ANOMALOUS DEEP WATERS GURGLING TO THE SURFACE AND IMPACTING SOILS IN THE VAL D'AGRI OIL FIELD, SOUTHERN ITALY

This preliminary study documents the first occurrence in Southern Apennines of anomalous deep ground-water gurgling to the surface and impacting soils, that become infertile. 2 murky water pools (LaRossa wa-ters) have appeared in 2011 in a bucolic farm area near Montemurro, north of the Pertusillo Lake, in the Val d’Agri oil field (Basilicata, Italy), 2,3 km from the Costa Molina 2 reinjection well. To determine their properties 13 water samples were analysed, including LaRossa waters and, for comparison, 5 spring waters of the Val d’Agri. Physico-chemical parameters of LaRossa waters resulted different, showing higher con-centrations of salts, sodium, hydrocarbons, phenols and metals. The most abundant chemicals were: so-dium, chlorides, bicarbonates, total hydrocarbons, phenols, aluminum, iron, barium, boron, strontium, lead, manganese, cupper, zinc. LaRossa waters are turbid, rich of colloids and contain some gas; they are anoxic, with high temperature and intermittent flow rates at daily intervals, and cause soil degradation along their flow path. Physico-chemical characteristics of LaRossa waters are most similar to oil produced waters. A preliminary hypothesis indicates that a likely source of LaRossa waters is represented by leakage of the oil produced waters reinjected in the Costa Molina 2 well, probably due to problems of well integrity, with contamination of aquifers and toxic waters gurgling to the surface. A multidisciplinary study is needed in order to confirm this hypotesis.