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Arsenic Content and Physicochemical Parameters of Water from Wells and Thermal Springs at Cuitzeo Lake Basin, Mexico

Alejandra Páez-Sánchez, Ruth Alfaro-Cuevas-Villanueva, Raúl Cortés-Martínez, Nuria Segovia

Arsenic concentration was evaluated in water from thermal springs and groundwater wells at Cuitzeo basin, Michoacán State, Mexico. There were analyzed also the physicochemical parameters and major components. Arsenic was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry within hydride generation. Physicochemical parameters and major components were analyzed by conventional laboratory methods. Average arsenic concentration values found ranged between 0.001 and 3.8 mg/L, indicating levels above Mexican and international recommendations for drinking water use in at least one of the sites. Results of physicochemical characterization revealed that almost all the water samples had good quality for drinking and domestic purposes, except those with high concentrations of arsenic, which presumably has a geological origin.