Start |Grid View | Author Index | View Uploaded Presentations | Meeting Information

GSA Connects 2022 meeting in Denver, Colorado

Paper No. 230-8
Presentation Time: 10:10 AM

ELEVATED CONCENTRATIONS OF ARSENIC IN GROUNDWATER USED FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION IN LAUCA RIVER BASIN, ORURO, BOLIVIA


HUALLPARA, Lizangela1, ORMACHEA, Mauricio2, DE MEYER, Caroline3, NINA, Leonor2, RAMOS RAMOS, Oswaldo Eduardo2 and BHATTACHARYA, Prosun4, (1)Instituto de Investigaciones Químicas, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Campus Universitario, Calle # 27, Cota Cota, La Paz, Bolivia (Plurinational State of); KTH-International Groundwater Arsenic Research Group, Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Teknikringen 10B, Stockholm, SE-100 44, Sweden, (2)Instituto de Investigaciones Químicas, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Campus Universitario, Calle # 27, Cota Cota, La Paz, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), (3)Soil Science Group, Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland, (4)KTH-International Groundwater Arsenic Research Group, Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Teknikringen 10B, Stockholm, SE-100 44, Sweden

Groundwater is the main source of drinking water in rural areas of the Bolivian Altiplano. Recently, a widespread natural arsenic enrichment of groundwater was discovered in different areas of the Bolivian Altiplano, especially in the Poopó lake basin.

Here we present the initial results of a field campaign in which 30 drinking water wells were sampled and analyzed, covering different parts of the Lauca river basin. Field investigations include determination of pH, ORP, electrical conductivity, and temperature using a portable multiparameter instrument and alkalinity using a digital titrator. Arsenic concentrations were obtained using a portable field meter. Water samples were collected in duplicate, samples were filtered for major anions, and acidified for major cation and trace element analyses.

Result indicate that groundwater pH is circumneutral to alkaline in a range of 6.67 to 8.10, the electrical conductivity varies in a range of 206 to 4325 µS/cm, the ORP of sampled wells are relatively oxidized. Predominant water type is Na-Cl-HCO3 with high concentrations of arsenic observed in various water samples ranging from 5 to 630 μg/L. Multiple geochemical mechanism drives mobilization of arsenic from alluvial sediments to aquifers in the Lauca river basin

High concentrations of As can have serious effects on the health of the exposed population and it is necessary to apply low-cost remediation technologies to ensure the safety of drinking water. It is necessary deep investigations for better understand the sources of arsenic and the geochemical mechanism for arsenic mobilization into groundwater, which is probably controlled by weathering, dissolution/precipitation of specific geological materials within the Lauca river basin in Bolivian Altiplano.

Session No. 230

T133. Groundwater Security Toward Sustainable Development
Wednesday, 12 October 2022: 8:00 AM-12:00 PM
406 (Colorado Convention Center)
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol 54, No. 5
doi: 10.1130/abs/2022AM-381698
© Copyright 2022 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.
Back to: T133. Groundwater Security Toward Sustainable Development
<< Previous Abstract | Next Abstract >>