. Sensibili za s pe aques a p oblemà ica els ajun amen s
implica s an enca ega es udis hid ogeològics pe anali za les causes i plan eja al e na i es pe
l’ap o i amen d’aques s ecu sos, edui els cos os del ac amen , així com minimi za els
impac es que les aigües sub e ànies i d ena ges poden causa a les in aes uc u es i ice e sa.
A a el d’aques es udis i des de l’any 2000, pa d’aques es aigües es des inen a usos municipals
( eg de ja dins i ne eja de ca e s). Pos e io men i degu a un pe íode de seque a que a a ec a
des de l’ab il de 2007 ins gene de 2009, l’en i a ges o a dels ecu sos híd ics de Ca alunya
(Agència Ca alana de l’Aigua, ACA) a plan eja un majo ap o i amen d’aques s ecu sos d’aigua
sub e ània en aques en o n u bà. Això eque eix un bon coneixemen del medi hid ogeològic, de
la disponibili a i quali a , així com de les eines adequades pe a la se a co ec a a aluació i ges ió.
Aques és el con ex en que emma ca aques a esis.
La eca ega és un dels aspec es més elle an s del balanç híd ic en els sis emes aqüí e s de
zones u banes. La u bani zació del e i o i al e a el cicle hid ogeològic na u al, la ecà ega
di ec a d’aigua als aqüí e s pe in il ació es edueix, disminueix l’e apo anspi ació i apa eixen
no es on s de ecà ega. En aques a esis es p esen a, en p ime lloc, una me odologia pe a
quan i ica la a iabili a espaial i empo al de la ecà ega en zona u bana. Les on s po encials de
ecà ega que s’han conside a són: (1) in il ació di ec a de pluja i aigua d’esco en ia, (2) pè dues
del sis ema de cla egue am, (3) pè dues de la xa xa d’abas amen i (4) al es on s especí iques
de ecà ega com in il ació d’aigua del iu o in usió ma ina, en e al es. El càlcul de la ecà ega
s’ha eali za inicialmen de inin i aplican equacions analí iques so a di e ses hipò esis. Aques s
esul a s s’han a alua en el con ex hid ogeològic mi jançan un model numè ic de lux i anspo
en o a la zona d’es udi.
En segon lloc, ambé en o a la zona d’es udi, s’anali za la p esència en les aigües sub e ànies
d’algunes subs àncies po encialmen p esen s en on s de ecà ega associades a en o ns u bans,
i de les que es é ela i amen poc coneixemen de la se a in oducció i e olució en els aqüí e s.
Aques es subs àncies o els seus p oduc es de deg adació pe anyen als denomina s
‘con aminan s o gànics eme gen s’; es ac en de compos os químics o gànics emp a s en la
o mulació de p oduc es d’ús quo idià i mol es ès, com són p oduc es a macèu ics, emulsions,
p oduc es pe la cu a e higiene pe sonal, de e gen s domès ics i indus ials, plàs ics, pes icides y
he bicides, en e al es.
Con aminan s o gànics, l’e olució i compo amen dels quals en les aigües sub e ànies és més
conegu , poden deg ada -se mi jançan p ocessos na u als con ola s p incipalmen pe p ocessos
d’oxidació- educció. Inclús s’han desen olupa ècniques d’es imulació in-si u capaces d’accele a
aques s p ocessos d’a enuació na u al sob e medis con amina s. En una línea p elimina de
de ecció de p ocessos d’a enuació es p esen a, en e ce lloc, una me odologia que pe me
l’a aluació de pe cen a ges de mescla e iden i icació de p ocessos hid oquímics. Aques a emp a
p ocedimen s i eines es adís iques. Consis eix en (1) iden i icació de las po encials on s de
ecà ega, (2) ca ac e i zació de les on s de ecà ega i les mescles d’aigua emp an espècies
químiques, (3) selecció de les especies químiques que an a se emp ades en l’anàlisi i (4) càlcul
dels pe cen a ges de mescla i iden i icació de p ocessos hid oquímics d’aquells que es sepa en de
la línea de mescla. Aques a me odologia s’ha aplica a les aigües del iu Besòs i les aigües
sub e ànies d’una zona pilo en el Del a del Besòs.
i
IV. Ag adecimien os
Tengo muchos mo i os pa a es a ag adecida a muchas pe sonas con las que he enido el
p i ilegio de coincidi a lo la go del la go pe iodo desde el inicio has a el inal de es a esis
(algunos dicen que lo impo an e no es llega al des ino sino el camino,…). Como no quisie a
deja me a nadie quie o ex ende mi ag adecimien o a odas ellas en es e pá a o.
Especial ag adecimien o a los di ec o es de es a esis En ic Vázquez y Jesús Ca e a, ha sido un
g an hono ap ende de oso os. En ic g àcies pe o el eu ecolçamen i con iança.
A Xa ie Sánchez-Vila po apoya es a esis.
A odos los compañe os y p o eso es del G upo de Hid ología Sub e ánea C is ina Valhondo,
Manuela Ba bie i, Jo di Fon , Anna Ju ado, Viole a Velasco, Héc o de Buen, Ch is ina
Scho nbe g, Me i xell G an, Ad ià Ga iga, Radu Gogu, , Ma ía Pool, Jo di Sánchez (es a ez no
me ol ido), Sil ia A anda, Leona do Donado, Lui Jan Sloo en, Te esa Tolosana, Alejand o
Giménez, Vanessa Zabala, Paolo T inche o, Es anis Pujades, Daniele Ped e i, Ma co Ba ahona,
Lu des Ma ínez, Emilio Cus odio, Ca les Ayo a, Daniel Fe nández, Xa ie Sánchez-Vila, Maa en
Saal ink, Albe Sole , ...
A los compañe os de despacho C is, Leo, Zhi eng Zhan, Giuseppe, Claudia, ...
Al g upo de química ambien al del IDAE Susana González, Mi en López de Alda, Damià Ba celó,
Mi a Pe o ic y C is ina Pos igo.
A Mi eia Iglesias, Xa i Ca e as y Josep Ma ia Niñe ola del ACA y al pe sonal del labo a o io de
ATLL en Ab e a.
A Joan Casas, Joan Acos a, y An onio Iglesias y en gene al al pe sonal de l’ajun amen de San
Ad ià del Besòs, de EUSAB y del Pa c del Besòs.
A Aline C., J.Piña, Ma a G., Glò ia M., Neus Q., J.Pinyol, Ped o, ...
Muy muy especialmen e a Da id, Gonzali a, Susana y An onio.
In ii a g a i ud a mi amilia, a Joan Ca les y a su amilia, que ambién son mi amilia.
Chap e 2: Quan i ica ion o G oundwa e Recha ge in U ban En i onmen s
4
2. Quan i ica ion o G oundwa e Recha ge in U ban
En i onmen s.
This chap e is based on he pape Tubau I, Vázquez-Suñé E, Ca e a J, Valhondo, C.
Quan i ica ion o G oundwa e Recha ge in U ban En i onmen s. Science o he To al
En i onmen , submi ed.
2.1. In oduc ion
G oundwa e , wi h inc easing equency, is conside ed a key ac o in he managemen o
u ban a eas (Le ne , 1996; Chil on e al., 1997; Eyles, 1997; Chil on, 1999; Ellis, 1999;
Howa d & Is a ilo , 2002; Cus odio, 1997, 2004 and lis o s udies compiled by Naik e al.,
2008). Fo one, some ci ies pe o m in ensi e pumping o g oundwa e o a ious uses
(wa e supply, indus y, e c.), which can p oduce a numbe o undesi able consequences
such as g ound subsidence o de e io a ion o he quali y o wa e as a esul o a ious
pa icula causes (e.g. seawa e in usion). Mo eo e , he pumping o g oundwa e in
many ci ies ends o be educed o abandoned due o pollu ion and / o changes in land
use (e.g. eloca ion o indus ies). In he la e case, he decline in g oundwa e ex ac ion
has caused a eco e y o piezome ic le els, gene a ing loods and causing damage o
unde g ound in as uc u e in many u ban a eas. Such is he case o Ba celona and i s
u ban en i onmen .
To con ol hese s uc u al p oblems i is usually necessa y o pump g oundwa e in
speci ic a eas wi hin he u ban a ea (unde g ound pa king a eas, building basemen s,
unnels, e c.). I is impo an o emembe ha g oundwa e ex ac ion may be necessa y
o use ul o co e a ious aspec s o he g owing demand o u ban wa e . I is also due o
become a s a egic esou ce ha can mee demand in momen s when he usual supply
sou ces may be su e ing p oblems (d ough , acciden s, e c.). The la e conside a ion
leads us o wonde whe he u ban g oundwa e can be used sa ely.
U ban aqui e s can su e om e y di e se pollu ion sou ces, which include echa ging
om he losses o sewe age, pollu ed u ban uno , pollu ed i e s o o he su ace wa e ,
seawa e in usion, e c. As a esul , a la ge numbe and a ie y o con aminan s can be
ound in u ban aqui e s (Howa d e al., 1996; Ba e e al., 1999; Pi , 2001; Le ne , 2002;
Mo is e al., 2005; Vázquez-Suñé e al., 2005; Wakida & Le ne , 2005 ; Musol , 2009).
Besides "common" pollu an s in he u ban wa e en i onmen , he e a e nume ous
o ganic pollu an s o a ious o igins, including a li le unde s ood and poo ly legisla ed

Chap e 2: Quan i ica ion o G oundwa e Recha ge in U ban En i onmen s
5
g oup know as
eme ging o ganic con aminan s
(EOCs), which a e o pa icula conce n
o se e al easons (Ellis, 2006; Tubau e al., 2010; Ju ado e al., 2012a and 2012b;
Pe ie e al., 2015). To add ess hese p oblems, we mus unde s and he p ocesses ha
de e mine he biological and chemical quali y o u ban g oundwa e , which in u n makes
i necessa y o quan i y he g oundwa e balance and especially he echa ge
mechanisms (o igin, quan i y and quali y).
Ob iously, g oundwa e managemen in u ban a eas equi es a de ailed knowledge o he
hyd ogeological sys em as well as he adequa e ools o p edic ing he amoun and wa e
quali y e olu ion. In his sense, expe ience in u ban g oundwa e is much lowe han in
na u al a eas. A key di e ence lies in echa ge e alua ion. A la ge numbe o s udies
ha e been published since he 90s ha e alua e echa ge in u ban a eas (see lis o
s udies compiled by Naik e al., 2008), wi h no speci ic me hodology. Howe e , i is
es ablished ha new u ban g oundwa e echa ge sou ces appea wi hin supply ne wo k
losses and sewe losses. Fu he mo e, e apo anspi a ion dec eases due o he sealing
su ace. The e o e, he e a e gene ally highe a es o echa ge in u ban han in he
na u al se ings (Le ne 2002, Vazquez-Suñe e al., 2005). Con ibu ion e alua ion o
each echa ge sou ce has been add essed (Le ne e al., 2002). Gi en hese
unce ain ies, mixing a ios can be
used o be e es ima e he ela i e impo ance o
di e en sou ces o echa ge (Vazquez-suñe e al., 2010, Tubau e al., 2014).
Fu he mo e, g oundwa e modeling may p o e a good ool o o al echa ge e alua ion
(Vázquez-Suñé & Sánchez-Vila, 1999; Yang e al., 1999; Le ne , 2002 Hussein &
Schwa z 2003, Dahan e al., 2004; T owsdale & Le ne 2003 and 2007; Cox e al., 2007).
Howe e , his ype o modeling equi es a speci ic app oach o iden i y he con ibu ion o
each pa icula sou ce o he o al echa ge.
To add ess hese speci ied unce ain ies, a me hodology is p esen ed o pe o m
g oundwa e modeling in u ban a eas ha ake in o accoun low and solu e anspo .
Howe e , applica ion o eal cases wi h nume ous echa ge sou ces, such as u ban
echa ge, has been hinde ed by se e al issues. The i s issue is associa ed wi h limi ed
expe ience wi h he iden i ica ion and selec ion o app op ia e solu es. The second issue
is he a ailabili y o long head and concen a ion eco ds. Small and spa se eco ds (in
ime and space) could cause he nume ical solu ion o be non-iden i iable o uns able.
The objec i e o his pape is o p esen a me hodology o help o e come some o he
issues abo e. This me hodology will allow us o quan i y he a iabili y in space and ime
o he echa ge in o aqui e s in u ban a eas. In his case, he conside ed po en ial sou ces
o echa ge a e: (1) di ec ain and u ban uno in il a ion, (2) losses om he sewe
sys em, (3) losses om he wa e supply sys em, and (4) o he speci ic sou ces o
echa ge (i.e. i e in il a ion, seawa e in usion, e c.). Recha ge calcula ions a e ini ially
Chap e 2: Quan i ica ion o G oundwa e Recha ge in U ban En i onmen s
6
pe o med by de ining and applying some analy ical equa ions and alida ion has been
assessed based on g oundwa e low and solu e anspo modeling. This allows u ban
g oundwa e managemen , by aking in o accoun quan i y and quali y ac o s, o e alua e
he ela i e con ibu ion o di e en echa ge sou ces by means o low and solu e
anspo modeling app oach a a ci y scale. The me hodology is applied o he
assessmen o echa ge sou ces in he Ba celona ci y aqui e s.
2.2. Me hodology
The p oposed me hod is applicable when g oundwa e da a a e spa se. This me hod can
be conside ed a a ia ion o he wa e - able luc ua ion mass balance me hod (i.e. Healy
and Cook, 2002; De V ies & Simme s, 2002). In essence, i is based on calib a ing a la ge
scale model while using app op ia ely pa ame e ized a eal echa ge unc ions.
In p ac ice, i consis s o he ollowing s eps: 1) Concep ual model de ini ion, 2)
Implemen a ion in o a nume ical model, 3) Pa ame e iza ion o a eal echa ge, 4)
Calib a ion and 5) I e a ion. These s eps a e de ined as ollows.
1. Concep ual model De ini ion. This is achie ed using con en ional hyd ogeological
me hods. I equi es unde s anding geology, hyd ogeology, me eo ology, hyd ology, soil
uses, pumping a es, hyd ochemis y, e c. Emphasis mus be placed on e alua ing no
only o al inpu s and ou pu s, bu also hei e olu ion o e ime.
2. Implemen a ion in o a nume ical model. Once a concep ual model has been de ined, a
nume ical model is buil . This equi es speci ying all pa ame e s as well as he spa ial and
empo al disc e iza ion and bounda y condi ions (la e al inpu s, echa ge, pumping a es,
e c).
3. Pa ame e iza ion o a eal echa ge. U ban echa ge is de ined as a p esc ibed
echa ge in low as ollows:
( ) ( )
1
, ,
β
=
=
∑
N
iRi
i
x x
Whe e
(x, )
is he echa ge a e (he e exp essed pe a ea uni and ime uni ),
N
is he
numbe o e ms, β
i
a e unknown u ban echa ge pa ame e s o be es ima ed la e and
Ri
(x, )
a e unc ions ep esen ing he ime a ia ion o echa ge. Ideally, hese unc ions
ep esen di e en modes o u ban echa ge. The ac ha hey a e le in e ms o
unknown ac o s β
i
ough o simpli y hei de ini ion, which mus be p esc ibed by he
modele . As men ioned in he in oduc ion, a de ailed accoun o all p ocesses in ol ed
can be qui e di icul . Fac o s a ec ing hese may include: (1) echa ge sou ces ( ain all,
wa e supply, sewage sys em); (2) pe cen age o u banized a ea; (3) es ima ion o
pe cen age o wa e dis ibu ed o losses o mains and sewe s; (4) daily wa e
[1]
Chap e 2: Quan i ica ion o G oundwa e Recha ge in U ban En i onmen s
7
consump ion pe pe son; (5) popula ion densi y; among o he s. In he u ban a ea all hese
ac o s can a y in ime and space. The e o e, i is be e o use simpli ied unc ions ha
cap u e he essence o he abo e, ye can be easily de ined wi hou he need o complex
models. Some possible unc ions a e de ined below:
Recha ge unc ion
Ri
(x, )
is implemen ed as a echa ge a e in each echa ge a ea, o a
gi en ime in e al, as he sum o i e echa ge sou ces [2]:
[2]R

,
=R

+R

+R

+R

+R

Disagg ega ed, hey a e:
[3]R

,
=







R

=

·WP·1−p
#$
%+
R

=

·WI·1−p
#$
%+
R

=

·WS+
R

=

·[WS·(1−

)·(1−p
*
)+WS

·(1−p
*
+
)+WO]
R

+
=

+
·WP·p
#$
·p
#


-
Thus, concen a ion o a speci ic compound (Ci) which p o ides he echa ging in each
echa ge a ea can be e alua ed as [4]:
[4]C
0,1,2
=C
0
345
·R

+C
0
645
·R

+C
0
789
·R

+C
0
788
·R

+C
0
388+
·R

+
R

,
Ci
Pnu
, Ci
Inu
, Ci
Sws
, Ci
Sww
and Ci
Pww’
a e, espec i ely, he speci ic compound concen a ions
o each echa ge sou ce e m.
In he ollowing sec ions each o hese a iables will be de ined.
Recha ge sou ces concep ualiza ion
The concep ual model o asses g oundwa e echa ge in u ban a eas (Fig. 2.1 and Table
2.1) has been conside ed based on all a ailable wa e s suscep ible o being echa ged in
unde g ound en i onmen s h ough elemen s ha can only p o ide echa ging. This
pa icula ly means po en ial wa e s om elemen s, bo h na u al and a i icial, ha can also
discha ge g oundwa e ha e no been included, e.g. i e s, aqui e bounda ies, sea
bo de s, e c., wi h was ewa e pipes below he wa e able being a special case. He e we
ha e conside ed ha he sewage sys em is uni a y (bo h, plu ial and u ban was e wa e is
cap u ed by he sys em).
Wa e s conside ed a e classi ied in o i e ypes acco ding o chemical cha ac e is ics,
po en ial ways o en e g ound, and o igin. The a ing alues a e:
(1) [WS] supply wa e lowing h ough he ne wo k;
(2) [WS’] supply wa e no lowing h ough he ne wo k, e.g. om pumping g oundwa e ;
(3) [WP] ainwa e ;
Chap e 2: Quan i ica ion o G oundwa e Recha ge in U ban En i onmen s
8
(4) [WI] wa e in il a ed ia he su ace du ing pe iods o no p ecipi a ion, e.g. di e en
wa e sou ces used o i iga ion in a eas no wa e p oo ed; and
(5) [WO] o he wa e discha ged by he sewe sys em ha is nei he ainwa e no wa e
supply, e.g. g oundwa e d ains om basemen s.
Figu e 2-1 Concep ual model o asses g oundwa e echa ge in u ban a eas (see also Table 1).
Table 2-1 Syn hesis o e ms and pa ame e s o concep ual model o asses g oundwa e echa ge
in u ban a eas (see also Figu e 1).
Ne e heless, only a pe cen age o o al olume o hese wa e s echa ges aqui e s.
Pe cen ages [
nu
,
ws
,
ww
and
ww’
] ha e been classi ied in o h ee e ms acco ding o how
po en ially wa e can po en ially en e he aqui e : (1) di ec in il a ion h ough unpa ed
a eas [
nu
]; (2) losses o om supply mains [
ws
], whe e wa e lows unde p essu e; and
(3) losses om sewe [
ww
and
ww’
], whe e wa e usually is no unde p essu e.
G oup Pa ame e Desc ip ion
WS
wa e supply lowing h ough he supply ne wo k sys em
WS'
wa e supply no lowing h ough he supply ne wo k
WP
ain all
WI
wa e o i iga ion
WO
o he wa e discha ged by he sewe sys em
ws
pe cen age echa ged om losses in he supply ne wo k
nu
pe cen age echa ged due o in il a ion om su ace
ww
pe cen age echa ged om sewe losses
ww'
pe cen age echa ged om sewe losses in ainy season
p
pa
pa ed a ea pe cen age
p
pww
ain all a io lowing in he sewe age sys ems
p
wsc
a io o wa e supply (WS) consumed o e ained and no e u ned o he sewe
p
wsc'
a io o wa e supply (WS') consumed o e ained and no e u ned o he sewe
Wa e olume
en e ing o u ban
sys em
G oundwa e
echa ge a ios
(exp essed as a
decimal)
Fac o s adap ed o
spa ial and
empo al
disc e iza ion
Chap e 2: Quan i ica ion o G oundwa e Recha ge in U ban En i onmen s
9
U ban pa ed su ace is in oduced as a pe cen age o pa ed a ea [p
pa
]. This can change
wi h ime, p
pww
is ain all pe cen age cap u ed by he u ban d ainage sys em o sewe age
sys em, p
wsc
and p
wsc’
a e pe cen ages o wa e supply consumed o e ained, which
he e o e do no e u n o he sewe sys em.
One ad an age o his kind o concep ual model is ha i allows o balances wi h he
global u ban wa e cycle by aking in o accoun con ibu ions no speci ically
hyd ogeological (also see: Eiswi h e al 2004; Thomas & Tellam; 2006; Mo is e al.,
2007; Vizin ina a al. 2009, F eni e al. 2009).
Each o i e echa ge sou ce e ms is de ined as ollows (Fig. 2.1 and Table 2.1):
Rain all echa ge in non-u ban a ea, R
Pnu
[3.1]:
[3.1]R

=

·WP·1−p
#$
%
WP is ain all o al olume in an a ea o a gi en ime in e al; p
pa
is unpa ed a ea
pe cen age (exp essed as a decimal), which can be use ul in a eas whe e u banized
su ace has changed o e ime, aking alue 0 o na u al a ea and 1 o u ban;
nu
is he
a io o wa e ha echa ges aqui e s due o su ace in il a ion. In sho , R
Pnu
co esponds
o he na u al echa ge and he e o e can be e alua ed using common wa e balance
calcula ions in he soil and aking in o accoun pa ame e s such as h eshold uno ,
e apo anspi a ion a e, unsa u a ed zone hickness, and soil mois u e, among o he s.
I iga ion wa e in non-u ban soil, R
Inu
[3.2]:
[3.2]R

=

·WI·1−p
#$
%
R
Inu
is in ended o ag icul u al a eas included in an u ban a ea, al hough i can also be
conside ed i iga ion o g een a eas in an u ban con ex i his is assumed signi ican ,
ei he om a ocus on quali y o quan i y. WI is i iga ion wa e olume in an a ea o a
gi en ime in e al, which could come om ei he p e iously eco ded wa e olumes in
he o al balance o a ailable wa e , e.g. om wa e supply (WS), o om new
con ibu ions o balance, e.g. pumping wells o i e s.
p
pa
and
nu
a e he same pa ame e s desc ibed in [3.1]. In ac , al hough [3.1] and [3.2]
ha e been sepa a ed, R
Pnu
and R
Inu
should be conside ed in conjunc ion wi h
nu
e alua ion.
Rain all echa ge in u ban su ace, R
Pww’
[3.3]:
[3.3]R

=

·WP·p
#$
·p
#

Chap e 2: Quan i ica ion o G oundwa e Recha ge in U ban En i onmen s
10
WP and p
pa
a e desc ibed in [3.1]; p
pww
is ain all pe cen age cap u ed by he u ban
d ainage sys em o sewe age sys em in an a ea;
ww
is pe cen age echa ged om losses
om he sewe sys em in he ainy season.
Recha ge om wa e supply ne wo k losses, R
Sws
[3.4]:
[3.4]R

=

·WS
WS is olume o wa e supply lowing h ough he supply ne wo k in a gi en a ea and
ws
is
he pe cen age (as a decimal) o his wa e eaching he aqui e om supply ne wo k
losses. Se e al s udies ha e es ima ed his pe cen age om he di e ence be ween
wa e supply deli e ed, wa e billed and wa e disappoin ed and some wo ks ake da a
om ne wo k sec o s in o de o ake in o accoun aud and losses om la ice de ec s
(e.g.Valdés & Cas elló, 2002).
Recha ge om seepage losses, (R
Sww
) [3.5]:
[3.5]R

=

·[WS·(1−

)·(1−p
*
)+WS

·(1−p
*
)+WO]
WS and
ws
a e de ined in [3.4]; WS’ is wa e olume in an a ea o a gi en ime in e al o
consump ion ha is no coming om he gene al supply ne wo k (i.e. om p i a e wells o
o he sou ces o supply wa e ), p
wsc
and p
wsc’
a e he espec i e pe cen ages (exp essed
as decimals) o wa e supply (gene al o p i a e) consumed o e ained he e o e does no
e u n o he sewe sys em; WO is wa e olume in ended o consump ion (no om
ne wo k supply) ha is discha ged in o he sewe sys em - o ins ance wa e om
g oundwa e d ains o keep an unde g ound s uc u e such as a unnel o building
ounda ion dewa e ed;
ww
is a pe cen age (as decimal) o wa e eaching he aqui e om
sewe losses. Chisala and Le ne (2008) explain case s udies and app oaches o quan i y
his pa ame e .
Pa ame e s o his concep ual model do no explici ly ake in o accoun he p ocesses o
he non-sa u a ed zone, an issue in u ban a eas ha is add essed by F iedel (2006).
4. Calib a ion. Calib a ion consis s o adjus ing u ban echa ge pa ame e s β
i
oge he
wi h he emaining model pa ame e s, so as o i obse a ions while ensu ing ha bo h
es ima ed pa ame e s and he esul ing model a e consis en wi h p io in o ma ion. The
opic is e y b oad and a ull desc ip ion alls beyond he scope o his pape (see Ca e a
e al., 2005). The ac ha echa ge pa ame e s a e es ima ed does no equi e any
special a en ion. The only issue is ha , in p ac ice, one needs o use in e sion codes.
He e we used he Maximum Likelihood Me hod (Ca e a and Neuman, 1986) as
implemen ed in VisualTRANSIN (GHS, 2004; Medina and Ca e a, 1996), which leads o
minimizing an objec i e unc ion.
Chap e 2: Quan i ica ion o G oundwa e Recha ge in U ban En i onmen s
11
λ λ λ
= + +
∑ ∑ ∑
h h c c p p
F F F F
Whe e
( )
1
* ( *)
−
= − −
h h
F h h C h h
is he head objec i e unc ion, which penalizes
depa u es be ween compu ed and measu ed heads (h and h*, espec i ely) wi h a
weigh ing ma ix
1
−
h
C
. Simila de ini ions hold o F
c
and F
p
concen a ions and model
pa ame e objec i e unc ions, espec i ely. App op ia e weigh ing be ween hese h ee
e ms can be ob ained wi h he pa ame e s λ
h
, λ
c
and λ
p
.
5. I e a ion The las wo s eps may be epea ed using di e en echa ge unc ions, o
combina ions o hem, un il a sa is ac o y i is ound.
2.3. Applica ion o he Ba celona u ban aqui e s
2.3.1. Concep ual model De ini ion
Ba celona and i s a ea o in luence include he ci y and some municipali ies in he
me opoli an a ea (Fig. 2.2) wi h a popula ion o o e 3 million people. The a ea is
bounded by he Collse ola (no h), he Medi e anean Sea and Besòs del a (no h-eas )
and he Llob ega aqui e s (sou hwes ). The clima e is Medi e anean, wi h an a e age
ain all o abou 600 mm / yea .
Figu e 2-2 Schema ic desc ip ion o he hyd ogeology o Ba celona. The le main hyd ogeological
uni s. Righ piezome ic map (Fo a be e unde s anding ha e been ep esen ed as cu es
equidis ance di e en le el. The ed lines ep esen low lines.
G oundwa e le els in Ba celona (Fig. 2.2) ha e been ising, which c ea es nume ous
p oblems o unde g ound s uc u es (subway, unde g ound pa king lo s, basemen s, e c).
In o de o emedia e his p oblem, Ba celona has de eloped he i s ph ea ic wa e
0 2000 4000 6000
Me e s
Piezome ic
su ace
Isolines:
0 - 25 5 m
25 - 250 25m
[5]
Chap e 2: Quan i ica ion o G oundwa e Recha ge in U ban En i onmen s
12
seconda y dis ibu ion ne wo k in he wo ld. Wa e om his seconda y ne wo k is used o
many pu poses in ga den i iga ion and s ee cleaning. Recen ly, he Wa e au ho i ies
(Ca alan Wa e agency, ACA) aim is o ge g ea e use o u ban g oundwa e in his a ea,
e en o wa e supply pu poses. All o hese possible uses a e condi ioned by p ocesses
con olling he wa e ’s quali y. These p ocesses mus be unde s ood o u he
de elopmen o he seconda y ne wo k and possible supply uses. To his end, wo k will
be pe o med h oughou he whole ci y.
One o he key issues he e is he e alua ion o he di e en sou ces o echa ge
(Vazquez-Suñé e al., 2005, and 2010). These include: (1) The Besòs Ri e , which la gely
con ains wa e om seconda y e luen WWTP (Was ewa e T ea men Plan s),
especially du ing he summe ; (2) he in il a ion o ain all in he highlands o he ci y ha
a e no buil on (conside ed in e ms o na u al wa e echa ge as "clean"); (3) wa e
supply ne wo k losses in he No h-Eas a ea. This wa e is impo ed om he i e Te ;
(4) wa e supply ne wo k losses in he Sou h-Wes a ea. This wa e is impo ed om he
i e Llob ega ; (5) he was ewa e gene a ed in he No h-Eas sec o ( om he i e Te );
(6) was ewa e sec o Sou h-Wes ( om he i e Llob ega ); (7) u ban uno ainwa e
ha leaches in o much o he a mosphe ic deposi ion u ban a ea (se e al kinds o "u ban
poles" emissions o ehicles and indus ies, e c.) and echa ge aqui e s h ough losses o
di ec in il a ion o sewage; and (8) he in usion o seawa e . Each echa ge sou ce o
g oundwa e in u ban a eas in oduces speci ic compounds and con aminan s in o he soil
and g oundwa e .
A ci y-wide geological model including low and anspo s p ocesses is al eady a ailable.
This will be e ined a he pilo a eas, which will be selec ed based on he a ailabili y o
exis ing in o ma ion. A comple e Geological and Hyd ogeological Da abase does his
need o be capi alized (geology and p e ious hyd aulic pa ame e iza ion, g oundwa e
heads e olu ion, g oundwa e hyd ochemis y e olu ion, hyd aulic es , pumping a es,
e c.) has been used o build he model o hese aqui e s.
2.3.2. Flow and anspo modeling
A huge nume ical low and solu e anspo model o he Ba celona aqui e s has been
conduc ed o wa e managemen pu poses. The model is pe o med using ini e elemen
Visual T ansin CODE (GHS, 2004). The model s uc u e has been conside ed as
consis ing o h ee laye s: he op laye ep esen s he supe icial aqui e sys ems o
Ba celona, Badalona and Besòs Del a, he middle laye ep esen s he Main Besòs Del a
aqui e and he bo om laye ep esen s he deepes Besòs Del a aqui e . This o e lay
ne wo k con ains all a ailable da a (heads and chlo ide concen a ions), limi s and
bounda y condi ions o he domain, hyd aulic pa ame e s o aqui e s (i.e: conduc i i y,
Chap e 2: Quan i ica ion o G oundwa e Recha ge in U ban En i onmen s
13
s o age coe icien , po osi y, e c.), g oundwa e ex ac ion and echa ge ha e also been
included. The pe iod co e s modeling om 1916 o 2006.
In his model, calib a ion echniques ha e been used o an in e se p oblem. Tha is, all
da a en e ed ha e been compiled and he p og am e u ns hyd aulic pa ame e s
consis en wi h he p elimina y in o ma ion a ailable, which p o ide a be e i wi h he
le els and concen a ions measu ed. The adjus men is conside ed e y good a he ci y
scale. Ano he impo an aspec o he calib a ion consis ency in he mass balance
(concep ual model) is in ega ds o g oundwa e in lows and ou lows in he whole sys em
and hei empo al a iabili y. The model is conside ed o accu a ely ep oduce he
empo al e olu ion o inpu s and ou pu s o he a ious elemen s o he sys em (Fig. 2.3).
Un il eaching he inal calib a ion e sion o he model, quan i ica ion o echa ge sou ces
p o ide he mos unce ain esul s. To assess a con iden quan i ica ion o echa ge
sou ces he me hodology desc ibed in he nex sec ion was applied.
Figu e 2-3 Mass balance esul ing o nume ical model.
2.3.3. Simula ion o u ban echa ge
Calcula ing wi h he echa ge model c ea ed a unc ion o ime [Eq. 6] ha b ings oge he
di e en ypes o echa ge wa e depending on he ype and sou ce o he o iginal wa e
be o e in il a ing he g ound, which a e: (1) ainwa e in il a ion om he na u al e ain
(o land no build on), which quali ies as a "na u al echa ge", R
Pnu
; (2) ap wa e om
losses in he supply ne wo k, R
Sws
, (3) sewe wa e om losses in he sewe sys em, R
Sww
and R
Pww’
and (4) echa ge om i e s o s eams, which has been ea ed di e en ly by
ano he ime unc ion.
URBAN RECHARGE 27.02
NON-URBAN RECHARGE 2.86
BESÒS RIVER CONTRIBUTION 8.61
CREEKS CONTRIBUTION -3.32
SUBWAY DRAINAGE -3.03
TOTAL ABSTRACTION -34.75
LA LLAGOSTA CONTRIBUTION 6.72
LLOBREGAT AQUIFER CONTRIBUTION -3.39
SEA TOTAL CONTRIBUTION -0.81
STORAGE -0.10
GLOBAL MASS BALANCE (hm
3
/y)
SUMMARY TABLE, AVERAGE 1916-2006
ALLUVIAL BOUND.
SEA
CREEKS
BESÒS RIVER
BESÒS RIVER
LLOBREGAT AQUIFER
ABSTRACTIONS
RECHARGE
∆S
SUBWAY
MASS BALANCE INPUT/OUTPUT
BESÒS MAIN AQUIFER (LAYER 2)
BESÒS LOWER AQUIFER (LAYER 3)
NON-URBAN ZONE
URBAN ZONE
BESÒS ALLUVIAL
BESÒS SHALLOW AQUIFER
Chap e 2: Quan i ica ion o G oundwa e Recha ge in U ban En i onmen s
20
2.5. Conclusions
A eal echa ge may be he mos impo an inpu in u ban aqui e sys ems. Ye , accu a e
e alua ion o his inpu is di icul . We p esen ed a me hodology o help es ima e he a eal
echa ge o u ban aqui e s. The p oposed me hod is essen ially simila o he wa e - able
luc ua ion mass balance me hod, applicable when g oundwa e head da a a e spa se, so
ha lack o spa ial and empo al co e age is au oma ically in e pola ed by he model. I
consis s in (1) de ini ion o he concep ual model; (2) implemen a ion in o a nume ical
model; (3) pa ame e iza ion o u ban echa ge; (4) calib a ion and (5) i e a ion. The wo
las s eps need o be epea ed un il inding he bes i is ound o he ange o unce ain y
is na owed. This me hodology is applicable o complex sys ems by aking in o accoun
empo al a iabili y o all wa e sou ces.
A ansien (1916-2006) g oundwa e low and solu e anspo model o he Ba celona
u ban aqui e s was buil as a ool o helping in de ining he managemen p og am. This
model was calib a ed agains heads and chlo ide concen a ion da a ob aining e y
sa is ac o y i s o bo h a iables. Mass balance and hyd aulic pa ame e s we e also
consis en wi h p io calcula ions.
This applica ion e lec s he impo ance o echa ge e olu ion on he aqui e s mass
balance. They a e one o he mos impo an inpu s. We belie e ha he si ua ion ound in
he Ba celona u ban aqui e may be ypical o many u ban aqui e sys ems. A eal
echa ge in u ban a eas may be a e y signi ican po ion o o al inpu s. He e i was he
i s .
Based on gene al c i e ia in he calib a ion p ocess o echa ge we p o ide ha :
− Hypo hesis o assess echa ge in u ban a eas ha e been p oposed based on
pe cen ages o wa e mains and sewe ne wo k suscep ible o losses and echa ge
he g oundwa e scheme. These wa e s a e classi ied acco ding o hei chemical
p ope ies, po en ial ways o en e he g ound, and o igin. Fo his pa icula s udy
case, he spa ial and empo al disc e iza ion echa ge, in absence o mo e di ec da a,
uses popula ion densi y, pe capi a alloca ion, and land use.
− Calib a ion o a ious echa ge scena ios equi es ha o he pa ame e s o be
calib a ed o ha e he minimum amoun o de ia ion possible.
− A good head se ing may no be su icien o quan i y echa ge, especially in hose
a eas in luenced by bounda ies; in which case hyd ochemical measu es a e use ul o
alida e o ejec he esul ing concep ual model.

Chap e 3: Occu ence and a e o alkylphenol polye hoxyla e deg ada ion p oduc s and linea
alkylbenzene sul ona e su ac an s in u ban g oundwa e : Ba celona case s udy.
21
3. Occu ence and a e o alkylphenol polye hoxyla e
deg ada ion p oduc s and linea alkylbenzene
sul ona e su ac an s in u ban g oundwa e :
Ba celona case s udy.
This chap e is based on he pape Tubau I, Vázquez-Suñé E, Ca e a J, González S,
Pe o ic M, López de Alda MJ, Ba celó D. Occu ence and a e o alkylphenol
polye hoxyla e deg ada ion p oduc s and linea alkylbenzene sul ona e su ac an s in
u ban g oundwa e : Ba celona case s udy. Jou nal o Hyd ology; 383(2010):102–110.
doi:10.1016/j.hyd ol.2009.11.030.
3.1. In oduc ion
High popula ion g ow h inc eases he demand o wa e and he gene a ion o
was ewa e . g oundwa e is an impo an esou ce o wa e supply in he wo ld and
aqui e s in u ban zones a e ulne able o con amina ion by a a ie y o con aminan s due
o u ban ac i i ies. App oxima ely 90 % o he wa e o supply comes om impo ed
su ace wa e in he ci y o Ba celona, which is he s udy a ea. Since supply sou ces a e
subjec o pe iodic d ough s, he Ca alan Wa e Agency (ACA) is seeking al e na i e
wa e esou ces. The e a e a numbe o aqui e s wi h a ying li hologies and ages below
he ci y (Váquez-Suñé e al., 2005). The e o e, g oundwa e mus be conside ed as an
op ion. The ques ion is whe he u ban g oundwa e can be used sa ely. U ban aqui e s
may su e pollu ion om di e en sou ces, including losses om wa e supply ne wo ks,
leakage om sewe s, seepage om i e s o o he su ace wa e bodies, seawa e
in usion, e c. As a esul , a la ge numbe and a ie y o con aminan s may be ound in
u ban aqui e s (Howa d e al., 1996; Ba e e al., 1999; Le ne , 2002; Mo is e al., 2005;
Váquez-Suñé e al., 2000; Wakida and Le ne , 2005; Naik e al., 2008). Some o hese
con aminan s a e subjec o en i onmen al quali y s anda ds (EQS) in d inking wa e
(Council o he Eu opean Union, 1998), g oundwa e (Eu opean Pa liamen and Council
o he Eu opean Union, 2006), and/o su ace wa e (Eu opean Pa liamen and Council o
he Eu opean Union, 2008). O he was ewa e subs ances, also known as eme ging
con aminan s, whose oxici y, occu ence and pe sis ence a e less well known, a e
Chap e 3: Occu ence and a e o alkylphenol polye hoxyla e deg ada ion p oduc s and linea
alkylbenzene sul ona e su ac an s in u ban g oundwa e : Ba celona case s udy.
22
subjec o e iew o possible iden i ica ion as p io i y subs ances o p io i y haza dous
subs ances (Eu opean Pa liamen and Council o he Eu opean Union, 2008). The lis o
p io i y subs ances in he ield o wa e policy, adop ed o he i s ime in 2004 and
e ised in 2008, includes a o al o 33 subs ances, some o which had ne e been subjec
o egula ion in wa e be o e. This is he case o he alkylphenol polye hoxyla es (APEOs)
deg ada ion p oduc s (DPs) nonylphenol (NP) and oc ylphenol (OP). APEOs a e nonionic
su ac an s ex ensi ely used by indus y, and in he pas also in household p oduc s.
Scien i ic e idence on he occu ence and oxici y in wa e o hei deg ada ion p oduc s
mo i a ed he iden i ica ion o NP and OP as p io i y haza dous subs ances and he
es ablishmen o EQS o hem in su ace wa e s, which ansla ed in annual a e age (AA)
concen a ions o 0.3 and 0.01–0.1 lg/L o NP and OP, espec i ely, and a maximum
allowable concen a ion (MAC) o 2 lg/L o NP. These compounds as well as o he
APEOs DPs, such as alkylphenol ca boxyla es (APECs), a e o en ound in su ace
wa e s, a concen a ions some imes su passing he es ablished EQS as e idenced, o
ins ance, in a b oad su ey ca ied ou a he Eu opean le el in sea ch o he occu ence
o 35 selec ed compounds in i e wa e samples om o e 100 Eu opean i e s (Loos e
al., 2009). O he s udies, such as an ex ensi e su ey ca ied ou in 2000 in he USA o
e alua e he p esence o 65 o ganic was ewa e con aminan s in 47 g oundwa e si es
om 18 s a es, ha e e idenced also hei p esence in aqui e s (Ba nes e al., 2008). In
ac , APEOs DPs we e among he sea ched con aminan s mos abundan and mos
equen ly de ec ed in bo h o he abo e s udies. In he s udy a ea, González e al. (2004)
obse ed he p esence o APEOs DPs and LAS a hund eds o lg/L concen a ions a he
en y poin s o was ewa e ea men plan s (WWTPs). This s udy is ocused on
deg ada ion p oduc s o nonionic su ac an s APEOs and he ionic su ac an s LAS. LAS
and hei deg ada ion p oduc s (sul ophenyl ca boxyla es, SPC) a e no ega ded as
p io i y subs ances al hough hey a e oday he mos common domes ic su ac an s in he
a ea. Su ac an s a e used in a a ie y o indus ial and domes ic p oduc s such as
cleaning p oduc s, deg ease s and de e gen s. They a e no mally di ided in o ou main
g oups: (1) anionics, (2) nonionics, (3) ca ionics and (4) ampho e ics (Ying, 2006). Anionic
and nonionic su ac an s cu en ly accoun o 90% (50% and 40% espec i ely) o he
su ac an p oduc ion in wes e n Eu ope, i.e. 2.5 million ons in 2002. LAS accoun o
45% o he anionics, whe eas a y alcohol e hoxyla es (AEs) and APEOs ep esen 60%
and 10% o he nonionics, espec i ely (Eu opean Commi ee o O ganic Su ac an s and
hei In e media es, 2007). The mos widely s udied APEOs a e nonylphenol
polye hoxyla es (NPEOs) and oc ylphenol polye hoxyla es (OPEOs), (see Fig. 3.1 o
nomencla u e).
Chap e 3: Occu ence and a e o alkylphenol polye hoxyla e deg ada ion p oduc s and linea
alkylbenzene sul ona e su ac an s in u ban g oundwa e : Ba celona case s udy.
23
Figu e 3-1 Ac onyms and chemical s uc u es o alkylphenol e hoxyla es (APEOs) and some o
hei deg ada ions p oduc s (DPs).
Comme cially p oduced APEOs con ain be ween 6 and 12 e hoxyla e g oups (APnEO, n
= 6, …, 12). These unde go apid p ima y biodeg ada ion (Gige e al., 1984; Ahel e
al.,1994a; Di Co cia e al., 1998; Jonke s e al., 2001). This ini ial bio ans o ma ion o
APEOs p oduces deg ada ion p oduc s wi h sho ened e hoxy chains, mainly AP2Es and
AP1Es (AP2EOs, AP1EOs and he mo e hyd ophilic AP2ECs and AP1ECs), Fig. 3.2.
Ca boxyla ed e hoxy chains AP2ECs and AP1ECs ha e been obse ed in ae obic
biodeg ada ion (Ahel e al., 1994b; Lu e al., 2008) bu no unde anae obic condi ions (Lu
e al., 2008). Anae obically ea ed sewage sludge a o s he o ma ion o APs (Gige e
al., 1984; Ahel e al., 1994a; Ejle sson e al., 1999).
Figu e 3-2 Bio ans o ma ion pa hways o alkylphenol polye hoxyla es.
Chap e 3: Occu ence and a e o alkylphenol polye hoxyla e deg ada ion p oduc s and linea
alkylbenzene sul ona e su ac an s in u ban g oundwa e : Ba celona case s udy.
24
The oxici y o APEOs is inc eased wi h dec easing e hoxyla e chain leng h (S aples e al.,
2004; Ba be e al., 2007). Alkylphenol (AP) is hei sho es chain and he mos oxic
(En i onmen Canada, 1999). Because o hei oxici y and pe sis ence, APEOs ha e
been eplaced by LAS and AEs since he mid 1960s. LAS and AEs a e mo e
biodeg adable and hei biodeg ada ion p oduc s a e less oxic (Kime le and Swishe ,
1977). LAS is ae obically well deg aded and he o ma ion o me aboli es (mainly SPCs)
well known (Yada e al., 2001; Scheleheck e al., 2007) and display high le els o
biodeg ada ion in some WWTPs (B unne e al., 1988; Schöbe l and Ma l, 1989; Thiele e
al., 1997). Howe e , LAS a e belie ed no o deg ade signi ican ly unde s ic ly anae obic
condi ions in labo a o y es s o anae obic diges e o sewage sludge (Be na e al., 2007).
LAS, APEOs and hei deg ada ion p oduc s ha e been de ec ed in he en i onmen :
es ua ine and coas al zones (Vi ian, 1986;
González e al., 2004; Zolle , 2006), i e s (Ahel e al., 1994b; Céspedes e al., 2005;
Loos e al., 2009), g oundwa e wi h apid in il a ion o un ea ed and ea ed was ewa e
(Ba be e al., 1988; Field e al., 1992; Leenhee e al., 2001; La o e e al., 2003; Swa z
e al., 2006). Mo eo e , he beha io o LAS and APEOs has been s udied unde
labo a o y condi ions (La son and Games, 1981; Manzano e al., 1998; Pe ales e al.,
1999; Jonke s e al., 2001; Ying e al., 2008). O e all, i is no known o wha ex en do
biodeg ada ion pa hways s udied in he labo a o y and was ewa e plan s explain wha
occu s in ppb concen a ion in he na u al en i onmen , especially in g oundwa e whe e
he esidence ime is long and whe e wa e may unde go a sequence o edox condi ions.
In ac , K uege e al. (1998) compa ed mass emo al a es o LAS in labo a o y column
expe imen s and ield ace es s. Biodeg ada ion was 2–3 imes highe in he labo a o y
han in he ield unde simila concen a ions o dissol ed oxygen. Ying e al. (2008)
compa ed he biodeg ada ion o NPs and OPs unde ae obic and anoxic condi ions in he
labo a o y using wa e and soil om aqui e s. The e ha e been ewe s udies on he a e
o APEOs in u ban g oundwa e , e.g. deg ada ion o APEOs in g oundwa e nea i e s
(Ahel e al., 1996) and LAS in con amina ion plumes (Thu man e al., 1986; Ba be e al.,
1988; La son e al., 1989). This s udy deals wi h he a e APEOs DPs and LAS su ac an
in u ban g oundwa e a ield scale. To his end, he occu ence o APEOs DPs in
g oundwa e was compa ed wi h: (1) sou ces o echa ge o /and pollu ion con aining
hese subs ances, (2) g oundwa e edox condi ions, (3) occu ence o linea
alkylbenzene sul ona e (LAS) which a e nowadays he mos common domes ic
su ac an s in he a ea and (4) o he common con aminan s in u ban g oundwa e in he
ci y o Ba celona. The APEOs DPs analyzed we e NP2EC, NP1EC, NP, OP2EC, OP1EC
and OP. In his s udy, only he o iginal LAS p oduc was analyzed.
Chap e 3: Occu ence and a e o alkylphenol polye hoxyla e deg ada ion p oduc s and linea
alkylbenzene sul ona e su ac an s in u ban g oundwa e : Ba celona case s udy.
25
3.2.1. Si e desc ip ion
The s udy a ea occupies 136 km2 and includes Ba celona and some owns o he
me opoli an a ea (Fig. 3.3), wi h a popula ion o 2.2 million. Clima e is Medi e anean wi h
an a e age ain all o some 600 mm/yea . The a ea is bounded by he Collse ola ange
(Ca alan coas al anges, maximum ele a ion 512 m.a.s.l.), he Medi e anean sea and
Besòs del a ( o he no heas ) and he Llob ega del a (sou hwes ). Aqui e s wi h di e en
li hologies and ages ha e been mapped unde he ci y. g oundwa e lows gene ally
seawa ds om he moun ain ange in all o hem (Fig. 3.3). Se e al echa ge sou ces in
he aqui e s o Ba celona ha e been iden i ied (Váquez-Suñé e al., 2000). These include
ain all in il a ion in he non-u banized a eas a he highe pa s o he ci y (Fig. 3.3 and
3.4). They a e ega ded as ‘‘clean” na u al echa ge wa e . The e a e wo po en ial in lows
om su ace wa e bodies: seawa e in usion and wa e om Besòs Ri e .
Figu e 3-3 Schema ic desc ip ion o s udy a ea. Bo om, loca ion and cha ac e is ics g oundwa e
sampling poin s and piezome ic map, no e ha con ou s in e al a e 5 m o heads below 25 m
(con inuous lines) and 25 m abo e (dashed). No e he change in g adien a he Paleozoic and
Qua e na y con ac s.
Figu e 3-4 Es ima ed annual a e age g oundwa e balance in he pe iod 2000–2006 exp essed as
pe cen age o inpu s (modi ied a e Vázquez-Suñé e al., 2005).

Chap e 3: Occu ence and a e o alkylphenol polye hoxyla e deg ada ion p oduc s and linea
alkylbenzene sul ona e su ac an s in u ban g oundwa e : Ba celona case s udy.
26
The la e con ains a la ge p opo ion o e luen s om seconda y WWTPs, especially
du ing he summe . Addi ional sou ces o g oundwa e echa ge a ibu able o an h opic
ac i i ies include: (1) losses om he wa e supply ne wo k (supply wa e comes om he
Llob ega Ri e in sou he n qua e s and om he Te Ri e in no he n qua e s), (2) in
pa ed a eas, uno wa e , which washes away he u ban su ace a mosphe ic deposi ion
and echa ges he aqui e s h ough di ec in il a ion o sewe seepage, and (3) losses
om sewage wa e . Acco dingly, we iden i ied up o eigh di e en echa ge sou ces in
he ci y o Ba celona: Ri e Besòs, (2) ain all echa ge in no he n non-u ban a ea, Te
Ri e wa e supply, (4) Llob ega Ri e wa e supply, (5) Te Ri e sewage wa e , (6)
Llob ega Ri e sewage wa e , (7) Ci y uno and (8) Sea wa e in usion.
2.3.4. Sampling
Fi y- h ee wa e samples we e collec ed om Sep embe 2006 o Janua y 2007 (Fig.
3.3). Two samples om possible echa ge sou ces: one sample om Ri e Besòs and
one sample o d inking wa e om a public ap. Fi y-one samples we e collec ed om
g oundwa e : h ee samples om na u al sp ings, 23 om obse a ion piezome e s and
25 om ac i e wells belonging o p i a e indi iduals and companies (i.e., cu en ly
pumped, no om disused wells). Piezome e and wells a ied in dep h (Fig. 3.3).
Piezome e samples we e ob ained by pumping un il a olume ha was a leas h ee
imes ha o he piezome e had been ex ac ed. Field pa ame e s measu ed in si u
included elec ic conduc i i y, pH, empe a u e, Eh and dissol ed oxygen. They we e
measu ed con inuously using a low cell o a oid con ac wi h he ai . The ins umen s
we e calib a ed daily by means o s anda d solu ions. Samples we e collec ed a e
s abiliza ion o ield pa ame e s and we e no il e ed in he ield. Each wa e sample
unde wen chemical analysis in acco dance wi h he Spanish guidelines o d inking wa e
(Royal Dec ee 140/ 2003). These guidelines include 53 pa ame e s ( ou adioac i i y
pa ame e s we e no analyzed). The discussion o he esul s o his s udy only add esses
some o he main ace species o was e wa e such as ni a e, ammonium, bo on,
T ichlo e hene and Pe chlo e hene. Su ac an samples we e s o ed in Polye hylene
e eph hala e (PET) con aine s ha we e ambe in colo o a oid pho o-deg ada ion.
Con aine s we e s o ed in a e ige a o a 4 °C un il anspo o he labo a o y, whe e he
samples we e ea ed on a daily basis. Once in he labo a o y, su ac an s samples we e
il e ed h ough 0.45 µm memb ane il e and p econcen a ed on LiCh olu C18 (Me ck,
Da ms ad , Ge many) solid phase ex ac ion (SPE) ca idges (IST, UK) wi hin 24 h in
o de o a oid any deg ada ion o a ge compounds and loss o sample in eg i y. All SPE
expe imen s we e pe o med using a Bake SPE 12 g appa a us (J.T. Bake , De en e ,
Ne he lands) connec ed o a acuum sys em se a -15 psi o he dispensing o samples
Chap e 3: Occu ence and a e o alkylphenol polye hoxyla e deg ada ion p oduc s and linea
alkylbenzene sul ona e su ac an s in u ban g oundwa e : Ba celona case s udy.
27
h ough he SPE ca idges. Disposable 3-mL ca idge columns packed wi h 500 mg o
LiCh olu C18 so ben om Me ck (Da ms a , Ge many) we e ac i a ed and condi ioned
i s wi h 7 mL o me hanol and hen wi h 3 mL o HPLC wa e a a low a e o 1 mL/min.
Samples we e loaded a a low a e o 5 mL/min. A e p econcen a ion, he so ben s
we e comple ely d ied (30 min) o a oid hyd olysis. A e d ying, he SPE ca idges we e
w apped in aluminum oil and kep a -20 °C un il analysis (max. 1 mon h). Ca idges
we e elu ed wi h 2 x 4 mL o me hanol. The elua es we e e apo a ed o d yness wi h a
gen le s eam o ni ogen and econs i u ed wi h me hanol o a inal olume o 1 mL. The
comple e SPE p ocedu e is desc ibed by Pe o ic e al. (2001).
2.3.5. Analy ical me hods
All sol en s (wa e , ace oni ile and me hanol) we e high pe o mance liquid
ch oma og aphy (HPLC) g ade and we e pu chased om Me ck (Da ms ad , Ge many).
The s anda ds used in his s udy we e o he highes pu i y a ailable. High pu i y (98%) 4-
e -OP and 4-NP we e ob ained om Ald ich (Milwaukee, WI, USA). OP1EC, OP2EC,
NP1EC and NP2EC we e syn hesized acco ding o he me hod desc ibed by Diaz e al.
(2002). Comme cial LAS wi h low dialkyl e alinsul ona e con en (<0.5%) we e supplied
by Pe oquimica Española S.A. in a single s anda d mix u e wi h he p opo ional
composi ion o he ou homologs o : C10: 3.9%, C11: 37.4%, C12: 35.4%, C13: 23.1%.
4-n- NP-d8 used as he in e nal s anda d we e ob ained om D . S. Eh ens o e
(Augsbu g, Ge many). S ock solu ions (1 mg/mL) o indi idual s anda ds and s anda d
mix u es we e p epa ed by dissol ing p ecise amoun s o pu e s anda ds in me hanol.
S anda d wo king solu ions we e ob ained by u he dilu ion o s ock solu ions wi h
me hanol. Analyses we e pe o med on a Wa e s 2690 se ies Alliance HPLC (Wa e s,
Mil o d, MA) wi h a qua e na y pump equipped wi h a 120 ial capaci y sample
managemen sys em. The analy es we e sepa a ed on a 5 µlm, 125 x 2 mm i.d., C18
e e sed-phase column (Pu osphe STAR RP-18), p eceded by a gua d column (4 x 4, 5
lm) o he same packing ma e ial, bo h supplied by Me ck, Da ms ad , Ge many. The
sample injec ion olume was se a 10 µL. A bina y mobile phase g adien wi h me hanol
(A) and wa e (B) was used o analy e sepa a ion a a low a e o 200 µL/min. The
elu ion g adien was linea ly inc eased om 30% A o 80% A in 10 min, hen inc eased o
95% A in 10 min and kep isoc a ic o 5 min. A bench op iple quad upole mass
spec ome e Qua o liquid ch oma og aphy (LC) om Mic omass (Manches e , UK)
equipped wi h a pneuma ically assis ed elec osp ay p obe and a Z-sp ay in e ace was
used o his s udy. Capilla y ol age was se a -2.8 kV, ex ac o lens a 7 V, and RF lens
a 0.6 V. The sou ce and desol a ion empe a u es we e 150 and 350 °C, espec i ely.
The ni ogen lows we e op imized al 50 L/h o he in cone gas and 540 L/h o
Chap e 3: Occu ence and a e o alkylphenol polye hoxyla e deg ada ion p oduc s and linea
alkylbenzene sul ona e su ac an s in u ban g oundwa e : Ba celona case s udy.
28
desol a ion gas. Fo andem mass spec ome y (MS–MS) expe imen s, he a gon
collision gas was main ained a he p essu e o 5.8 x 10-3 mba . The de ec ion was
pe o med unde nega i e ioniza ion (NI) by LC–MS–MS in mul iple eac ions moni o ing
(MRM) mode as desc ibed by Pe o ic e al. (2003) and González e al. (2008).
3.2. Resul s and discussion
3.2.1. Gene ic pollu ion: ammonium, ni a e and pe chlo e hene
Resul s o gene ic con aminan s a e shown in Table 3.1 and Fig. 3.5. Based on he
esul s o a s a is ical analysis o chemical da a, g oundwa e samples collec ed in he
s udy a ea we e g ouped in o h ee ca ego ies (Z1, Z2 and Z3). Z1 a e samples aken in
non-u ban zone and he emaining samples was di ided acco ding o he concen a ion o
ammonium: samples wi h an ammonium concen a ion lowe han 0.3 mg/L (Z2) and
samples wi h a concen a ion highe han 0.3 mg/L (Z3). As i u ns ou , he samples in Z3
we e collec ed in aqui e s nea Ri e Besòs which lows o e del aic aqui e s wi h high
ansmissi i y and wa e le els close o he soil su ace. As a esul , mos o he echa ge
comes om he i e . Zone Z2 samples displayed ai ly oxidizing condi ions, mainly hose
loca ed in he lowe hal o he ci y (Fig. 3.5). Reducing condi ions a e ound in Z2
samples aken om deep piezome e s wi h opening in schis s (Fig. 3.3 and 3.5). Ni a e
concen a ions exceeding 50 mg/L we e de ec ed in 22 ou o 33 samples and exceeded
50 lg/L o pe chlo e hene (PCE) in app oxima ely one hi d o he samples. By con as ,
educed species such as ammonium p e ailed in Z3 samples. Despi e he ac ha Z3 is
in a p edominan ly indus ial a ea, PCE and ichlo e hene (TCE) concen a ions we e
ela i ely lowe (mean o 5.8 lg/L). G oundwa e in he non-u ban zone (Z1) was ai ly
di e se. Shallow samples we e ae obic, while he deep ones we e educing.
Ne e heless, o al ni ogen, bo on and PCE we e low, indica ing ha pollu ion was much
lowe han in Z2 and Z3. Ni a e, ammonium and bo on a e used as ace s o was e wa e
in u ban g oundwa e (Wakida and Le ne , 2005; Ba e e al., 1999). High
concen a ions o bo on (and ions such as chlo ide and sodium) we e de ec ed in samples
om del aic ma e ials as a esul o ma ine in usion in he lowe pa s o he ci y. The
esul s o one sample (‘‘PEAR”, Fig. 3.5) a e included in he s udy al hough hey a e no
classi ied in zone Z2 because his sampleappea s o come om an indus ial pollu ion si e
and may no be ep esen a i e o Z2 wa e s. Ve y high concen a ions o o al o ganic
ca bon we e de ec ed in his sample (186 mg/L, wo o de s o magni ude g ea e han he
emaining samples), BTEX (benzene, oluene, e hylbenzene and xylenes) and low Eh.
Chap e 3: Occu ence and a e o alkylphenol polye hoxyla e deg ada ion p oduc s and linea
alkylbenzene sul ona e su ac an s in u ban g oundwa e : Ba celona case s udy.
29
Table 3-1 Gene ic con aminan a e age and maximum concen a ions in he s udy a ea g ouped
acco ding o he zones o Fig. 3.5.
Figu e 3-5 Spa ial dis ibu ion o ammonium, ni a e, pe chlo e hene and bo on.
3.2.1. Su ac an s: LAS and APEOs deg ada ion p oduc s
LAS was he su ac an wi h highes concen a ions in po en ial echa ge wa e s (Table
3.2). Despi e he ac ha alkylphenolic su ac an s ha e been banned in domes ic
p oduc s in he s udy a ea since he 1990s, APEOs DPs we e de ec ed by González e al.
(2004) in WWTPs and also in he i e sample (Table 3.2). No wi hs anding,
concen a ions o APEOs DPs we e much lowe han LAS concen a ions in echa ge
wa e s. This con as s wi h aqui e samples om Z3 whe e highe concen a ions o
APEOs DPs han LAS we e de ec ed (Table 3.3 and Fig. 3.6). The highes concen a ions
o all he APEOs DPs we e ound in wells and piezome e s loca ed in Z3. Recha ge in his
a ea comes basically om he i e . Ne e heless, measu ed concen a ions in Z3 we e
highe han concen a ions in he i e , NP2EC being he maximum. Ahel e al. (1996)
Amonium (mg/L) 0.0 (0.24) 0.0 (0.07) 2.9 (8.6)
Ni a e (mg/L) 18.4 (49.94) 71.6 (280.74) 10.3 (24.15)
Bo on (
µ
g/L)
69.9
(154.94)
185.8
(753.53)
378.0
(700.47)
Te aclo e hene (
µ
g/L)
1.0
(4.59)
53.9
(347.86)
5.8
(24)
T iclo e hene (µg/L) 0.1 (0.53) 11.8 (119.6) 2.1 (5.3)
a
Resul s a e g ouped as in
Fig.3.5
.
a e age (maximum)
Z1
a
(8 samples) Z2
a
(33 samples) Z2
a
(33 samples)
PEAR
PEAR
Chap e 4: Using EMMA and MIX analysis o asses mixing a ios and o iden i y hyd ochemical
eac ions in g oundwa e .
36
me hodology is applied o he assessmen o i e echa ge wa e s in he Besòs Del a
aqui e s in Ba celona, Spain. The p oposed app oach consis s o ou s eps: (1)
iden i ying he po en ial sou ces o echa ge, (2) cha ac e ising echa ge sou ces and
mixed wa e samples using hyd ogeochemis y, (3) selec ing chemical species ( ace s)
o be used in he analysis and (4) calcula ing mixing a ios and iden i ica ion o
hyd ochemical eac ions in g oundwa e .
Figu e 4-1 Ri e e sus g oundwa e a e age concen a ions in he s udy a ea o se e al o
species such as majo and mino ions, me als, edox indica o s, pes icides, among o he s. The
i e da a se is collec ed mon hly by he Ca alan Wa e Agency (ACA) 2 km ups eam o he s udy
zone and i can be downloaded om h p://www.genca .ca .
4.2. Me hodology and da a ea men
4.2.1. Iden i y he sou ces o echa ge
The iden i ica ion o he echa ge sou ces is speci ic in each s udy a ea and i equi es an
unde s anding o he sys em. Wa e balances and nume ical models can help in
dis ega ding po en ial sou ces o conside ing new ones. Anyway, a p e ious concep ual
model is necessa y in o de o iden i y he po en ial end-membe s and o e alua e
p elimina y alues o he o e all g oundwa e balance. Flow a e and hyd ochemis y o a
echa ge sou ce can a y g ea ly o e ime. The e o e, i is w ong o conside a echa ge
sou ce as a single componen in he hyd ochemical balance. The a iabili y o he
hyd ochemical composi ion o a echa ge sou ce can be cha ac e ized by he in eg a ion
1.E-05
1.E-04
1.E-03
1.E-02
1.E-01
1.E+00
1.E+01
1.E+02
1.E+03
1.E+04
1.E+05
1.E+06
1.E-05 1.E-04 1.E-03 1.E-02 1.E-01 1.E+00 1.E+01 1.E+02 1.E+03 1.E+04 1.E+05 1.E+06
Log concen a ion G oundwa e , ppm
Log concen a ion Ri e , ppm
Majo ions
Gene al indica o s
Me als
T ihalome hanes
Polycyclic a oma ic hyd oca bon
Alkylphenols
Pes icides
1:1

Chap e 4: Using EMMA and MIX analysis o asses mixing a ios and o iden i y hyd ochemical
eac ions in g oundwa e .
37
o di e en end-membe s. In addi ion, he a iabili y in he composi ion o a echa ge
sou ce can be quan i ied om mixing calcula ions. The same could be applied o
g oundwa e and i s di e en echa ge sou ce con ibu ions.
4.2.2. Cha ac e iza ion o he hyd o chemical composi ion o po en ial echa ge
sou ces and mixed wa e samples
Quali a i e analysis
Many o he hyd ochemical species in he mixed wa e s can help in iden i ying he sou ce
wa e s, bu a p io concep ual model is equi ed bo h o an assessmen o geochemical
condi ions and o selec ing he ace ha migh display he b oades ange o
concen a ion among he echa ge sou ces. Mos o he hyd ochemical species
conside ed canno be used unc i ically because hei beha io migh depend on local
geochemical condi ions (e.g., sulpha e would no be conse a i e in educing
en i onmen s). Thus, he selec ion o he app op ia e species is a c i ical s ep in mixing
calcula ions (Ba e e al., 1999; Choi e al., 2005; Mo is e al., 2006; Ju ado e al.,
2013). We ha e o ake in o accoun ha hei concen a ions should also a y widely om
one sou ce o ano he . Again, i is necessa y o a p e ious hyd ochemical concep ual
model o selec he mos help ul species.
Mixing calcula ions a e ep esen a i e o he analysed samples and inco po a e some
deg ee o unce ain y. These unce ain ies a e mainly ela ed o sampling, handling and
analy ical e o s; lack o da a; and he occu ence o addi ional p ocesses ( eac ions).
Mul i a ia e analysis (EMMA) o selec he end-membe s and he species in he mixing
calcula ions
As s a ed abo e, an EMMA o e s an app oach whe e eigen ec o and esidual analysis
o obse ed wa e chemis y es ima es he numbe o con ibu ing end-membe s. An
EMMA aims a iden i ying he minimum numbe o end-membe s equi ed o explain he
a iabili y o measu ed concen a ions in ime o space. An EMMA helps o manage he
deg ee o unce ain y associa ed wi h he concep ual model. The explana ion o he
a iance and he con ibu ion o each species o he mix u e a e ob ained om he
analysis o in o ma ion p o ided by he calcula ion o he eigen alues. We p opose he
ollowing me hodological guidelines o he selec ion o end-membe s and species:
a) Ini ia e EMMA wi h all species and ake u he s eps ha will elimina e he species
wi h he highes weigh in he eigen alue.
b) A common ule is o e ain all eigen ec o s associa ed wi h eigen alues (n) g ea e o
equal o 1, called he “ ule o 1” (Hoope , 2003; Jo eskog e al., 1976). This ule
Chap e 4: Using EMMA and MIX analysis o asses mixing a ios and o iden i y hyd ochemical
eac ions in g oundwa e .
38
consis s o selec ing he eigen alues ha explain a iance g ea e han [1/numbe o
specie].
c) Selec ion o species acco ding o hose eigen alues ha we wan o explain. The
numbe o end-membe s will be n + 1.
d) P ojec ion o he obse a ion poin s in he space de ined by he eigen ec o s
associa ed wi h each eigen alue. Wi h his p ojec ion, i is possible o make a
p elimina y selec ion o end-membe s and an analysis o he poin s ha all ou side
he a ea de ined by hese end-membe s.
This ype o g aphic is a isual way o in e p e he mixing o all he species in ol ed and
o assess he end-membe s. Hence, we can in e ha sou ce o a combina ion o sou ce
e ms o p ocesses may explain he mixing.
These s eps may iden i y he species and/o combina ions o species ha be e explain
he end-membe s selec ed. In addi ion, we also ha e a p e y good idea o how a we can
es ablish he sys em. The selec ed end-membe s and species conside ed in he EMMA
analysis a e hose used o ini ia ing he mixing calcula ions.
4.2.3. Compu e mixing a ios and e alua ion o he end-membe composi ion
To s udy he in luence o wa e s om di e en sou ces, he code MIX (Ca e a e al.,
2004) can be used. This so wa e can be eely downloaded om
h p://www.h2ogeo.upc.es/so wa e/MIX_PROGRAM/index.h m.
MIX is a maximum likelihood me hod o es ima ing mixing a ios whils acknowledging
unce ain y in end-membe concen a ions. Maximising he likelihood o concen a ion
measu emen s wi h espec o bo h mixing a ios and end-membe concen a ions leads
o a gene al cons ained op imisa ion p oblem. The a iables mus sa is y some
condi ions o be sui able in mixing models: hey mus exhibi a conse a i e beha io and
hei alues mus be signi ican ly di e en in he ex eme componen s. This me hod also
allows us o o mula e a hypo hesis abou he geochemical eac ions esponsible o he
non-conse a i e beha io in elemen s. MIX code allows he e alua ion o mixing a ios in
case o unce ain end membe s using he concen a ions o mixed samples o educe he
unce ain y. In his app oach measu emen unce ain y is quan i ied h ough co a iance
ma ices, which equi es de ining he eliabili y o measu emen s and he esul s depend
on he assumed s anda d de ia ions. This code was p e iously used in se e al s udies
(Vàzquez-Suñé e al., 2010; Jiménez-Ma ínez e al., 2011; Mo ales-Casique, 2012;
Cáno as e al., 2012a, 2012b; Gal án e al., 2012; Ju ado e al., 2012, 2013).
Chap e 4: Using EMMA and MIX analysis o asses mixing a ios and o iden i y hyd ochemical
eac ions in g oundwa e .
39
4.2.4. Si e desc ip ion
The Besòs Ri e , loca ed nea Ba celona in he no heas o Spain, lows sou h-eas e ly
and has a ca chmen a ea o 1038 km
2
. The s udy a ea co esponds o he lowe pa o
he ca chmen . I is loca ed in no h-eas e n Ba celona, in he Besòs Ri e Del a, a he
own o San Ad ià del Besòs, and i is close o he unde g ound pa king a ea a he Plaça
de la Vila si e (Fig. 4.2).
Figu e 4-2 Loca ion o he s udy a ea and hyd ogeological concep ual model.
The clima e is ypically Medi e anean, wi h ex eme empe a u es in Janua y and Augus
and a yea ly a e age empe a u e o 15 °C. Rain all a e ages app oxima ely 600
mm/yea . A e age s eam low is 4 m
3
/s a he San a Coloma gauging s a ion (Fig. 4.2)
belonging o he Ca alan Wa e Agency (ACA). The gauging s a ion is loca ed
app oxima ely 2.5 km ups eam om he Plaça de la Vila si e and 4.5 km om he sea.
Ri e low is measu ed daily, whils i e wa e quali y samples a e analysed mon hly by
he Ca alan Wa e Agency (ACA).
The Besòs Ri e is a good example o a Medi e anean lu ial sys em, wi h low base low
(modal low is 2 m
3
/s), ma ked ebb lood, s ong loods (mo e han 100 m
3
/s) and e y
i egula low pa e ns, which a e mainly con olled by he ain all e en s (Fig. 4.3). These
e en s a y d ama ically om yea o yea and wi hin he yea . Ri e wa e quali y
depends on many ac o s. In he inal pa o he ca chmen (s udy a ea), i e wa e could
be conside ed o be a mix o wa e om di e en sou ces such as ain all, aw sewe
Chap e 4: Using EMMA and MIX analysis o asses mixing a ios and o iden i y hyd ochemi
eac ions in g oundwa e .
wa e , ea ed
sewe wa e , wa e s om se e al pa s o he ca chmen , e c.; u he mo e,
a ia ion in ime is e y signi ican .
Figu e 4-3 On he
op, chlo ide concen a ions and Besòs Ri e low om 2005 o 2010. A he
bo om, e olu ion o g oundwa e e sus i e le el. No e ha he iangles ep esen he 4
g oundwa e sampling campaigns.
The geology o he s udy a ea was ca ied ou by
sedimen ological s udy o upda e he geological
om ci il wo k p ojec s in he
dimensional geological
s uc u e and o ede ine a
la e al connec ions bo h be ween uni s and he sea (
The aqui e s a e o med wi hin Qua e na y sedimen s ha es disco dan ly
ma e ials ha ange om Paleozoic o Pliocene. In
lu ial aqui e s, consis ing o accumula ions
begins a he end o
he Lowe Valley and consis s o ou del aic sedimen a y cycles. The
younges cycle displays wedge geome y
sands and g a els. These geological bodies consis o
Shallow Aqui e ,
which is an uncon ined
Chap e 4: Using EMMA and MIX analysis o asses mixing a ios and o iden i y hyd ochemi
sewe wa e , wa e s om se e al pa s o he ca chmen , e c.; u he mo e,
a ia ion in ime is e y signi ican .
op, chlo ide concen a ions and Besòs Ri e low om 2005 o 2010. A he
bo om, e olu ion o g oundwa e e sus i e le el. No e ha he iangles ep esen he 4
g oundwa e sampling campaigns.
The geology o he s udy a ea was ca ied ou by
MOP (1966). We
pe o med a ho ough
sedimen ological s udy o upda e he geological
model wi h new in o ma ion ob ained
om ci il wo k p ojec s in he
del a a ea. This allowed us o de ine in de ail he h ee
s uc u e and o ede ine a
qui e uni s, hei geome ies, and he
la e al connec ions bo h be ween uni s and he sea (
Velasco e al., 2012
).
The aqui e s a e o med wi hin Qua e na y sedimen s ha es disco dan ly
ma e ials ha ange om Paleozoic o Pliocene. In
he
lowe alley, he e a e ypical
lu ial aqui e s, consis ing o accumula ions
o allu ial sand and g a els. The del a i sel
he Lowe Valley and consis s o ou del aic sedimen a y cycles. The
younges cycle displays wedge geome y
wi h sil s and clays sepa a ing
sands and g a els. These geological bodies consis o
h ee hyd ogeological uni s: 1)
which is an uncon ined
aqui e o med by sands; 2)Main Aqui e ,
Chap e 4: Using EMMA and MIX analysis o asses mixing a ios and o iden i y hyd ochemi
cal
40
sewe wa e , wa e s om se e al pa s o he ca chmen , e c.; u he mo e,
op, chlo ide concen a ions and Besòs Ri e low om 2005 o 2010. A he
bo om, e olu ion o g oundwa e e sus i e le el. No e ha he iangles ep esen he 4
pe o med a ho ough
model wi h new in o ma ion ob ained
del a a ea. This allowed us o de ine in de ail he h ee
qui e uni s, hei geome ies, and he
).
The aqui e s a e o med wi hin Qua e na y sedimen s ha es disco dan ly
on op o
lowe alley, he e a e ypical
o allu ial sand and g a els. The del a i sel
he Lowe Valley and consis s o ou del aic sedimen a y cycles. The
wi h sil s and clays sepa a ing
wo packages o
h ee hyd ogeological uni s: 1)
aqui e o med by sands; 2)Main Aqui e ,
which
Chap e 4: Using EMMA and MIX analysis o asses mixing a ios and o iden i y hyd ochemical
eac ions in g oundwa e .
41
is made up o he deep aqui e a he Del a; and 3) Sil wedge (aqui a d), which sepa a es
he shallow and deep aqui e s.
The Besòs aqui e s ha e su e ed hea y wa e ex ac ion since he end he 19 h Cen u y.
Ex ac ion p oduced la ge d awdowns, leading o seawa e in usion. Since he 1970s,
u ban p essu es ha e caused many indus ies o mig a e away om he ci y. This has
esul ed in a educ ion o pumping and a p og essi e eco e y o heads (Vàzquez-Suñé e
al., 2005).
The i e is hyd aulically connec ed o he Shallow Aqui e a he Del a. The Besòs Ri e 's
i egula low pa e n is e lec ed in he well hyd og aphs and he aqui e s espond o i e
loods (Fig. 4.3).
Se e al echa ge sou ces ha e been iden i ied in he aqui e s o he Besòs Ri e Del a by
Vàzquez-Suñé e al. (2010), including: (1) he Besòs Ri e (RIV), (2) ain all (REC), (3)
he Te Ri e wa e supply (TER), (4) he Te Ri e sewage wa e (SW_T), and (5) ci y
uno (RUNOFF). Among hese echa ge sou ces, wa e om he pollu ed Besòs Ri e
may be conside ed he mos impo an echa ge sou ce in he s udy a ea.
G oundwa e gene ally lows om he Besòs Ri e o he unde g ound pa king a ea a he
Plaça de la Vila si e because he e is a con inuous pumping o app oxima ely 150–200 L/s
o a oid seepage p oblems. Fou d ainage pumping wells and 16 piezome e s we e
implemen ed o con ol he seepage p oblems in he pa king a ea and o assess
g oundwa e head a ia ions in he su oundings a eas (Fig. 4.2). Fu he mo e, his
g oundwa e con ol ne wo k is pe iodically sampled o g oundwa e quali y assessmen .
We assessed ha almos all he g oundwa e ex ac ed be ween he i e and he pa king
d ainage pumping is echa ged om he i e (Ondi iela e al., 2005).
4.2.5. Sampling and analysis
Wa e samples we e collec ed om July 2007 o May 2010 in ou di e en ield
campaigns in July 2007, Feb ua y 2008, Oc obe 2008 and May 2010. Fou samples om
he Besòs Ri e , conside ed he main echa ge sou ce o he aqui e , and 51 samples
om he g oundwa e we e collec ed. All he g oundwa e samples we e ob ained by
pumping un il a olume ha was a leas h ee imes ha o he piezome e had been
ex ac ed. Field pa ame e s we e measu ed in si u including elec ical conduc i i y (EC),
pH, empe a u e, Eh and dissol ed oxygen. They we e measu ed con inuously using a
low cell o a oid con ac wi h he ai . The ins umen s we e calib a ed daily by means o
s anda d solu ions. Samples we e collec ed a e s abilisa ion o ield pa ame e s and
we e no il e ed in he ield. They we e s o ed in a ield e ige a o and aken o he
labo a o y a he end o he sampling day. Each wa e sample unde wen chemical

Chap e 4: Using EMMA and MIX analysis o asses mixing a ios and o iden i y hyd ochemical
eac ions in g oundwa e .
42
analysis in acco dance wi h he Spanish guidelines o d inking wa e (Royal Dec ee
140/2003). These guidelines include 53 pa ame e s ( ou adioac i i y pa ame e s we e
no analysed).
All he samples we e analysed a he ATLL (Aigües Te Llob ega ) labo a o y in
Ba celona. Chlo ide, sulpha e and ni a e we e analysed using ion ch oma og aphy (IC).
Calcium, magnesium, i on and a senic we e analysed by ICP-MS and p io o he
analysis, he solu ion was acidi ied wi h 1% ( / ) HNO3 and cen i uged o 3500 pm.
Ammonium was analysed by spec opho ome y (based on indophenol blue me hod) and
using a comme cial eac i e ki . Bica bona e was analysed manually by chemical
e alua ion wi h sulphu ic acid, accoun ing o he pH o he sample. To al o ganic ca bon
(TOC) was analysed using he 680 °C combus ion-in a ed me hod wi h a pla inum
ca alys and using a Non-Dispe si e In a-Red (NDIR) de ec o . The amoun o o ganic
ca bon can be de e mined by he non-pu geable o ganic ca bon (NPOC). I is based on
he emo al o ino ganic ca bon om he sample by pu ging he acidi ied sample o a pH
less han 2.0 wi h an ine gas. To al o ganic ca bon (TOC) may be de e mined by means
o TC measu ing me hod.
Mo eo e , mos o he abo e men ioned hyd ochemical pa ame e s o he Besòs Ri e
wa e ha e been measu ed mon hly by he Ca alan Wa e Agency (ACA, 2012) a he
San a Coloma gauging s a ion (Fig. 4.3).
4.3. Resul s and discussion
4.3.1. Besòs Ri e
4.3.1.1. E alua ion o he numbe o end-membe s and ep esen a i e chemical species
Quali a i e analysis
Ri e wa e quali y depends on many ac o s. In he inal pa o he ca chmen (s udy
a ea), i e wa e could be conside ed o be a mix o wa e om di e en sou ces, such as
ain all, aw sewe wa e , ea ed sewe wa e , wa e s om se e al pa s o he
ca chmen , e c.; u he mo e, a ia ion o e ime is e y signi ican . As men ioned be o e,
up o i e di e en echa ge sou ces ha e been iden i ied in Besòs Ri e Del a aqui e s
(RIV, REC, TER, SW_T and RUNOFF). Howe e , p e ious s udies ha e demons a ed
ha Besòs Ri e is by a he la ges con ibu o o g oundwa e echa ge, ep esen ing
he 90% (Ju ado e al., 2013). The e o e, RIV has been he only echa ge sou ce ha we
ha e ake in o accoun . A mo e de ailed discussion o he minimum numbe o end-
membe s can be ound in he ollowing s eps.
Chap e 4: Using EMMA and MIX analysis o asses mixing a ios and o iden i y hyd ochemical
eac ions in g oundwa e .
43
Mul i a ia e analysis (EMMA) o selec he end-membe s and species
As men ioned be o e, he Besòs Ri e hyd ochemis y da a ha e been ob ained om he
su ace wa e quali y moni o ing ne wo k o he Ca alan Wa e Agency (ACA). The
selec ed sampling pe iod was om Janua y 2005 o May 2009 and he samples ha e
been collec ed on a mon hly basis. The o al numbe o species was 53, bu no all o he
species we e analysed e e y ime. Addi ionally, we collec ed ou samples om he Besòs
Ri e du ing he ou ield g oundwa e campaigns in July 2007, Feb ua y and Oc obe o
2008, and May 2010 (C1 o C4). In o al, 56 samples om he Besòs Ri e ha e been
used o pe o m he EMMA.
The species selec ed in he EMMA we e hose wi h mo e da a a ailable in he ACA
da abase and we e mainly majo species. The 11 selec ed species we e chlo ide (Cl),
sulpha e (SO4), sodium (Na), bica bona e (HCO3), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg),
po assium (K), ni a e (NO3), ammonium (NH4), o al ni ogen (N o ) and elec ical
conduc i i y (EC).
Ri e sample eigen ec o e alua ion was pe o med wi h he EMMA accoun ing o he
a o emen ioned 11 species. Because we ha e selec ed 11 species in his analysis, an
eigen ec o mus explain mo e han 9.1% (1/11) o he da a a iance using he ule o
one. Acco ding o ha ule, 3 eigen ec o s should be e ained and hey explained he
90% o he o al a iance. Fi e di e en analyses we e pe o med (Fig. 4.4).
Figu e 4-4 Eigen ec o s 1, 2 and 3
esul ing om p ocessing he Besòs
Ri e da a wi h EMMA. The analysis
“A” includes he species chlo ide,
sulpha e, bica bona e, calcium,
sodium, magnesium, po assium,
ni a e, ammonium, o al ni ogen and
elec ical conduc i i y. The analysis
“B” is equal o “A” bu wi hou ni a e;
“C” is equal o “A” bu wi hou ni a e
and magnesium; “D” is equal o “A”
bu wi hou ni a e and po assium
and “E” is equal o ”A” bu wi hou
ni a e, magnesium and po assium.
Chap e 4: Using EMMA and MIX analysis o asses mixing a ios and o iden i y hyd ochemical
eac ions in g oundwa e .
44
Analysis A
The i s eigen ec o explained 68% o he a iance (Fig. 4.4, EG1 om analysis A). All
he species excep ni a e con ibu e signi ican ly o ha . The species ha con ibu ed
mos ( ela i e weigh s anging om 0.39 o 0.26) we e, in descending o de : EC, SO4,
Na, Cl, HCO3, Ca, K, Mg, NH4, and N o . In con as NO3, con ibu ed less and wi h he
opposi e sign (−0.05). This i s eigen ec o was associa ed wi h wo ypes o wa e om
he Ri e Besòs: (1) dilu ed wa e ha co esponds o we pe iods o wa e supply inpu s
and (2) concen a ed wa e s ela ed o d y pe iods. Ni a e concen a ion canno be
explained wi h hese wo end-membe s.
The second eigen ec o addi ionally explained 13% o he o al a iance, which added o
he o al explained a iance o 81%. The la ges con ibu ion was p o ided by NO3 (0.59),
ollowed by Mg (0.49), NH4 (−0.38), Ca (0.36), K (−0.25) and N o (−0.23). I is impo an
o men ion ha he species ha con ibu ed less o he second eigen ec o (weigh s less
han abs (0.1)) we e he ones ha con ibu ed mos o he i s eigen ec o .
The hi d eigen ec o accoun ed o 10 % o he a iance and was ela ed o he
concen a ions o ni ogen species (weigh s we e N o (0.62), NO3 (0.55), and NH4
(0.46)). The emaining species con ibu ed wi h weigh s lowe han 0.17.
Analysis B
When NO3 was no included in he EMMA (Fig. 4.4, analysis B), a o al a iance o 87 %
was ob ained wi h wo eigen ec o s. The i s eigen ec o co esponded o mo e o less
dilu ed wa e and ep esen ed an inc ease om 68 % o 74 % o he o al a iance. The
second eigen ec o addi ionally explained 13 % o he o al a iance and was ela ed o
ni ogen species (weigh s o 0.56 o NH4 and 0.53 o N o ). Mg and Ca species also
con ibu ed signi ican ly bu wi h he opposi e sign (−0.48 and −0.35, espec i ely). As in
he p e ious analysis, he emaining species con ibu ed wi h weigh s lowe han 0.17 The
hi d eigen ec o explained a a iance lowe han 10 % (100 % /10). The species ha
con ibu ed mos o his eigen ec o we e Mg (0.48) and K (−0.45) bu wi h he opposi e
sign.
Analyses C, D and E
When NO3 and Mg (Fig. 4.4, analysis C), NO3 and K (Fig. 4.4, analysis D) NO3, Mg and
K (Fig. 4.4, analysis E) we e no included in he EMMA; he esul s we e simila o he
p e ious analysis B. The i s wo eigen ec o s explained mo e han 85 % o he a iance
o he da a in he h ee analyses. The i s eigen ec o dis inguished be ween i e wa e
ob ained du ing we and d y pe iods, whils he second eigen ec o was ela ed o he
ni ogen concen a ions (mainly ammonium concen a ion). Consequen ly, based on he
Chap e 4: Using EMMA and MIX analysis o asses mixing a ios and o iden i y hyd ochemical
eac ions in g oundwa e .
45
esul s ob ained, we decided o no explain he ni a e concen a ions. The concep ual
model o explain he 87 % o i e composi ion co esponds o h ee end-membe s (n + 1
eigen ec o ): EM1 was an ex eme low concen a ion associa ed o ain all pe iods, EM2
and EM3 we e mo e concen a ed ends, dis inguished mainly by high ammonium and low
calcium and magnesium. The selec ion o he end membe s was pe o med by plo ing
he eigen ec o s (Fig. 4.5).
Figu e 4-5 P ojec ion o he
eigen ec o s 1 and 2 o he
analysis “B”. No e ha he
esul ing end-membe s in
mixing calcula ions (MIX_1
and MIX_2, Table 4.1)
e alua ed wi h EMMA a e also
p ojec ed. The di e ence
be ween he analysis and
MIX_1 and MIX_2 is he
a iances assigned o he end-
membe s. In he analysis
MIX_1 he a iances assigned
o each species o he end-
membe s a e mul iplied by a
ac o o 100, whe eas in
analysis MIX_2 hey a e
mul iplied by ac o s o 10, 500
and 100, espec i ely, o he
End-Membe sW1, D1 and D2.
Figu e 4-6 P ojec ion o he eigen ec o s 1, 2 and 3 o he analysis “A” o “E” (Fig. 4.4) esul ing
om p ocessing he Besòs Ri e da a wi h EMMA.
Chap e 4: Using EMMA and MIX analysis o asses mixing a ios and o iden i y hyd ochemical
eac ions in g oundwa e .
52
aqui e is mainly echa ged by he i e . Consequen ly, he h ee end-membe s e ained
in he EMMA o he i e wa e ha e been used (W1, D1 and D2). I was necessa y o
assess whe he g oundwa e concen a ions can be explained by mixing p ocesses o
hese end membe s and o quan i y hei p opo ions. The compu ed composi ion o he
i e echa ged wa e o he 20 species is shown in Table 4.2 (Analysis “MIX_GW2”).
G oundwa e mixing a io e alua ion has been pe o med; he e o e, i was in ended ha
he concen a ions o he obse a ion poin s o g oundwa e would no change he
p e ious adjus men de e mined in he i e . The e o e, he s anda d de ia ions assigned
o he obse a ion poin s (Table 4.2) we e highe han hose assigned o he end-
membe s. Mo eo e , he s anda d de ia ions a he g oundwa e obse a ion poin s we e
selec ed depending on whe he species we e mo e o less conse a i e.
Table 4-2 Resul s e alua ed using MIX o g oundwa e da a (MIX_1GW1 andMIX_2GW2). No e
ha he i e end-membe s we e hose e alua ed in he analysisMIX_2, and he a iances
assigned o he i e end-membe s a e lowe han hose assigned o he obse a ion poin s
because we assumed ha he aqui e is mainly echa ged by he Besòs Ri e . “Ri: A e age
concen a ion in Besòs Ri e obse a ion poin s” and “Gi: A e age concen a ion a G oundwa e
obse a ion poin s”.
4.3.2.2. Compu e g oundwa e mixing a ios
Among he h ee end-membe s conside ed, D2 was by a he la ges con ibu o o he
o al echa ge, ep esen ing he 65 %, ollowed by he we i e end-membe (W1, 26 %).
The emaining 9 % co esponded o D1. The con ibu ion o W1 was mo e signi ican
Analysis MIX_2GW2
EM1:W1 EM2:D1 EM3:D2
Obs. poin s
(exp esed
(Ri))
Obs. poin s
(exp esed
(Gi))
EM: W1,D1
& D2 EM1:W1 EM2:D1 EM3:D2
Chlo ide (mg/L) 43.7 356.2 315.8 0.05·Ri 0.05·Gi 0.04·Ri 36.4 358.3 312.0
Elec ical Conduc i i y (µS/cm) 585.6 1996.5 1891.5 0.07·Ri 0.07·Gi 0.03·Ri 586.4 1991.0 1867.8
Sodium (mg/L) 29.0 280.9 246.6 0.07·Ri 0.07·Gi 0.05·Ri 27.2 286.3 251.6
Sulpha e (mg/L) 52.8 205.9 198.6 0.12·Ri 0.11·Gi 0.04·Ri 55.5 201.8 198.1
Bica bona e (mg/L) 222.7 500.5 470.3 0.11·Ri 0.10·Gi 0.07·Ri 247.8 496.6 481.0
Calcium (mg/L) 62.2 133.9 151.3 0.19·Ri 0.16·Gi 0.06·Ri 65.9 134.0 158.4
Magnesium (mg/L) 13.2 24.2 30.1 0.37·Ri 0.28·Gi 0.10·Ri 14.5 24.5 33.0
Po asium (mg/L) 7.2 51.1 36.4 0.50·Ri 0.79·Gi 0.17·Ri 4.6 49.2 26.6
To al ni ogen (mg/L) 6.2 26.1 5.7 0.43·Ri 1·Gi 0.12·Ri 5.7 25.9 4.3
Ni a e (mg/L) 13.4 7.4 13.2 5.54·Ri 15·Gi 0.47·Ri 12.7 7.1 11.5
Ammonium (mg/L) 4.1 31.5 3.6 0.40·Ri 0.90·Gi 0.12·Ri 4.2 31.6 4.0
Phospho us (mg/L) 0.000 2.305 2.012 7328·Ri 27756·Gi 0.48·Ri 0.000 2.305 2.012
Phospha e (mg/L) 1.904 3.818 3.177 29758·Ri 125434·Gi 0.70·Ri 1.904 3.818 3.177
Fluo ide (mg/L) 0.187 1.244 0.374 14193·Ri 11342·Gi 0.57·Ri 0.187 1.244 0.374
To al o ganic ca bon (mg/L) 6.323 12.427 8.663 3283·Ri 8652·Gi 0.21·Ri 6.323 12.427 8.663
A senic (mg/L) 0.003 0.006 0.008 4085·Ri 1970·Gi 0.31·Ri 0.003 0.006 0.008
B omide (mg/L) 0.059 0.57 0.854 5729·Ri 4304·Gi 0.43·Ri 0.059 0.570 0.854
Bo on (mg/L) 0.034 0.218 0.292 5466·Ri 4631·Gi 0.38·Ri 0.034 0.218 0.292
Dissol ed oxygen (mg/L) 8.736 8.267 10.601 3998·Ri 59779·Gi 0.26·Ri 8.736 8.267 10.601
I on (mg/L) 0.036 0.209 0.232 5788·Ri 3751·Gi 0.35·Ri 0.036 0.209 0.232
Inicial Concen a ions
Applied s anda de ia ion
End membe esul s

Chap e 4: Using EMMA and MIX analysis o asses mixing a ios and o iden i y hyd ochemical
eac ions in g oundwa e .
53
du ing he las ield campaign (C4) because o he equen ain e en s (Fig. 4.3), being
he 41 % o he o al echa ge. Accoun ing o he o he 3 campaigns, W1 ep esen ed, on
a e age, only he 20 % o he o al echa ge. On a e age, he d y i e end-membe s (D1
and D2) con ibu ed mo e signi ican ly o he o al echa ge han he we end-membe
(W1), ep esen ing he pe cen ages o 74 % and 26 %, espec i ely. These esul s a e
consis en wi h he ain all e en s ha occu ed in he Besòs Ri e Del a, which con olled
he Besòs Ri e low dynamics. The we end-membe is ela ed o sho bu in ense
ain all e en s whils he d y end-membe s a e ela ed o he null o low le els o ain all
ha occu he es o he yea . This is especially d ama ic in summe whe e Ri e Besòs
low
4.3.3.
Iden i ica ion o hyd o chemical p ocesses in g oundwa e
The p esen ed me hodology could be use ul o iden i y some hyd ogeochemical
p ocesses. When compa ing he a e age concen a ions a he Besòs Ri e wi h he
a e age concen a ion in he aqui e o se e al species as majo and mino componen s,
me als, polycyclic a oma ic hyd oca bons (PAHs), pes icides and su ac an s, i can
obse ed ha he concen a ion o a numbe o he species is highe in he i e han in
he aqui e (Fig. 4.1). As an example, oxida ion and educ ion p ocesses migh be
deduced om Fig. 4.1, whe e ammonium, ni a e and dissol ed oxygen ha e lowe
concen a ions in he aqui e . As shown in Fig. 4.7, some species did no beha e
conse a i ely because hey di e ged away om he ideal mixing line. These de ia ions
could be a ibu ed o hyd ogeochemical p ocesses ha ake place in he i e aqui e
sys em. On he one hand, es ima ed concen a ions o ace s such as magnesium and, o
a lesse ex en , calcium ha e gene ally mainly comes om was ewa e ea men plan
e luen s, which is ep esen ed by he i e end-membe D1. been lowe han measu ed
ones (Fig. 4.7). This ac migh be indica i e ha some dissolu ion p ocesses o
ca bona es can occu in he aqui e apa om simple mixing o i e wa e . I is also
es ima ed ha g oundwa e has an excess o b omide, luo ide, a senic, i on, and bo on o
a lesse ex en han he heo e ical mix o he i e . On he o he hand, po assium,
dissol ed oxygen, TOC, phospha es, phospho ous and ni a e p esen ed highe
es ima ed concen a ions han measu ed ones. Consequen ly, hyd ogeochemical
p ocesses migh be deple ing he a o emen ioned species om he aqui e . Dissol ed
oxygen, ni a e and TOC may unde go edox p ocesses whils po assium may be
exchanged wi h o he ca ions such as calcium o magnesium.
4.4. Conclusions
We ha e p esen ed a me hodology o assessing mixing a ios and iden i ying
hyd ochemical eac ions in g oundwa e . In his app oach, we use EMMA and MIX
Chap e 4: Using EMMA and MIX analysis o asses mixing a ios and o iden i y hyd ochemical
eac ions in g oundwa e .
54
analysis join ly. The me hodology is applied o he assessmen o i e echa ge wa e s in
he Besòs Del a aqui e s in Ba celona, Spain. The applica ion o his me hodology in he
case o s udy has allowed us o: iden i y he minimum numbe o he i e end-membe s
equi ed o explain he a iabili y o measu ed concen a ions. Th ee end-membe s we e
inally selec ed: 2 co esponding o d y season (D1 and D2) and one om he we season
(W1).
The iden i ica ion o end-membe s was used no only o e alua e he i e echa ge in o
he aqui e bu also o compu e he expec ed concen a ion o some species, such as
phospha es, luo ide, bo on, TOC and b omide.
Ri e wa e mixing was he mos ep esen a i e echa ge sou ce in o he aqui e . O e all,
d y season end-membe s domina ed o e we season end-membe , in a p opo ion 4:1.
Some species did no p ope ly i he mixing line. This sugges s he iden i ica ion o some
geochemical p ocesses ha may occu in he i e -aqui e sys em such as edox
p ocesses, dissolu ion p ocesses and ion exchange p ocesses.
Chap e 5: Conclusions
55
5. Conclusions
This chap e includes a summa y o he main con ibu ions o his hesis. The majo
indings espond o he o e all aim o gaining a be e unde s anding o he na u e o
g oundwa e in u ban a eas. This includes assessing he olume and quali y o aqui e
echa ge as well as di e en ia ing wi hin he g oundwa e composi ion be ween
concen a ions o compounds om sou ces o echa ge, and concen a ions a ia ions
due o hyd ochemical p ocesses.
Fi s , a me hodology has been p esen ed o help es ima e he a eal echa ge in u ban
aqui e s. I is based on calib a ing a la ge scale model using app op ia ely pa ame e ized
a eal echa ge unc ions. These unc ions a e conside ed pe cen ages o wa e
suscep ible o echa ging he aqui e s. Wa e s a e classi ied acco ding o hei chemical
p ope ies, po en ial ways o en e he g ound, and o igin. This app oach allows
g oundwa e managemen o be included in he managemen o o he wa e cycle
unc ions in he ci y.
A ansien g oundwa e low and solu e anspo model o he Ba celona u ban aqui e s
was buil as a ool o help in de ining he managemen p og am. This applica ion has
shown he impo ance o echa ge e olu ion on he aqui e s mass balance.
Rega ding possible in oduc ion o subs ances o pollu an s om po en ial sou ces o
echa ge, a campaign o collec g oundwa e samples h oughou he s udy a ea has been
conduc ed. Among o he compounds, subs ances used in he o mula ion o indus ial
p oduc s and common domes ic p oduc s we e analyzed.
Fo one, ionic su ac an s linea alkylbenzene sul ona e (LAS) ha e been analyzed. LAS
and hei deg ada ion p oduc s (sul ophenyl ca boxyla es, SPC) a e no ega ded as
p io i y subs ances al hough hey a e oday he mos common domes ic su ac an in he
a ea. LAS concen a ions we e de ec ed mo e han one o de o magni ude lowe han
expec ed based on echa ge sou ces and in compa ison wi h o he subs ances such as
ni a e, ammonium pe chlo e hene o ichlo e hene, in all (oxidizing and educing)
aqui e s, which sugges s deg ada ion o hese subs ances unde di e en edox
condi ions..
Secondly, nonionic su ac an ex ensi ely used by indus y (and in he pas also in
household p oduc s) has been analyzed. Speci ically, alkylphenol polye hoxyla es
(APEOs) and hei deg ada ion p oduc s (DPs) nonylphenol polye hoxyla es (NP2EC,
NP1EC), oc ylphenol polye hoxyla es (OP2EC, OP1EC), nonylphenol (NP) and
oc ylphenol (OP). The oxici y o APEOs is inc eased wi h dec easing e hoxyla e chain
leng h. NP and OP ( hei sho es chain) a e conside ed haza dous subs ances.
Chap e 5: Conclusions
56
The highes g oundwa e concen a ions o APEOs and DPs we e de ec ed in aqui e s
whose majo sou ce o echa ge is a i e ecei ing la ge amoun s o e luen s om
seconda y was e wa e ea men plan s (WWTPs). In ac , APEOs DPs concen a ions
we e abo e hose in he i e . NP2EC was he compound de ec ed a highes
concen a ions. These inc ease wi h ammonium in samples wi h low dissol ed oxygen.
These deg ada ion p oduc s we e i ually absen in oxidizing aqui e s whose main
sou ce o echa ge is no he i e . In his case, only he ul ima e deg ada ion p oduc
(NP) was de ec ed, which sugges s ha pa en compounds ha e deg aded.
A me hodology o compu e mixing a ios and o iden i y hyd ochemical eac ions in
g oundwa e has also been p esen ed. I is based on using an end-membe mixing
analysis (EMMA) and MIX. This app oach has been applied in a Besòs Ri e Del a pilo
a ea.
Pe o med in he Besòs Ri e he esul s showed ha 3 end-membe s a e equi ed o
explain i s empo al a iabili y, accoun ing o he selec ed species. Unde he assump ion
ha g oundwa e is a mix o i e wa e , he esul s indica e ha edox p ocesses,
ca bona e dissolu ion/p ecipi a ion and ion exchange p ocesses may occu in Besòs Del a
aqui e . Also ela i e excesses and de aul s o ce ain compounds ha e been quan i ied in
g oundwa e (e.g. b omide, luo ide, bo on, a senic, and TOC, phospho ous, phospha e,
espec i ely).
Chap e 5: Conclusions
57
O he scien i ic pape s published by in e na ional jou nals ela ed o his hesis a e:
• Vàzquez-Suñé E., Ca e a J., Tubau I., Sánchez-Vila X., Sole A., 2010. An app oach o
iden i y u ban g oundwa e echa ge. Hyd ology and Ea h Sys em Sciences 14 (2010)
2085-2097.
h p://dx.doi.o g/10.5194/hess-14-2085-2010
• Velasco V., Cabello P., Vàzquez-Suñé E., López-Blanco M., Ramos E., Tubau I., 2012. A
s a ig aphic sequence based geological model o cons aining hyd ogeological modeling
in he u banized a ea o he Qua e na y Besòs Del a (NW Medi e anean Coas , Spain).
Geol Ac a 2012;10(4):373–93. h p://dx.doi.o g/10.1344/105.000001757
• Ju ado A., Vàzquez-Suñé E., Sole A., Tubau I., Ca e a J., Pujades E., Anson I., 2013.
Applica ion o mul i-iso ope da a (O, D, C and S) o quan i y edox p ocesses in u ban
g oundwa e . Applied Geochemis y (2013) 114-125.
h p://dx.doi.o g/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2013.02.018
• Velasco V., Tubau, I., Vàzquez-Suñé E., Gogu R. Gai ana u D.. Alca az M., Se ano-Juan
A., Fe nández-Ga cía D., Ga ido, T., F aile, J., Sánchez-Vila, X., 2014. GIS-based
hyd ogeochemical analysis ools(QUIMET). Compu e & Geosciencies 70 (2014) 164-180.
• Ju ado, A., Vázquez-Suñé, E., Ca e a, J., Tubau, I, and Pujades, E. 2015. Quan i ying
chemical eac ions by using mixing analysis. Science o he To al En i onmen 502 (2015)
448–456.
h p://dx.doi.o g/10.1016/j.sci o en .2014.09.036
The abs ac s o hese pape s a e a ached a he end o his documen , as well as pape s
in he chap e s on which his hesis is based:
• Tubau I., Vázquez-Suñé E., Ca e a J., González S., Pe o ic M., López de Alda M.J.,
Ba celó D., 2010. Occu ence and a e o alkylphenol polye hoxyla e deg ada ion p oduc s
and linea alkylbenzene sul ona e su ac an s in u ban g ound wa e : Ba celona case
s udy. Jou nal o Hyd ology 383 (2010) 102-110.
• Tubau I., Vázquez-Suñé E., Ju ado A., Ca e a J., 2014. Using EMMA and MIX analysis o
asses mixing a ios and o iden i y hyd ochemical eac ions in g oundwa e . Science o
The To al En i onmen 470-471 (2014) 1120-1131.
•
Tubau I, Vázquez-Suñé E, Ca e a J, Valhondo, C. Quan i ica ion o G oundwa e
Recha ge in U ban En i onmen s. Science o he To al En i onmen (submi ed).

Chap e 6: Re e ences
_______________________________________________________________________________
58
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Occu ence and a e o alkylphenol polye hoxyla e deg ada ion p oduc s and linea
alkylbenzene sul ona e su ac an s in u ban g ound wa e : Ba celona case s udy
Isabel Tubau
a,*
, En ic Vázquez-Suñé
b
, Jesús Ca e a
b
, Susana González
b,c
, Mi a Pe o ic
b,d
,
Ma ía J. López de Alda
b
, Damià Ba celó
b,e
a
Depa men o Geo echnical Enginee ing and Geosciences, Uni e si a Poli ècnica de Ca alunya (UPC), C/ Jo di Gi ona 1-3, Edi ici D-2, 08034-Ba celona, Spain
b
Ins i u e o En i onmen al Assessmen and Wa e Resea ch (IDÆA), C/ Jo di Gi ona 18-26, 08034-Ba celona, Spain
c
Cen o Tecnológico del Agua (CETaqua), Passeig dels Tille s 3, 08034-Ba celona, Spain
d
Ins i ució Ca alana de Rece ca i Es udis A ança s (ICREA), Passeig Lluis Companys 23, 08010-Ba celona, Spain
e
Ca alan Ins i u e o Wa e Resea ch (ICRA), C/ Emili G ahi 101, Edi ici H2O, Pa c Cien í ic i Tecnològic de la Uni e si a de Gi ona, 17003-Gi ona, Spain
a i c l e i n o
Keywo ds:
U ban g ound wa e
Alkylphenol polye hoxyla es (APEOs)
deg ada ion p oduc s (DPs)
Linea alkylbenzene sul ona es (LAS)
Ci y o Ba celona
s u m m a y
This s udy in es iga es he a e o alkylphenol polye hoxyla es (APEOs) deg ada ion p oduc s (DPs) and
he occu ence o linea alkylbenzene sul ona e (LAS) su ac an s in u ban g ound wa e a ield scale. The
occu ence o APEOs DPs in g ound wa e was s udied in connec ion wi h: (1) sou ces o echa ge o /and
pollu ion con aining hese subs ances, (2) g ound wa e edox condi ions, (3) occu ence o LAS, which
a e cu en ly he domes ic su ac an s mo e used in he s udy a ea and (4) o he common con aminan s
in u ban g ound wa e in he ci y o Ba celona. The APEOs DPs analyzed included wo nonylphenol ca -
boxyla es (NP2EC, NP1EC), wo oc ylphenol ca boxyla es (OP2EC, OP1EC), nonylphenol (NP) and oc yl-
phenol (OP). The highes g oundwa e concen a ions o APEOs DPs we e de ec ed in aqui e s whose
majo sou ce o echa ge is a i e ecei ing la ge amoun s o e luen s om seconda y was e wa e ea -
men plan s (WWTPs). In ac , APEOs DPs concen a ions we e abo e hose in he i e . NP2EC was he
compound de ec ed a highes concen a ions. These inc ease wi h ammonium in samples wi h low dis-
sol ed oxygen. These deg ada ion p oduc s we e i ually absen in oxidizing aqui e s whose main
sou ce o echa ge is no he i e . In his case, only he ul ima e deg ada ion p oduc (NP) was de ec ed,
which sugges s ha pa en compounds ha e deg aded. These esul s indica e ha APEOs a e pe sis en o
less deg aded in educing condi ions, whe eas hey a e deg aded when oxidizing condi ions p e ail. By
con as , LAS concen a ions we e mo e han one o de o magni ude lowe han expec ed based on
echa ge sou ces in all (oxidizing and educing) aqui e s.
Ó2009 Else ie B.V. All igh s ese ed.
In oduc ion
High popula ion g ow h inc eases he demand o wa e and
he gene a ion o was ewa e . G ound wa e is an impo an e-
sou ce o wa e supply in he wo ld and aqui e s in u ban zones
a e ulne able o con amina ion by a a ie y o con aminan s
due o u ban ac i i ies. App oxima ely 90% o he wa e o supply
comes om impo ed su ace wa e in he ci y o Ba celona, which
is he s udy a ea. Since supply sou ces a e subjec o pe iodic
d ough s, he Ca alan Wa e Agency (ACA) is seeking al e na i e
wa e esou ces. The e a e a numbe o aqui e s wi h a ying
li hologies and ages below he ci y (Váquez-Suñé e al., 2005).
The e o e, g ound wa e mus be conside ed as an op ion. The
ques ion is whe he u ban g ound wa e can be used sa ely.
U ban aqui e s may su e pollu ion om di e en sou ces,
including losses om wa e supply ne wo ks, leakage om
sewe s, seepage om i e s o o he su ace wa e bodies, sea-
wa e in usion, e c. As a esul , a la ge numbe and a ie y o
con aminan s may be ound in u ban aqui e s (Howa d e al.,
1996; Ba e e al., 1999; Le ne , 2002; Mo is e al., 2005;
Váquez-Suñé e al., 2000; Wakida and Le ne , 2005; Naik
e al., 2008). Some o hese con aminan s a e subjec o en i-
onmen al quali y s anda ds (EQS) in d inking wa e (Council
o he Eu opean Union, 1998), g oundwa e (Eu opean Pa lia-
men and Council o he Eu opean Union, 2006), and/o su ace
wa e (Eu opean Pa liamen and Council o he Eu opean Un-
ion, 2008). O he was ewa e subs ances, also known as eme g-
ing con aminan s, whose oxici y, occu ence and pe sis ence
a e less well known, a e subjec o e iew o possible iden i-
ica ion as p io i y subs ances o p io i y haza dous subs ances
(Eu opean Pa liamen and Council o he Eu opean Union,
2008).
0022-1694/$ - see on ma e Ó2009 Else ie B.V. All igh s ese ed.
doi:10.1016/j.jhyd ol.2009.11.030
*Co esponding au ho . Tel.: +34 934011820; ax: +34 934017251.
E-mail add ess: [email p o ec ed] (I. Tubau).
Jou nal o Hyd ology 383 (2010) 102–110
Con en s lis s a ailable a ScienceDi ec
Jou nal o Hyd ology
jou nal homepage: www.else ie .com/loca e/jhyd ol

Using EMMA and MIX analysis o assess mixing a ios and o iden i y
hyd ochemical eac ions in g oundwa e
Isabel Tubau
a,b
, En ic Vàzquez-Suñé
c,
⁎, Anna Ju ado
a,c
, Jesús Ca e a
c
a
GHS, Dep Geo echnical Enginee ing and Geosciences, Uni e si a Poli ecnica de Ca alunya, UPC-Ba celona Tech, Jo di Gi ona 1-3, 08034 Ba celona, Spain
b
Geological Ins i u e o Ca alonia, Balmes 209-211, 08006 Ba celona, Spain
c
GHS, Ins i u e o En i onmen al Assessmen & Wa e Resea ch (IDAEA), CSIC, Jo di Gi ona 18-26, 08034 Ba celona, Spain
H I G H L I G H T S
•App oach using EMMA and MIX o asses mixing a ios in g oundwa e .
•Pollu ed i e echa ge in u ban aqui e s.
•Th ee end-membe s a e e ained o explain empo al a iabili y o i e wa e .
•Depa u es om mixing lines migh ep esen he occu ence o p ocesses.
a b s a c a i c l e i n o
A icle his o y:
Recei ed 23 July 2013
Recei ed in e ised o m 30 Oc obe 2013
Accep ed 30 Oc obe 2013
A ailable online xxxx
Keywo ds:
Mixing analysis
EMMA
MIX
U ban g oundwa e
This s udy p esen s a me hodology using an end-membe mixing analysis (EMMA) and MIX o compu e mixing
a ios and o iden i y hyd ochemical eac ions in g oundwa e . The me hodology consis s o (1) iden i ying
he po en ial sou ces o echa ge, (2) cha ac e ising echa ge sou ces and mixed wa e samples using
hyd ogeochemis y, (3) selec ing chemical species o be used in he analysis and (4) calcula ing mixing a ios
and iden ifica ion o hyd ochemical eac ions in g oundwa e . This app oach has been applied in he Besòs
Ri e Del a a ea, whe e we ha e collec ed 51 g oundwa e samples and a long da a egis e o he
hyd ogeochemis y o he Besòs Ri e c ea ed by he Ca alan Wa e Agency is also a ailable. The EMMA pe -
o med in he Besòs Ri e sugges s ha 3 end-membe s a e equi ed o explain i s empo al a iabili y, accoun -
ing o he species chlo ide, sulpha e, sodium, bica bona e, calcium, magnesium, po assium, ammonium, o al
ni ogen, and elec ical conduc i i y. One i e end-membe is om he we pe iods (W1), and wo a e om
d y pe iods (D1 and D2). These end-membe s ha e been used o compu e mixing a ios in g oundwa e samples
because he Besòs Ri e is conside ed he main echa ge sou ce o he aqui e . O e all, d y season end-membe s
domina ed o e he we season end-membe , in a p opo ion o 4:1. Mo eo e , when depa u es om he mixing
line exis , geochemical p ocesses migh be iden ified. Redox p ocesses, ca bona e dissolu ion/p ecipi a ion and
ion exchange p ocesses may occu in Besòs Del a aqui e .
© 2013 Else ie B.V. All igh s ese ed.
1. In oduc ion
The de e io a ion o g oundwa e quali y has become a majo issue
in u ban aqui e s. In u ban a eas, a as a ay o con aminan s may be
ound because hey a e in oduced in o he aqui e h ough di e en e-
cha ge sou ces. Thus, he assessmen o g oundwa e quali y equi es
iden i ying no only he possible ocus o con amina ion bu also he
p ocesses ha he pollu an s unde go. In ac , his s udy is mo i a ed
by he assessmen o g oundwa e quali y a he Besòs Ri e allu ial
aqui e unde nea h Ba celona, Spain. G oundwa e quali y in his a ea
is significan ly be e han i e wa e quali y, despi e he ac ha
pumped g oundwa e is essen ially echa ged om he i e .
A mass balance o chemical species is o en used in hyd ology and e-
la ed sciences o aid in he e alua ion o wa e balances. I s simples
o m consis s o measu ing he concen a ions o any conse a i e spe-
cies occu ing in inflowing and ou flowing wa e s and, assuming con i-
nui y, es ablishing he mass balance o solu e and wa e . Howe e , he
join e alua ion o echa ge a es and quali y can mos likely be bes
achie ed h ough flow and solu e anspo modelling when long
head and concen a ion eco ds a e a ailable. Because hese models e-
qui e he managemen o much in o ma ion, simple me hodologies a e
necessa y.
Mixing calcula ions a e an al e na i e o complex models and can be
used o be e es ima e he ela i e impo ance o di e en sou ces o
echa ge. Mixing calcula ions include (1) End-Membe Mixing Analysis
Science o he To al En i onmen 470–471 (2014) 1120–1131
⁎Co esponding au ho a : Jo di Gi ona 18, 08034 Ba celona, Spain. Tel.: +34 934006100;
ax: +34 932045904.
E-mail add ess: en ic. [email protected] (E. Vàzquez-Suñé).
0048-9697/$ –see on ma e © 2013 Else ie B.V. All igh s ese ed.
h p://dx.doi.o g/10.1016/j.sci o en .2013.10.121
Con en s lis s a ailable a ScienceDi ec
Science o he To al En i onmen
jou nal ho me page : www . else ie . com/ loca e/sc i o en
Hyd ol. Ea h Sys . Sci., 14, 2085–2097, 2010
www.hyd ol-ea h-sys -sci.ne /14/2085/2010/
doi:10.5194/hess-14-2085-2010
© Au ho (s) 2010. CC A ibu ion 3.0 License.
Hyd ology and
Ea h Sys em
Sciences
An app oach o iden i y u ban g oundwa e echa ge
E. V´
azquez-Su˜
n´
e1, J. Ca e a1, I. Tubau1,2, X. S´
anchez-Vila2, and A. Sole 3
1Ins i u e o En i onmen al Assessmen and Wa e S udies, Spanish Na ional Resea ch Council, IDAEA-CSIC,
Ba celona, Spain
2Depa men o Geo echnical Enginee ing and Geosciences, Technical Uni e si y o Ca alonia, UPC Ba celona Tech,
Ba celona, Spain
3G up de Mine alogia Aplicada i Medi Ambien , Dep. C is allog afia, Mine alog´
ıa i Dip`
osi s Mine als, Facul a de Geologia,
Uni e si a de Ba celona, Ba celona, Spain
Recei ed: 25 Feb ua y 2010 – Published in Hyd ol. Ea h Sys . Sci. Discuss.: 22 Ap il 2010
Re ised: 4 Oc obe 2010 – Accep ed: 8 Oc obe 2010 – Published: 27 Oc obe 2010
Abs ac . E alua ing he p opo ion in which wa e s om
di e en o igins a e mixed in a gi en wa e sample is ele an
o many hyd ogeological p oblems, such as quan i ying o-
al echa ge, assessing g oundwa e pollu ion isks, o man-
aging wa e esou ces. Ou wo k is mo i a ed by u ban hy-
d ogeology, whe e wa e s wi h di e en chemical signa u e
can be iden ified (losses om wa e supply and sewage ne -
wo ks, infil a ion om su ace uno and o he wa e bod-
ies, la e al aqui e s inflows, ...). The ela i e con ibu ion o
di e en sou ces o o al echa ge can be quan ified by means
o solu e mass balances, bu applica ion is hinde ed by he
la ge numbe o po en ial o igins. Hence, he need o inco -
po a e da a om a la ge numbe o conse a i e species, he
unce ain y in sou ces concen a ions and measu emen e -
o s. We p esen a me hodology o compu e mixing a ios
and end-membe s composi ion, which consis s o (i) Iden i-
fica ion o po en ial echa ge sou ces, (ii) Selec ion o ac-
e s, (iii) Cha ac e iza ion o he hyd ochemical composi ion
o po en ial echa ge sou ces and mixed wa e samples, and
(i ) Compu a ion o mixing a ios and ee alua ion o end-
membe s. The analysis pe o med in a da a se om samples
o he Ba celona ci y aqui e s sugges s ha he main con ib-
u o s o o al echa ge a e he wa e supply ne wo k losses
(22%), he sewage ne wo k losses (30%), ain all, concen-
a ed in he non-u banized a eas (17%), om uno infil a-
ion (20%), and he Bes`
os Ri e (11%). Rega ding species,
halogens (chlo ide, fluo ide and b omide), sul a e, o al ni-
ogen, and s able iso opes (18O, 2H, and 34S) beha ed qui e
conse a i ely. Bo on, esidual alkalini y, EDTA and Zn did
no . Ye , including hese species in he compu a ions did no
a ec significan ly he p opo ion es ima ions.
Co espondence o: E. V´
azquez-Su˜
n´
e
(en ic. [email p o ec ed])
1 In oduc ion
G oundwa e is inc easingly ecognized as a ac o in u ban
managemen (see e iews by: Le ne , 1996; Chil on e al.,
1997; Eyles, 1997; Chil on, 1999; Ellis, 1999; Llamas and
Cus odio, 2002; Howa d and Is afilo , 2002; AIH GE, 2004;
V´
azquez-Su˜
ne e al., 2005a). On one hand, some ci ies s ill
show o e exploi a ion wi h a se ies o unwan ed ou comes
such as subsidence, o de e io a ion in wa e quali y due o a
numbe o causes including seawa e pollu ion. On he o he
hand, g oundwa e pumping has been abandoned in many
ci ies because o pollu ion and/o changes in land uses (no-
o iously eloca ion o indus ies). This has caused heads o
ise, leading o flooding and po en ial s uc u al damage o
unde g ound u ban s uc u es. Con olling heads ise may
demand g oundwa e pumping in selec ed loca ions. Pump-
ing may also be needed o add ess he inc easing demand o
wa e in a sus ainable way. Amongs o he hings, his e-
qui es unde s anding he p ocesses a ec ing wa e chemical
and mic obiological quali y. A p ope assessmen o g ound-
wa e quali y in ol es he quan ifica ion o o e all echa ge,
as well as he quali y assessmen o he a ious sou ces in-
ol ed.
E alua ing echa ge in u ban en i onmen s is essen ially
di e en om ha in na u al sys ems o wo easons:
(1) echa ge sou ces a e adically di e en and (2) less expe-
ience is a ailable. Su ace infil a ion is g ea ly educed be-
cause a la ge po ion o su ace a ea is i ually impe ious.
The e o e, mos ain all becomes uno , which is di e ed
o a d ainage sys em. Howe e , educ ions in di ec infil-
a ion can be coun e balanced by educ ions in e apo an-
spi a ion. Mo eo e , new sou ces o echa ge may a ise in
ci ies, such as losses in he sewage sys em (Wol e al., 2004;
Blackwood e al., 2005) o in he wa e dis ibu ion sys-
em (wo ld-wide losses exceed 50 L/pe son/day, bu epo ed
Published by Cope nicus Publica ions on behal o he Eu opean Geosciences Union.
373
G e o l o g i c a A c a , V o l . 1 0 , N º 4 , D e c e m b e 2 0 1 2 , 3 7 3 - 3 9 3
D O I : 1 0 . 1 3 4 4 / 1 0 5 . 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 5 7
A a i l a b l e o n l i n e a w w w . g e o l o g i c a - a c a . c o m
A sequence s a ig aphic based geological model o cons aining
hyd ogeological modeling in he u banized a ea o he Qua e na y
Besòs del a (NW Medi e anean coas , Spain)
V. VELASCO P. CABELLO E. VÁZQUEZ-SUÑÉ M. LÓPEZ-BLANCO E. RAMOS I. TUBAU
Geomodels Ins i u e. G oup o Geodynamics and Basin Analysis. Depa amen d’Es a ig a ia, Paleon ologia i Geosciències
ma ines, Facul a de Geologia, Uni e si a de Ba celona (UB)
c/ Ma í i F anquès s/n, 08028, Ba celona, Spain. Cabello E-mail: [email protected] López-Blanco E-mail: [email protected]
Ramos E-mail: emilio. [email protected]
GHS, Ins i u e o En i omen al Assessmen and Wa e Resea ch (IDAEA), CSIC
Ba celona, Spain. E-mail: [email p o ec ed]
G up de Hid ologia Sub e ània (GHS), Depa amen o Geo echnical Enginee ing and Geosciences,
Uni e si a Poli ècnica de Ca alunya (UPC)-Ba celonaTech
Jo di Gi ona 1-3 Building D-2, 08034 Ba celona, Spain. Velasco E-mail: iole a. [email protected]
Tubau E-mail: isabel. [email protected]
A B S T R A C T
The Qua e na y Bes˜s del a is loca ed on he Medi e anean coas in NE Spain. The Bes˜s Del a Complex includes
3 aqui e s cons i u ed by 3 sandy and g a elly bodies, sepa a ed by lu i ic uni s. These aqui e s supply wa e o
domes ic and indus ial use in his a ea. Managemen o g oundwa e has been p oblema ic in he Bes˜s del a
since he 1960s, and con inues o pose majo p oblems o subsu ace enginee ing wo ks in his highly u banized
egion. This s udy seeks o demons a e he ad an ages o de ailed geological cha ac e iza ion and modeling o
designing and cons uc ing a hyd ogeological model.
A ailable in o ma ion o he subsu ace was compiled, in eg a ed and homogenized in a geospa ial da abase. The
in e p e a ion o hese da a enabled us o delimi geological uni s by means o a sequence s a ig aphic subdi ision.
A h ee-dimensional acies bel -based model o he Bes˜s del a was buil on he basis o his geological cha ac e i-
za ion. This model was used o cons ain he dis ibu ion o hyd aulic pa ame e s and hus o ob ain a consis en
hyd ogeological model o he del a, which was calib a ed by da a o wa e managemen and p oduc ion o e he
las hund ed yea s. The esul ing hyd ogeological model yielded new insigh s in o wa e on displacemen s in
he aqui e du ing he ime-span conside ed, imp o ing p edic ions in an a emp o op imize aqui e managemen .
2
1
G oundwa e . Del a. Sequence s a ig aphy. Geological model. Hyd ogeological model.
KEYWORDS
2
2, 3 1
3
2, 3
11
Applica ion o mul i-iso ope da a (O, D, C and S) o quan i y edox
p ocesses in u ban g oundwa e
Anna Ju ado
a,b,
⇑
, En ic Vàzquez-Suñé
a
, Albe Sole
c
, Isabel Tubau
b,d
, Jesus Ca e a
a
,
Es anislao Pujades
a,b
, Isabel Anson
a,b
a
GHS, Ins i u e o En i onmen al Assessmen & Wa e Resea ch (IDAEA), CSIC, Jo di Gi ona 18-26, 08034 Ba celona, Spain
b
GHS, Dep . Geo echnical Enginee ing and Geosciences, Uni e si a Poli ecnica de Ca alunya, UPC-Ba celona Tech, Jo di Gi ona 1-3, 08034 Ba celona, Spain
c
G up de Mine alogia Aplicada i Medi Ambien , Dep . C is allog a ia, Mine alogia i Dipòsi s Mine als, Facul a de Geologia, Uni e si a de Ba celona, Ba celona, Spain
d
Geological Ins i u e o Ca alonia, Balmes 209-211, 08006 Ba celona, Spain
a i c l e i n o
A icle his o y:
A ailable online 14 Ma ch 2013
a b s a c
The di e en echa ge sou ces and hei mixing a ios we e in es iga ed in wa e samples om an u ban
aqui e . Two dis inc zones om Ba celona ci y we e compa ed: (1) Poble Sec and (2) Besòs Ri e Del a,
which a e loca ed in a densely popula ed a ea wi h a s ong indus ial impac . In his s udy 106 wa e
samples we e collec ed om July 2007 o May 2010 o hyd ochemical and iso opic cha ac e isa ion.
The applica ion o en i onmen al iso opes coupled wi h hyd ochemis y p o ided he necessa y in o ma-
ion o iso opically quan i y g oundwa e echa ge sou ces and e alua e he occu ence o edox p o-
cesses. In he Besòs Ri e Del a, a dec ease in dissol ed SO
2ÿ
4
concen a ion and an inc ease in d
34
S
SO4
and d
18
O
SO4
alues we e obse ed in g oundwa e samples, bo h indica ing SO
2ÿ
4
educ ion. Mo eo e ,
o he chemical indica o s suppo ed a educing en i onmen , such as low o null le els o dissol ed O
2
and NO
ÿ
3
, he p esence o NH
þ
4
and an inc ease in dissol ed Fe and As. The educing condi ions we e p ob-
ably induced by he o ganic C dissol ed in wa e in il a ing om he Ri e Besòs. In Poble Sec, he ela-
ionship be ween d
34
S
SO4
and d
18
O
SO4
showed a s ong in luence o sewage wa e in il a ion in o he
aqui e . Howe e , he aqui e is oxic and he e is no in luence o SO
2ÿ
4
educ ion.
Ó2013 Else ie L d. All igh s ese ed.
1. In oduc ion
De e io a ion o g oundwa e quali y in u ban aqui e s has be-
come a ma e o conce n. In such a eas, g oundwa e can be con-
amina ed by a wide ange o pollu an s. Mo eo e , g oundwa e
can be an al e na i e sou ce o wa e supply in ci ies wi h an a id
o semia id clima e (Tubau e al., 2010). A p ope assessmen o
g oundwa e quali y equi es he quan i ica ion o he o al e-
cha ge and he composi ion o he a ious sou ces in ol ed. These
quan i a i e assessmen s enable o iden i y he o igin and he a e
o chemical compounds ( om pollu ion o a enua ion) and also
e alua e managemen s a egies.
Howe e , e alua ing he echa ge in u ban en i onmen s is
essen ially di e en om u al a eas. This is mainly due o he
la ge numbe o di e en sou ces, hei a iable composi ion, and
he geochemical p ocesses unde gone by he mix u es. Thus, many
adi ional mixing a io compu a ions equi e ha he concen a-
ions o end-membe s o be di e en and accu a ely known.
Cu en ly, he concen a ions o he di e en species in he
end-membe s a e no usually known wi h ce ain y. They can be
highly a iable in space and, especially, in ime. This could be he
eason why s udies o iden i y and quan i y sou ces and p ocesses
in ol ed in he wa e quali y o an u ban aqui e a e e y sca ce
(see Vàzquez-Suñé e al., 2010 and e e ences he ein, o a
e iew).
Some common sou ces o g oundwa e in u ban a eas a e sewe
leakage and in il a ion om was e wa e ea men plan s. These
sou ces p o ide o ganic C o he wa e and p omo e biodeg ada-
ion eac ions o a a ie y o pollu an s (NO
ÿ
3
, SO
2ÿ
4
, As-bound o
Fe, o ganic mic opollu an s). Biodeg ada ion p ocesses a e ela ed
o he edox s a e o wa e . The e o e, iden i ying he edox e olu-
ion along a low line is a key issue.
Unlike physical p ocesses such as dispe sion, mixing and dilu-
ion; biodeg ada ion implies a dec ease in he o al dissol ed mass
o a solu e and may in ol e a a ia ion o i s iso opic p opo ions.
This sugges s ha iso ope s udies can be help ul in iden i ying and
quan i ying biodeg ada ion p ocesses. In ac , he applica ion o
en i onmen al iso opes has been employed o cha ac e ise and as-
sess di e en issues in u ban g oundwa e echa ge. Bu le and
Ve hagen (1997) used wa e iso opes in he s udy o he ci y o
P e o ia (Sou h A ica) o di e en ia e be ween he local wa e
echa ge and wa e supply, which had a di e en iso opic compo-
si ion. Choi e al. (2005) complemen ed a hyd ochemical s udy in
0883-2927/$ - see on ma e Ó2013 Else ie L d. All igh s ese ed.
h p://dx.doi.o g/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2013.02.018
⇑Co esponding au ho a : GHS, Ins i u e o En i onmen al Assessmen & Wa e
Resea ch (IDAEA), CSIC, Jo di Gi ona 18-26, 08034 Ba celona, Spain. Tel.: +34
934006100.
E-mail add ess: [email p o ec ed] (A. Ju ado).
Applied Geochemis y 34 (2013) 114–125
Con en s lis s a ailable a SciVe se ScienceDi ec
Applied Geochemis y
jou nal homepage: www.else ie .com/loca e/apgeochem
GIS-based hyd ogeochemical analysis ools (QUIMET)
V. Velasco
a,b,
n
, I. Tubau
c
, E. Vázquez-Suñè
a
, R. Gogu
d
, D. Gai ana u
d
, M. Alca az
a,b
,
A. Se ano-Juan
a,b
, D. Fe nàndez-Ga cia
b
, T. Ga ido
e
, J. F aile
e
, X. Sanchez-Vila
b
a
GHS, Ins i u e o En i onmen al Assessmen and Wa e Resea ch (IDAEA –CSIC), Jo di Gi ona 18-26, 08034 Ba celona, Spain
b
GHS, Depa men o Geo echnical Enginee ing and Geosciences, Uni e si a Poli ècnica de Ca alunya (UPC-Ba celonaTech), Jo di Gi ona 1-3,
08034 Ba celona, Spain
c
ICGC, Ins i u Ca og àfic i Geològic de Ca alunya, Balmes 209-201, Ba celona, Spain
d
Technical Uni e si y o Ci il Enginee ing, B-dul Lacul Tei, 124, 020296 Bucha es , Romania
e
ACA, Agència Ca alana de l'Aigua, P o ença 204, 08036 Ba celona, Spain
a i c l e i n o
A icle his o y:
Recei ed 10 June 2013
Recei ed in e ised o m
16 Ap il 2014
Accep ed 17 Ap il 2014
A ailable online 8 May 2014
Keywo ds:
GIS
G oundwa e quali y
Geospa ial da abase
Hyd ogeochemical analysis
a b s a c
A so wa e pla o m (QUIMET) was de eloped o imp o e he so ing, analysis, calcula ions, isualiza-
ions, and in e p e a ions o hyd ogeochemical da a in a GIS en i onmen . QUIMET is composed o a
geospa ial da abase plus a se o ools specially designed o g aphical and s a is ical analysis o
hyd ogeochemical da a. The geospa ial da abase has been designed o include o ganic and ino ganic
chemical eco ds, as well as ele an physical pa ame e s ( empe a u e, Eh, elec ical conduc i i y).
The ins umen s o analysis co e a wide ange o me hodologies o que ying, in e p e ing, and
compa ing g oundwa e quali y da a. They include, among o he s, chemical ime-se ies analysis, ionic
balance calcula ions, co ela ion o chemical pa ame e s, and calcula ion o a ious common hyd o-
geochemical diag ams (Salini y, Schoelle –Be kalo , Pipe , and S i ). The GIS pla o m allows he
gene a ion o maps o he spa ial dis ibu ion o pa ame e s and diag ams. Mo eo e , i allows
pe o ming a comple e s a is ical analysis o he da a including desc ip i e s a is ic uni a ia e and
bi a ia e analysis, he la e including gene a ion o co ela ion ma ices and g aphics. Finally, QUIMET
o e s in e ope abili y wi h o he ex e nal pla o ms. The pla o m is illus a ed wi h a geochemical da a
se om he ci y o Badalona, loca ed on he Medi e anean coas in NE Spain.
&2014 Else ie L d. All igh s ese ed.
1. In oduc ion
Wa e a ailabili y and accessibili y mus emphasize quali y aspec s,
such as whe he wa e complies o gi en s anda ds equi ed o any
pa icula use (Ba hel e al., 2008). In a gi en si e he quali y o
g oundwa e may be ad e sely a ec ed by ac o s such as indus ia-
liza ion, i iga ion p ac ices, o u baniza ion (Fos e , 2001; Vázquez-
Suñè e al., 2005b; Scanlon e al., 2005; Ke a a e al., 2011). An accu a e
assessmen o he nega i e impac s o hese di e en ac i i ies is
pa amoun o he p o ec ion o wa e bodies and ecosys ems
associa ed (Na a o-O ega e al., 2012). In o de o ensu e compliance
wi h s anda d egula o y guidelines (e.g., he Eu opean Wa e F ame
Di ec i e, WHO guidelines), con inuous moni o ing, e alua ion, and
in e p e a ion o a la ge da abase in ol ing many po en ial geochem-
ical pa ame e s is equi ed. This includes: (a) de e mining he o igin o
g oundwa e and he p ocesses con olling i s chemical composi ion
and he co esponding spa io- empo al dis ibu ion; (b) e alua ing
he cu en g oundwa e quali y end wi h e e ence o soil use, as
well as geological and hyd ogeological se up; and (c) es ablishing he
egional backg ound composi ion o g oundwa e (in Mendizabal and
S uy zand, 2009).
Accomplishing hese asks is no s aigh o wa d. The majo
di ficul ies o be aced a ise om: (i) he need o manipula e la ge
da a se s collec ed o e many yea s; (ii) he in eg a ion o da a
s emming om di e se sou ces and ga he ed wi h di e en da a
access echniques and o ma s; (iii) he managemen o da a wi h
a ying quali y s anda ds (and hus di e en associa ed e o s)
and empo al and spa ial ex en , wi h po en ial big gaps o
in o ma ion a he spa ial o empo al scales in some a eas; (i )
da a-handling de i ed om bo h field da a, analysis o wa e
samples a he labo a o y and g oundwa e models (also ep e-
sen a i e scales o da a a e qui e di e en ), and ( ) he in eg a ion
o g oundwa e quali y in o ma ion wi h o he ele an in o ma-
ion such as geological da a.
Op imal da a managemen o his as amoun o spa io- empo al
in o ma ion canno be eadily handled wi hou he combina ion o a
comp ehensi e geospa ial da abase and a numbe o e ficien ech-
nologies and me hodologies capable o classi ying, compa ing, sum-
ma izing and in e p e ing huge da a se s. Classic g oundwa e analysis
Con en s lis s a ailable a ScienceDi ec
jou nal homepage: www.else ie .com/loca e/cageo
Compu e s & Geosciences
h p://dx.doi.o g/10.1016/j.cageo.2014.04.013
0098-3004/&2014 Else ie L d. All igh s ese ed.
n
Co esponding au ho .
E-mail add esses: [email p o ec ed],[email p o ec ed] (V. Velasco).
URL: h p://www.h2ogeo.upc.es/English/so wa e/QUIMET_ACADEMIC/index.
h m (V. Velasco).
Compu e s & Geosciences 70 (2014) 164–180

Quan i ying chemical eac ions by using mixing analysis
Anna Ju ado
a,b,
⁎, En ic Vázquez-Suñé
a
, Jesús Ca e a
a
, Isabel Tubau
b
, Es anislao Pujades
a,b
a
GHS, Ins i u e o En i onmen al Assessmen & Wa e Resea ch (IDAEA), CSIC, Jo di Gi ona 18-26, 08034 Ba celona, Spain
b
GHS, Dep . Geo echnical Enginee ing and Geosciences, Technical Uni e si y o Ca alonia, UPC-Ba celona Tech, Jo di Gi ona 1-3, 08034 Ba celona, Spain
H I G H L I G H T S
•U ban aqui e is infil a ed by a pollu ed i e ha is he main echa ge sou ce.
•Th ee end-membe s a e necessa y o explain he empo al a iabili y o i e wa e .
•Depa u es om ideal mixing line a e a ibu ed o chemical p ocesses.
•Mixing calcula ions a e used o quan i y chemical p ocesses in u ban g oundwa e .
•The p ocesses quan ified a e edox p ocesses and ca bona e dissolu ion.
a b s a c a i c l e i n o
A icle his o y:
Recei ed 21 July 2014
Recei ed in e ised o m 11 Sep embe 2014
Accep ed 11 Sep embe 2014
A ailable online xxxx
Edi o : D. Ba celo
Keywo ds:
U ban aqui e
Mixing analysis
Non-conse a i e species
Chemical eac ion quan ifica ion
This wo k is mo i a ed by a sound unde s anding o he chemical p ocesses ha a ec he o ganic pollu an s in
an u ban aqui e . We p opose an app oach o quan i y such p ocesses using mixing calcula ions. The me hodol-
ogy consis s o he ollowing s eps: (1) iden ifica ion o he echa ge sou ces (end-membe s) and selec ion o he
species (conse a i e and non-conse a i e) o be used, (2) iden ifica ion o he chemical p ocesses and (3) e al-
ua ion o mixing a ios including he chemical p ocesses. This me hodology has been applied in he Besòs Ri e
Del a (NE Ba celona, Spain), whe e he Ri e Besòs is he main aqui e echa ge sou ce. A o al numbe o 51
g oundwa e samples we e collec ed om July 2007 o May 2010 du ing ou field campaigns. Th ee i e
end-membe s we e necessa y o explain he empo al a iabili y o he Ri e Besòs: one i e end-membe is
om he we pe iods (W1) and wo a e om d y pe iods (D1 and D2). This me hodology has p o ed o be use ul
no only o compu e he mixing a ios bu also o quan i y p ocesses such as calci e and magnesi e dissolu ion,
ae obic espi a ion and deni ifica ion unde gone a each obse a ion poin .
© 2014 Else ie B.V. All igh s ese ed.
1. In oduc ion
Ensu ing good wa e quali y is a majo challenge in u ban a eas.
U ban aqui e s may su e pollu ion om echa ge sou ces such as
wa e leakage om sewe and sep ic sys ems, seepage om i e s, sea-
wa e in usion, and losses om wa e supply ne wo k e c. As a esul , a
wide ange o o ganic pollu an s a e ound in u ban aqui e s. Since hese
pollu an s each g oundwa e en i onmen , hei occu ence depends
on simul aneous anspo and biogeochemical p ocesses. Fo a quan i-
a i e assessmen o g oundwa e quali y a sound unde s anding o all
hese p ocesses a ec ing hese pollu an s is essen ial. Howe e , he
quan ifica ion o hese p ocesses is no an easy ask.
In o de o quan i y such p ocesses, modelling ools ha p o ide
ex ensi e biogeochemical capabili ies a e necessa y (P omme e al.,
2000). Reac i e anspo models quan i y he spa ial and empo al e o-
lu ion o a numbe o chemical species subjec ed o anspo phenom-
ena and chemical eac ions. Nume ous codes ha e been de eloped in
ecen yea s. They ha e been applied o p oblems such as leacha e
a enua ion (Islam e al., 2001; Van B eukelen e al., 2004), pollu ion
plumes (B un e al., 2002), mic obially media ed eac ions (Schä e
e al., 1998a,b; Hun e e al., 1998; Tebes-S e ens e al., 1999; Wang
and Papengu h, 2001), ca bon cycle modelling cases (G eskowiak
e al., 2005) and he quan ifica ion o edox p ocesses in aqui e s
(Kea ing and Bah , 1998; McGui e e al., 2002; Massmann e al., 2004;
Mio linski, 2008) and in he hypo heic zone (Mille e al., 2006;
Za ne ske e al., 2011). Howe e , simple app oaches a e equi ed
since hese echniques a e edious and ime consuming because o he
need o a eliable flow and conse a i e anspo models.
Mixing calcula ions cons i u e an al e na i e o eac i e anspo
models. Mixing calcula ions ypically in ol ed: (1) End-Membe
Mixing Analysis (EMMA) (Hoope e al., 1990; Hoope , 2003) o find
he minimum numbe o end-membe s equi ed o explain a se o
chemical analyses, and (2) mixing a ios defined as he p opo ion o
Science o he To al En i onmen 502 (2015) 448–456
⁎Co esponding au ho a : Jo di Gi ona 18, 08034 Ba celona, Spain. Tel.: +34
934006100; ax: +34 932045904.
E-mail add ess: annaju [email protected] (A. Ju ado).
h p://dx.doi.o g/10.1016/j.sci o en .2014.09.036
0048-9697/© 2014 Else ie B.V. All igh s ese ed.
Con en s lis s a ailable a ScienceDi ec
Science o he To al En i onmen
jou nal h o me page : www. e lse i e .c om /loc a e/ s ci o en