Evolution of seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers of Pontina Plain (Italy)

In the last ten years it has been carried on a research project on the evolution of seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers of Pontina Plain (Italy). As a matter of fact groundwater in the coastal plain between Sabaudia and Terracina, south of Latina, Latium shows a number of problems, including salinization deriving from sea water intrusion or from different processes and from the superimposition of theirselves. The test site is an area of about 80 km2, most part of which coastal and wetland since the beginning of the previous century. In the last fifty years, when the wetland became a plan, they have been stood up in it many different human activities like industrial firms, and agricultural plantations, which represent the most part of fruits and vegetables feeding people of Centre Italy. The effects of groundwater overexploitation on seawater intrusion and on groundwater resource availability start nowadays to be sensitive. In this paper are presented and discussed the results of the study, which involved the analysis of 4891 stratigraphical reports, 91 VES (Vertical Electrical Soundings) utilizing the Schlumberger electrode array, driven in 2004, starting from the results of two previous geophysical investigation campaigns achieved in 1952 first, and in later sixties later, 45 logs meter by meter (CTD data, TDS and PH measurements), 58 groundwater level measurements, driven in 2004, 15 isotopic analysis on ground water samples. As it could be well understood it has been adopted a multisystem approach based on the integrated application of different investigation methods to set up the actual framework of seawater intrusion and the evolution it has had in the last fifty years.