WATER QUALITY IN WELLS FROM COZUMEL ISLAND, MEXICO

Abstract

Physical and chemical variables related with groundwater quality, were surveyed in several systems from Cozumel Island, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Along the annual cycle (November 2007 to October 2008), the observations were compared with local and international standards for drinking water. The goal is to determine areas for freshwater reserve in the island, through the evaluation of both, geographic information and physical and chemical features along seasons. A Kruskal-Wallis test (p<0.05) showed spatial differences between systems related with ionic content in the surveyed area: smaller ionic concentration (better water quality) was found in the central-north systems from the island, intermediate at east, and higher at west (low water quality). Therefore, the central-north region of the island is proposed as an important zone of fresh water reserve, because of the low electrical conductance, and low chloride concentration. The evidence supports the hypothesis that the temporal behavior of some groundwater variables is related with meteorological, seasonal changes. The information could be useful for resource management and conservation of drinking water in the island.