Bacteriological pollution transport related to a flood in a karstic system according to physico-chemical parameter analysis
The exploitation of karstic aquifer systems for the supply of potable water raises the problem of the evaluation of sanitary risks, in view of their great vulnerability. To supply a great urban tenter, a yield as high as several cubic metres per hour is required, and this magnitude corresponds to that of an underground basin of several km2, so that it is difficult to monitor and protect. Analytical observations from sanitary control platforms on potable water catchments have shown the existence of periods of high bacteriological pollution synchronizing systematically with periods of a rise of water. These bacteriological pollution transfers depend on the general conditions in which the aquifer functions. It seemed interesting, for the prevention of contamination, to examine all these hydrogeologic functions observed during a water rise, using bacteriological parameters. This study was based on observations made during an overall flood period following a prolonged drought throughout the whole basin supplying the city of Montpellier (France). The aim was to carry out a correlation test on the functioning of a karstic aquifer, with regard to : - the variation of the main physico-chemical parameters, - the principal pathogenic germs, - the commonly observed indicators of faecal contamination. This operation, undertaken in close collaboration with the sanitation board and the university authorities, required considerable investment in human, materiat and financial resources. Montpellier, a city with a population of 250 000 inhabitants, is supplied with potable water from the source of the River Lez. The water catchment is-situated upstream of a. major resurgence (12 m3/s during the water rise), tapping water from a principal drainage channel at a depth of 40 metres. The area of the basin feeding the spring was evaluated to be 150 km2 by adjustment to the 450 km2 of Jurassic and Cretaceous outcropping certified limestone, north of Montpellier. Even if the limits of the basin are not precisely defined, some of its parameters are well known. The aquifer consists of different structural zones, almost like independent sub-systems, having in common a rapid drainage network. The response observed at the exurgence is compared globally with the pluviometric signs, as well as with the effects produced in each structural zone, the transfer time, chemistry, temperature, recession, etc. The whole aquifer must be considered under pressure and it is this state of pressure which is probably responsible for the directional flow of the water from the rock matrix and of that circulating in the major karstification areas. The aquifer may be either in a state of injection or drainage and this notion is supported by the chemical and thermal fluctuations at the exurgence point. A one-year experimental programme, based on our knowledge of this aquifer, has been set up in collaboration with forecasters at the National Meteorological Office. All have been on the alert and ready to intervene, equipped with all the necessary staff and apparatus to ensure reliable sampling and analyses. The following procedures were performed : - sampling every 4 hours during the first 48 hours ; - sampling every 12 hours during the following 48 hours. Then until the end of the study, sampling took place every 24 hours with : - 1 bacteriological sample in sterile condition, - 1 sample for physico-chemical analyses in the laboratory, - temperature measurements with a 1/10° mercury thermometer, - resistivity measurements, - pH measurements with two standards, - a limigraphic reading. This period of water rise, hydrologically homogeneous throughout the whote basin in the form of a single impulsive response tasting about 10 days, was characterised by the circulation of two types of water masses : from the rock matrix and resutting from rapid infiltration. The mixture of these two bodies, each with a distinct chemical character, is a function of the state of pressure in the aquifer. At the end of the rise, a third type of water intervenes, that of retarded infiltration. The best criteria for identifying these volumes of water are thermal ones. The most variable elements are magnesium and calcium. Deep waters with a temperature of 16 °5 are characterised by a variation in magnesium, and cold water, by a variation in calcium. The highest value of calcium is related to the passage of water bodies attributed to the influence of retarded infiltration. The geological observations and the processing of results by factorial analyses show a clear distinction between the chemical rise and the piezometric rise. The hydraulic rise point is constituted by water with the saure chemical characteristics as that of the lowest water level. The most important dilution due to rapid transfer in the basin is observed in the middle of the water fait. These synchronized with the highest batteriological pollution rate for most of the elements. This study has provided a global appreciation of the sanitary risks and shows how pollution mechanisms function. Risks are permanent, even during the passage of the deepest water with a long residence time. This phenomenon raises the question of the duration and mode of survive of non encystable bacteria indicators in the karst system. The survival time appeared to be about a year or more. There is always a covariation between the physico-chemical elements and bacteriological pollution where the aquifer is under high pressure and when the water rises or has reached its maximum level, or when the water starts to fall. It is when the level of the water starts to drop that the main peaks of bacteriological pollution are observed. From this moment onwards, the whole basin functions like a drained system and the absence of covariation in the physico-chemical and bacteriological parameters are signs that the flow has become heterogeneous. For sanitation purposes it may be sufficient to monitor temperature and other chemical elements, in order to determine when an additional treatment of the water is required to maintain its potability. An appropriate apparatus is being devised to this end.