Physicochemical analysis of Lake Enriquillo in Dominican Republic

Abstract

The water level in Lake Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic (DR) has increased by an unprecedented amount over the last decade, inundating thousands of acres of farmland and more than a dozen villages and inflicting adverse social, environmental, and economic impacts on the nation. The Lake Enriquillo Basin (LEB), located near the towns of Independencia and Bahoruco in the southwest region of the DR, is bordered to the north by the Sierra de Neyba mountain range and to the south by the Sierra de Bahoruco mountain range. Lake Enriquillo is hypersaline and endorheic, with a water level that normally fluctuates between 40–50 m below sea level (BSL). However, since 2000, both Lake Enriquillo and Lake Azuei (Sumastre) in Haiti have experienced alarming water level increases, with Lake Enriquillo’s water level rising to 17.2 m BSL This article explores the changes in some of the important physicochemical parameters—such as salinity, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and pH—that have occurred in the period from 1977 to 2012. The highest salinity value occurred in 2012, at a value 103.1‰, with an average increase of 27.06‰, coinciding with the lake level of 17.2 m BSL. Changes in these parameters have caused damage to the ecosystem and the lives of people and species that inhabit the region.