What Is the Impact of Leaky Sewers on Groundwater Contamination in Urban Semi-Confined Aquifers? A Test Study Related to Fecal Matter and Personal Care Products (PCPs)

Urban areas exercise numerous and strong pressures on water bodies, implying that different external anthropogenic factors also stress groundwater. Sewerage networks play an important role, being the place of wastewater flow. When sewerage deterioration conditions occur, aquifers can be contaminated by contaminants contained within wastewater. The study aims to verify impact leaks in urban semi-confined through a multidisciplinary approach. Geological, hydrogeological, hydrochemical, microbiological, biomolecular investigations are carried out test site close sewer pipe, from February October 2022. Microbiological analyses monthly basis, contextually hydraulic head measurements purpose-drilled piezometers. presence sandy intercalations prevalence silt outcropping (about 10 m thick) aquitard makes aquifer vulnerable percolation leaky sewers, therefore causing persistent microbial contamination fecal indicators (including pathogenic genera), corrosive human-associated bacteria markers, is detected. magnitude microbiological varies over time, depending hydrogeological such as dilution, hydrodynamic dispersion, variation groundwater flow pathway at scale. As for personal care products, only Disodium EDTA detected wastewater, while concentrations all analyzed substances lower than instrumental detection limit.