ASSESSMENT OF GROUNDWATER QUALITY FROM BAIA MARE MINING AREA, ROMANIA

Baia Mare mining area is one of the most important mining areas from our country. Even if all the mines were closed in 2007 they continue to pollute the environment. In the present study, the water quality from 14 groundwater sources from Baia Mare was investigated. The water sources are located in both rural and urban areas. The samples were collected in March 2014. A portable multiparameter (WTW 320i) and portable turbidimeter (WTW pHotoFlexTurb) were used in order to measure in situ the fallowing parameters: pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), temperature, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), salinity and turbidity. In laboratory, the water samples were analyzed by ion chromatography (DIONEX ICS-1500 system) in order to quantify the following dissolved ions: lithium (Li+), sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), magnesium (Mg2+), calcium (Ca2+), ammonium (NH4+), fluoride ( F-), chloride (Cl-), bromide (Br-), nitrite (NO2-), nitrate (NO3-), phosphate (PO43- ) and sulfate (SO42-). The laboratory analyses indicated that the waters had a low mineralization and low concentrations of dissolved ions. We calculated the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) to see if these groundwaters can be used in agriculture. The SAR values ranged between 0.01 and 4.61, being considerably lower than 10, which mean that all the groundwater samples can be classified as excellent waters. As a consequence they can be safely used in agriculture purposes.