The Risk to Groundwater from Wastewater Irrigation Using High Chromium Tannery Effluent

The city of Leon, Mexico, is a major centre for the Latin American leather processing and shoe manufacturing industries, with more than 500 leather curing and tanning establishments. The city produces wastewater containing significant quantities of chromium that has been used untreated over a period...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental geochemistry and health 2001-09, Vol.23 (3), p.247-251
Main Authors: Stuart, ME, Milne, C J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chromium
Groundwater irrigation
Mexico, Leon
Tannery wastes
Wastewater irrigation
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Summary:The city of Leon, Mexico, is a major centre for the Latin American leather processing and shoe manufacturing industries, with more than 500 leather curing and tanning establishments. The city produces wastewater containing significant quantities of chromium that has been used untreated over a period of 40 years to irrigate agricultural land overlying an important aquifer. The city is highly dependent on these groundwater resources for public water supply. Wastewater is discharged from the sewerage system into a complex system of open distribution canals with some water being used directly for irrigation and the remaining passing through the El Mastranzo storage lagoon. The irrigated area has progressively increased in size to the present 3,000 ha.
ISSN:0269-4042
1573-2983
DOI:10.1023/A:1012273710180