Water quality at "Above Socavon 1" and "El Socavón

Dr. José Múzquiz of the Municipal Water Supply and Treatment office in Múzquiz advised us that this site is believed to feed water to the Socavón, a flooded silver mine tunnel, the outlet of which, known as "El Socavón" is now the source of the Municipal water supply. The silver mine tunnel outlet is located on the other side of a small hill from "Above Socavón 1". The hypothesis that the two are connected had not been proven.

The small entrance to "Above Socavón 1" is a modified natural cave which drops to a room containing a large pool fed by a large discharge of water rising through rounded cobbles in the floor on one side. The water exits through a crack in an artificial wall which was apparently built many years ago, falling an unknown distance. It was not possible to explore the area immediately below the waterfall; however, the tunnel leading upstream from El Socavon was explored to a location which survey data indicated must have been near the waterfall, if in fact the two access points are connected.

Water quality for "Above Socavón 1". Click on any graph for a larger image.
Temperature
temperature profile		 Specific conductance
specific conductance throughout course of the dive
pH
pH throughout course of the dive		 Dissolved Oxygen
Dissolved Oxygen throughout course of the dive
Redox Potential
Redox Potential throughout course of the dive		 Time / depth profile of the dive
Time / depth profile of the dive

The water column in "Above Socavón 1" is essentially homogeneous to its maximum depth of 7.6 m. This is not surprising in light of the large flow which passes through the site.

Comparison of water quality parameters between "Above Socavón 1" and "El Socavón." Data for "El Socavón" are from a single point only in this high-discharge system. The Hydrolab was not carried by the divers as they explor ed upstream through the tunnel.
"Above Socavón 1" El Socavón
Temperature 26.78 26.75
pH 7.77 7.77
Specific Conductance 0.64 0.64
Dissolved Oxygen (% Sat) 34.69 56.42
Dissolved Oxygen (mg/l) 2.77 4.51
Redox Potential 348.69 350.63

Comparisons of Hydrolab data from El Socavón and "Above Socavón 1" cave show that aside from dissolved oxygen, the waters are essentially identical. These data therefore support the hypothesis that the two sites are connected. The increased dissolved oxygen in El Socavón may be produced by the waterfall located immediately downstream from the "Above Socavon 1" cave pool.