IWRA 2023 Online Conference - Emerging Pollutants: Protecting Water Quality for the Health of People and the Environment
Theme 2: Emerging pollutants and groundwater
Author(s): Melissa E. Lenczewski
Melissa E. Lenczewski (NSF). Institute for the Study of the Environment, Sustainability, and Energy; Northern Illinois University
Oral: PDFAbstract
INTRODUCTION
Tourism is important for economies:
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1.5 billion travelers in 2019,
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half of world travelers visit coastal locales
Tourism in Quintana Roo, Mexico:
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50% of tourists to Mexico visit Riviera Maya,
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Cancún is an international transportation hub
Water quality
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Karst- easily contaminated by tourists and locals.
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Wastewater and tourist activities
Pandemic set up a natural experiment to test how much groundwater pollution is due to tourism.
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Used sunscreens and antibiotics as proxies to estimate human presence
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Previous research looked at other indicators during tourism seasons
Evaluate new drainage system installed in Puerto Morelos. New connections to wastewater treatment plant replaces septic systems.
KEY FINDINGS
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Tourists contribute to the diversity of contaminants in groundwater.
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Pandemic antibiotic diversity from residents
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Residents are major contributors of total concentration of contaminants, but not diversity.
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New drainage program in Puerto Morelos, QR, effectively reduces contamination in groundwater.
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Next steps: 2022 data, time and location in cenote
Tuesday, January 17th, 2023, 17:40 CET on Zoom