What they studied and found
Bolivian scientists study the water’s age because it indicates roughly how long it takes the aquifer’s resources to replenish — in this case, thousands of years — and helps estimate the aquifer’s supply limits. Similarly, they check for contaminants to determine threats to the aquifer that could jeopardize its future use. At Purapurani, contamination has only been identified in a limited area of the aquifer and is likely related to river water mixing with aquifer water.
“Now that we know where the water comes from, we have to protect the aquifer’s sources to ensure its sustainability and quality,” said Rafael Cortéz, Consultant for the Ministry of Environment and Water and lecturer at San Andrés University. As the next step, he and his team of scientists plan to build artificial water recharge schemes to guarantee a stable supply of rainwater.
Two worlds
Working with the IAEA has yielded another benefit to Bolivia: a multidisciplinary team of chemists and hydrologists.
“With these projects we are bringing together experts from different disciplines, hydrologists and chemists,” said Luis Araguás Araguás, isotope hydrologist in the IAEA’s Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences. “A hydrologist doesn’t usually study isotopes, and a chemist doesn’t usually study water resources. Thanks to our projects, they meet and exchange their expertise.”
The team is now working to apply isotopic techniques to the aquifers of the city of Oruro and to replicate the same studies in other cities of Bolivia. Bolivia has five main large urban aquifers, but only three have been studied so far. The recent hydrological studies supported by the IAEA are gaining attention in conferences at the national level and universities have now introduced the concept of isotope hydrology in their curricula.
“We’ve grown with each project,” Cortéz said. “We have crawled, stood up, learned to walk, and are now starting to jog.”
