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How Uncontrolled Urban Expansion Increases the Contamination of the Titicaca Lake Basin (El Alto, La Paz, Bolivia)

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Abstract

Cities in developing countries encounter rapid waves of social transformation and economic development where the environment is mostly a neglected aspect. The Katari watershed encompasses mining areas, El Alto city (one of the fastest growing urban areas in South America and the biggest in the Altiplano) as well as agricultural areas. Its outlet is Cohana Bay, one of the most polluted areas of Lake Titicaca. Here we propose an integrative approach (hydrological, physicochemical, chemical and bacterial data) to understand the pollution problem of this developing area, in which a variety of anthropogenic activities takes place. Both mining and urban areas appear to be sources of metal pollution. Nutrient and bacterial contaminations are mainly related to urban and industrial discharges. These situations have impacts in the basin from the mining area down to Cohana Bay of Lake Titicaca. Pollutant concentration patterns are highly influenced by seasonal hydrology variations. The poor quality of surface waters in the basin represents a risk for human and animal populations, as well as for the quality of aquifers located underneath El Alto city.

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Acknowledgements

This project was partly funded by LABEX OSUG@2020, ANR grant no. ANR-10-LABX-56 (financed by the Future Investments programme launched by the French government and implemented by the ANR). We thank the University of San Andres (UMSA, La Paz) and the National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT, Mexico) for the support given to this project through PhD funding. We thank the Bolivian SENAMHI (Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología) for their technical assistance. We also acknowledge the French National research programme EC2CO Ecodyn of CNRS-INSU for its financial support.

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  1. D. Archundia

    Present address: ERNO, Instituto de Geologia, Av Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta SN, Los Arcos, 83250, Hermosillo, Son, Mexico

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Univ. Grenoble Alpes, IRD, CNRS, IGE, F38000, Grenoble, France

    D. Archundia, C. Duwig, L. Spadini, G. Uzu, M. C. Morel & J. M. F. Martins

  2. Univ. Grenoble Alpes, IRD, CNRS, ISTERRE, F38000, Grenoble, France

    S. Guédron

  3. CNAM, Laboratoire d’analyses chimiques et bio analyses, Paris Cedex 3, France

    M. C. Morel

  4. Instituto de Geología y Medio Ambiente (IGEMA), Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, 303, La Paz, Bolivia

    R. Cortez

  5. Instituto de Investigaciones Químicas (IIQ), Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, 303, La Paz, Bolivia

    O. Ramos Ramos

  6. Instituto de Biología, Laboratorio de Calidad Ambiental (LCA), Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, 303, La Paz, Bolivia

    J. Chincheros

  7. Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACYT), Av. Insurgentes Sur 1582, 03940, México, D.F., Mexico

    D. Archundia

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  1. D. Archundia
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Archundia, D., Duwig, C., Spadini, L. et al. How Uncontrolled Urban Expansion Increases the Contamination of the Titicaca Lake Basin (El Alto, La Paz, Bolivia). Water Air Soil Pollut 228, 44 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-016-3217-0

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