Main prerequisites of groundwater quality decline in the cretaceous water intakes of the eastern Ukraine

Abstract

The article deals with the problem of reducing the quality of potable groundwater in the marly-cretaceous aquifer of the Eastern Ukraine. Some facts related to the given problem are considered. Investigation of the chemical composition of groundwater is considered on the example of three most representative water intakes: Kharkivskyi, Svitlichanskyi, Zhytlivskyi. It is common practice that water intakes are exploited for economic and drinking water supply of large cities, small towns and villages of the Eastern Ukraine. The information about geological and hydrogeological characteristics of the studied intakes is presented.

It has been established that the groundwater quality of the investigated water intakes is affected not only by natural, but also anthropogenic processes that are typical for the territories where those water intakes are situated. Particular attention is paid to the anthropogenic processes that affect the quality of drinking underground waters, which are exploited by the studied water intakes. Due to the fact that water intakes are located within settlements, areas of their supply are almost completely urbanized; in case of insufficient natural protection for a long time they are threatened by groundwater pollution. This directly affects water quality of the intakes.Extraction of large volumes of water is seen as a powerful anthropogenic factor that contributes to the changes in the spatial-temporal characteristics of the water intakes and leads to changes in chemical composition of groundwater. Water quality monitoring at existing intakes will help to improve its quality.