Abstract

HEREDIA, Olga S  and  FERNANDEZ CIRELLI, A. Importance of soil properties in the risk of groundwater contamination. Cienc. suelo [online]. 2008, vol.26, n.2, pp.131-140. ISSN 1850-2067.

Aquifer vulnerability is frequently estimated through methodologies that do not consider the main physical and chemical soil parameters. Soil characteristics were determined at a semiurban region with mixed activities at the surroundings of Buenos Aires city. A soil attenuation index (AI) was proposed to estimate groundwater chemical pollution risk, that takes into account organic carbon content, pH, cation exchange capacity, clay content, phreatic depth and landscape position. Escobar soils were Mollisols and Entisols with a high variation in soil properties. Phosphorus, Mn and Zn concentrations in groundwater samples taken from selected places were used to validate the proposed index. Clay content was a very important property for adsorption, as clay increased, the soil P retention capacity increased simultaneously. A relationship was found between CEC, Cox and extractable P and chemical water properties with AI.

Keywords : Periurban soils; Attenuation index; Groundwater quality.

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