Natural boron contamination in Mediterranean groundwater

Within the past few decades, the water quality in many of the coastal aquifers along the Mediterranean Sea has rapidly degraded. Overexploitation of the groundwater basins, particularly during the tourist season, has resulted in the lowering of groundwater tables and increasing seawater intrusion into the aquifers. Countries such as Cyprus and Israel have shut down hundreds of wells along the coastline that were used primarily for drinking water. Results from an E.U.-sponsored project entitled BOREMED (Boron contamination of water resources in the Mediterranean region: distribution, sources, social impact and remediation) show that boron contamination poses a potential threat to the future use of many groundwater basins along the Mediterranean for the supply of drinking and irrigation water.