Spring water discharge and metal enrichment in urban soils

Abstract

Urban centers have inherited a unique mix of persistent contamination that impacts interactions among urban soil and groundwater systems. In particular, the potential for urban groundwater to transport contaminants from surface sources through the subsurface environment and ultimately to soils is not well understood. Studies have focused on specific ‘natural’ mechanisms driving distribution of metals in urban soils. However, very few studies have examined the accumulation of contamination in soils at groundwater discharge locations (springs) and the potential for groundwater to redistribute urban legacy contaminants far from the source. Soil transects straddling four groundwater springs in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania were sampled to evaluate patterns resulting from contaminated groundwater discharge on urban soils. Metal concentrations were measured in pore water and compared with concentrations observed in total digestions and exchangeable extractions (acetic acid) of the soil. Across the springs Co, Cr, Ni, and V (metals often used in steel alloys) were elevated downslope, suggesting contaminated groundwater discharge enriches trace metals in these locations. These processes create unexpected biogeochemical patterns on the landscape and have the potential to create hotspots of soil metal contamination at predictable points across the urban landscape.

Keywords

• urban groundwater
• trace metals
• soil chemistry
• legacy contamination
• groundwater springs