Hydrodynamic and isotopic characterization of a site contaminated by chlorinated solvents: Chienti River Valley, Central Italy

Contaminant sources have been attributed to shoe manufacturers in an alluvial aquifer located along 26 km2 in the Chienti River Valley, Central Italy. During the 1980s and 1990s, the main chlorinated compound used in the study area was 1,1,1-Trichloroethane (1,1,1-TCA), which was substituted by Perchloroethene (PCE) in the last 15 years. A hydrogeological conceptual model has been developed for the alluvial aquifer taking into account the presence of low permeability lenses, forming a multilayer semi-confined aquifer. Hydrodynamic tests (pumping and flowmeter heat-pulse tests) coupled with standard and multilevel hydrochemical and isotopic samplings were performed. Flowmeter tests showed the existence of vertical flow between aquifer levels having different permeability. Physical–chemical parameter logs agreed with the existence of a multilayer aquifer. Concentration data collected in 21 wells located downgradient of the different sources revealed VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) levels lower than 100 μg/L in the upper part of the valley and levels reaching about 200 μg/L in the near shore areas. PCE is the main compound present in the aquifer. No evidence of the presence of TCA was found in the upper areas of the Chienti Valley, but in the areas near the shore, TCA and its degradation products are predominant. Data collected at multilevels located at two sites (upper and near shore areas) to refine the results obtained in the regional survey show a stratification of the VOC concentrations; values of each compound are higher than those measured in the conventional wells during the standard sampling (e.g. PCE: 150 μg/L instead of 2 μg/L). In addition, the vertical distribution of the contaminant reflects the vertical flow pattern inferred from hydrogeological data. The hydrogeological, VOC and isotope data showed that dilution is the main process controlling VOCs concentration in the aquifer. Degradation also played a role in the attenuation of the parent compounds in some localized areas of the aquifer. The role of the low permeability layers on VOC degradation was documented by the presence of cis-1,2-DCE, a main daughter product of PCE, in some zones of the upper area, and 1,1-Dichloroethene (1,1-DCE) and 1,1-Dichloroethane (1,1-DCA), byproducts of 1,1,1-TCA degradation, in the near shore areas.