Environmental quality and hygienic safety of the Alimini Lakes (Puglia, Italy): 20 years of monitoring (1995–2014)

The Alimini Lakes are two water bodies located in the south-eastern part of the Salento Peninsula. They are part of a complex hydrogeological system that includes various intercommunicating water bodies particularly sensitive to point and diffuse pollution. In consideration of the environmental and hygiene-health risks, from 1995 to 2014 the University of Salento and various public authorities, responsible for environmental quality in the Apulia region, conducted a series of monitoring activities to analyse the microbiological, toxicological and ecological quality of the waters throughout the hydrogeological system. The studies made it possible to: quantify the input of fresh water and nutrients to the lakes, revealing a greater environmental risk for Fontanelle as a result of the reduced exchange of waters; identify diffuse contamination of faecal origin linked to the anthropization of the surrounding area, which may have affected the stretch of sea near the mouth of the seaward channel and the underlying aquifer; highlight chemical and toxic risk factors arising from agricultural activities; and identify potential consequences for human health linked to the use of the waters (for domestic purposes, agriculture, recreation, etc.). However, the results of the investigations conducted revealed the gradual improvement of the quality of the waters in the two lakes and the hydrological networks that feed them.