Reconnaissance of Ground-Water Quality in the US Virgin Islands
Canoy MJ, Knudsen A, Garcia R. 1985. Reconnaissance of Ground-Water Quality in the US Virgin Islands. Technical Report 24. Water Resources Research Institute of the College of the Virgin Islands
The US Virgin Islands are faced with ever increasing demands for water and the response to these demands is calling into production groundwater supplies of dubious quality. To evaluate the seriousness of this problem, a cooperative study between the Caribbean Research Institute and the US Geological Survey was done during .1984-85. In this study, 26 wells were sampled for physical, chemical, and microbiological parameters including salinity, temperature, ionic species, heavy metals, 128 critical organic pollutants, and the major microbiological species present. Results of this study indicate that the chemical quality of the groundwater, except for nitrate and total salinity in three wells, was acceptable. None of the 128 "priority pollutants" analyzed exceeded national standards. However, microbiological status of all wells were found to be very dubious. Three wells on st. John could pass the EPA coliform standard; however, five wells on St. Thomas-St. Croix met legal standards and only one well each on st. Thomas and St. Croix were found free of potentially pathogenic bacteria. Conclusions of the study were that: 1. Chemically, the groundwater of the V.I. is of acceptable quality or can be treated to become acceptable. 2. Microbiologically, the groundwater is of dubious to poor quality due to contamination with feces and/or pathogenic bacteria. 3. Current standards, using fecal coliforms as indicators, are probably not useful in the V.I. and may be misleading. 4. Standards for both groundwater use and sewage (septic tank) facilities are not protecting the water and should be reviewed and revised.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Canoy, Michael; Knudsen, A; Garcia, Rene
- Date of Issue
- 1985-09
- Publisher
- Water Resources Research Institute of the College of the Virgin Islands
- Units
- VIIS
- Keywords
- Aquatic Sciences, Chloride (Cl-), Conductivity, Fecal Coliform, Fecal Streptococci, Groundwater, Nitrates (NO3), St. Croix US Virgin Islands, St. John US Virgin Islands, St. Thomas US Virgin Islands, Sulfates (SO4), Water Quality, Wells