Groundwater vulnerability assessment of the Cork Harbour area,SW Ireland

In the Cork Harbour area of SW Ireland, high yield karst and intergranular gravel aquifers are extremely vulnerable to pollution from a variety of sources, mainly due to the limited protection afforded by the thin cover of low permeability glacial and alluvial overburden. The main potential sources of pollution are due to rapid urbanisation of the Cork city area and its attendant infrastructure, and increased industrialisation in the area, with numerous new industries, particularly pharmaceutical and chemical industries, located around Cork Harbour. Other potential sources of pollution are a number of landfills in the area and an oil refinery near the mouth of Cork Harbour. Traditional agricultural sources of pollution also exist, due to increased use of chemical fertilisers. Finally, the susceptibility to saline intrusion of the karst and gravel aquifers around Cork Harbour is high due to the long coastline of the harbour and the low-lying nature of the karst synclines with their superimposed buried valleys.