The degradation hazard of groundwater resources of the Metaponto coastal plain (Southern Italy)

During the last century the land reclamation works, the built-up of dams and modern irrigation systems, the farm and industrial activities, and the overexploitation of the wells, associated to several periods of drought, have deeply modified the quantity and the chemical state of the groundwater resources of the Metaponto coastal plain (Southern Italy). The degradation of the groundwater systems seems to be increased with the time as shown by the piezometric trends (1927-1990) and by the chemical-physical data (1990-2003). The chemical-physical state of the groundwater has been defined according to the hydrochemical classification proposed by an Italian legislative decree.