Abstract

LOPEZ-ALVAREZ, Briseida et al. Origin of water quality of the hanging aquifer and its relation with changes in land use in the San Luis Potosí valley. Bol. Soc. Geol. Mex [online]. 2013, vol.65, n.1, pp.9-26. ISSN 1405-3322.

The history of San Luis Potosi City dates back to the sixteenth century. With the discovery of gold and silver deposits and the presence of water bodies in the valley, the city of San Luis Minas Potosí was founded, leading to the first two uses of land: urban and mining. From the seventeenth century, agricultural land developed in orchards and, over time, was relegated to the periphery of the urban area. Finally, industrial land use emerged significantly in the second half of the twentieth century. Currently the three existing land uses within the Valley of San Luis Potosi are urban, agricultural and industrial. Through a hydrogeochemical sampling campaign in October 2008 with 44 samples from wells and 3 from springs within the valley, we assessed physical and chemical parameters, cations, anions and trace elements. In the three land uses within the study area, we detected significant levels of nitrates, sulphates, chlorides, electrical conductivity, total and fecal coliforms; but in urban areas there are punctual anomalies of heavy metals, mainly mercury, barium, strontium, cadmium, lead, phosphorus and silver related to former mining and active industry in the area. However, in the agricultural zone, the presence of metals is associated with open channels, which also receive water from the Tanque Tenorio and this in turn from the industrial area. In the industrial area, puntual anomalies were detected in almost all heavy analyzed metals; the main source of these pollutants corresponds to an active industrial area. This work aims to evaluate the impact of anthropogenic activity in the perched aquifer of the Valley of San Luis Potosí since the city's foundation to the present, using water quality as an analytical tool.

Keywords : Change of land use; water quality; perched aquifer; mining; pollution.