The Board is commissioning a three-year project to carry out isotopic and conventional analyzes of water bodies in areas vulnerable to nitrate contamination. The work will be carried out by the Tragsatec company for 342,360 euros
Sometimes, one of the consequences derived from the realization of agricultural practices is the possible contamination of water, especially that produced by nitrates provided by fertilizers and fertilizers.
The nitrate molecule is very soluble, which gives it great mobility in the suelo. Although this allows it to be easily used by plants, it has the disadvantage that excess nitrates infiltrates the soil until it reaches the underground water masses, or is dragged by runoff to surface waters.
If the presence of nitrate or its reduced form, nitrite, reaches high concentrations, its consumption can be harmful to health.
Aware of this situation, the Council of the European Communities promulgated in the year 91, the Directive 91/676 / EEC on the protection of waters against pollution produced by nitrates used in agriculture, which was transposed into Spanish legislation by Royal Decree 261/1996.
This Directive obliged the member states, first of all, to determine the affected waters or that could be affected by said contamination and then designate as vulnerable zones all the known surfaces of its territory whose runoff flows into them.
The key element for the system put in place by the Directive to achieve an effective reduction of nitrate pollution is the correct drafting and application of the action programs. And for its preparation, in-depth knowledge of the existing pollution, the sources that produce it and its expected evolution in the water bodies is very important.
Isotopic analysis, combined with conventional water analysis, can make it possible to fairly accurately identify the source or sources that cause contamination in a specific body of water, as well as the existence of nitrification or denitrification processes in the same waters that alter the existing contamination.
