Scenarios of groundwater pollution in a Karst watershed: A case study in the Pinar del Rio province at Cuba

Abstract

Groundwater pollution scenarios in the Santo Tomás watershed, a site of great importance for Cuban karst, are described in this work. The area hosts one of the most remarkable karst system of the island (Gran Caverna de Santo Tomás, over 45 km long). The Santo Tomás watershed has been an object of study since the 1950s, but in the last decades the researches have increased significantly, and were focused on different issues, including the hydrogeological and hydrodynamic characteristics of the aquifer, tracing tests, and hydro-geochemistry analysis. Within this framework, assessment of the groundwater vulnerability to pollution is an essential stage in the process addressed to safeguard the water resources. This has to be realized through a two-fold approach: i) prevention, in order to avoid contamination of karst groundwater, and ii) mitigation of the effects deriving from the existing activities. With reference to this latter point, knowledge of location and typology of the human activities potentially able to produce contamination is fundamental for land use planning programmes.