Evolución espacio-temporal de NO3 - en las aguas de la declarada Zona Vulnerable de Vitoria-Gasteiz (País Vasco)
- M. Martínez 1
- Estilita Ruiz Romera 2
- Miriam Martinez Lopez de Sabando 1
- Jesús Angel Uriarte Goti 1
- José Miguel Sánchez Pérez 3
- Ignacio Antigüedad Auzmendi 1
- 1 Dpto. Geodinámica. Universidad del País Vasco-Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea
- 2 Dpto. de Ingeniería Química y del Medio Ambiente. Universidad del País Vasco-Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea
- 3 Laboratoire d’écologie fonctionnelle. UMR 5245 CNRS - Université Paul Sabatier, 31055 Toulouse (Francia)
ISSN: 1576-5172
Year of publication: 2008
Issue Title: VII Congreso Geológico de España
Issue: 10
Pages: 817-820
Type: Article
More publications in: Geotemas (Madrid)
Abstract
The increase in the use of fertilisers has led to widespread groundwater pollution of the quaternary aquifer of Vitoria-Gasteiz, so that the nitrate concentration almost constantly exceeds the limit of 50 mg NO3-/L imposed by 91/676/CEE European Directive. According to this, in 1998 the Basque Government declared the East Sector of this aquifer a Vulnerable Zone and, consequently, the water quality monitoring and the control measurements were established. A more exhaustive water control network was established by the Hydrogeology Group of University of the Basque Country in 2001, which has allowed evidencing a nitrate decrease in groundwater. Thanks to this exhaustive control, the nitrate losses also have been measured in Salburua wetland, within the VZ, where the absorption processes are carried out by the vegetation and the denitrification processes by bacteria of the soil.