Manure pollution from the Osona and Lluçanès springs in 2020

The Grup de Defensa del Ter has been analysing the nitrate concentration in springs located in the counties of Osona and Lluçanès for 19 years and this year the historical record for nitrate concentration was broken in one of these springs. The analysis was made possible thanks to 53 volunteers from the Grup de Defensa del Ter who visited 164 springs, 13 of which were not flowing. The average nitrate concentration was 72 mg/l, while the WHO has set the limit for the drinking water purification at a nitrate concentration of 50 mg/l. The average value this year is slightly lower than in 2019, which was 76 mg/l, although the difference is not significant enough to assume that there has been a real decrease in pollution. We still have almost half of the contaminated springs, about 45%.

The Gana spring in Calldetenes with 492.2 mg/l of nitrates was the most polluted this year, beating the historical record since the beginning of the analyses in 2002, followed by two springs usually on the podium, the Gallisans spring in Santa Cecília de Voltregà, with 465.8 mg/l, and in third place, the Cassanell spring in Taradell, with 344.80 mg/l. Last year, the first prize was awarded to the latter source, with 456.8 mg/l. This year, however, the Gana spring is at nearly 500 mg/l of nitrate, a value 10 times higher than what the WHO allows for the drinking water purification. This is undoubtedly the highest value we have found in 19 years of source analysis.

Read more in Catalan on the website of the Grup de Defensa del Ter