Pre‐drill Groundwater Geochemistry in the Karoo Basin,South Africa

Enhanced production of unconventional hydrocarbons in the United States has driven interest in natural gas development globally, but simultaneously raised concerns regarding water quantity and quality impacts associated with hydrocarbon extraction. We conducted a pre‐development assessment of groundwater geochemistry in the critically water‐restricted Karoo Basin, South Africa. Twenty‐two springs and groundwater samples were analyzed for major dissolved ions, trace elements, water stable isotopes, strontium and boron isotopes, hydrocarbons and helium composition. The data revealed three end‐members: a deep, saline groundwater with a sodium‐chloride composition, an old, deep freshwater with a sodium‐bicarbonate‐chloride composition and a shallow, calcium‐bicarbonate freshwater. In a few cases, we identified direct mixing of the deep saline water and shallow groundwater. Stable water isotopes indicate that the shallow groundwater was controlled by evaporation in arid conditions, while the saline waters were diluted by apparently fossil meteoric water originated under wetter climatic conditions. These geochemical and isotopic data, in combination with elevated helium levels, suggest that exogenous fluids are the source of the saline groundwater and originated from remnant seawater prior to dilution by old meteoric water combined with further modification by water‐rock interactions. Samples with elevated methane concentrations (>14 ccSTP/kg) were strongly associated with the sodium‐chloride water located near dolerite intrusions, which likely provide a preferential pathway for vertical migration of deeply sourced hydrocarbon‐rich saline waters to the surface. This pre‐drill evaluation indicates that the natural migration of methane‐ and salt‐rich waters provides a source of geogenic contamination to shallow aquifers prior to shale gas development in the Karoo Basin.     

Challenges Facing Environmentally Sustainable Ground Water Use in South Africa

In 1998, South Africa promulgated a Water Act that is widely regarded as one of the most progressive and enabling pieces of environmental legislation in the world. The environmental aspects of the Water Act are commonly referred to as “resource-directed measures.” These measures attempt to find the right balance between (1) leaving water in the resource (“nonconsumptive use”) to provide ecological goods and services for society and (2) taking the water out of the system for “consumptive” human use. These measures also attempt to ensure that both nonconsumptive and consumptive use is sustainable. This article discusses some of the challenges faced in using the measures to achieve environmentally sustainable ground water use. A major challenge is that misunderstanding still abounds regarding the environmental aims of this legislation. Other major challenges identified included a severe shortage of technical capacity, an inordinately long water use license application process, incorporating adaptive management to deal with uncertainty, incorporating the public participation process, and revising policy implementation processes to accommodate highly localized aquifers. Selecting appropriate scientific methodology—neither too simplistic nor too involved—is a recurring challenge. It is suggested that an important part of addressing these and the other challenges identified is a period of reflection and dialogue between the various sectors involved.     

Theory and Method for Identifying Well Water Level Anomalies in a Groundwater Overdraft Area

The overexploitation of underground water leads to the continuous drawdown of groundwater levels, change of water quality and dry-up in dynamic water level observation wells. Due to land subsidence, the well pipes uplift and the observation piping systems are damaged. These environmental geology problems can present serious difficulties for the identification of earthquake anomalies by groundwater level observation. Basied on hydrogeological theories and methods, the paper analyzes the relations of the water balance state of aquifers with stress-strain conditions and the water level regime, and then discusses preliminarily the theory and method for identifying well water level anomalies in a groundwater overdraft area. The result shows that we can accurately judge the nature of the anomaly according to the diffusion character of the drawdown funnel in the well area in combination with the aforementioned theory and method and multi-year variation patterns obtained from existing data. The results of the research are helpful for distinguishing the influence of single centralized water pumping from the long-term overdraft of water on the water level, correctly recognizing water level anomalies in the groundwater overdraft area and increasing the level of earthquake analysis and prediction.     

Assessment of Groundwater Quality at Yuncheng Basin: Denotation for the Water Management in China

Dramatic decreases in groundwater quality have raised widespread concerns about water supplies and ecological crises in China. In this study, hydrochemistry, stable isotopes, and graphical and multivariate statistical methods are integrated to identify hydrogeochemical processes controlling groundwater quality in the Yuncheng Basin, China. Our results show that groundwater with 21 variables (pH, temperature-T, total dissolved solid, major-trace elements, and stable isotopes) is chemically classified into three distinct clusters: fresh water [C1], brackish-saline water [C2], and saline water [C3]. Groundwater salinization is identified as the prime process in controlling groundwater quality for shallow groundwater and deep groundwater in the lowland areas. Large-scale As, F, or B contaminations found in groundwater are closely related to groundwater salinization, agricultural activity, and the exploration of geothermal water in the area. With respect to the risk of contamination, groundwater in the basin is spatially divided into the following: shallow groundwater with a high risk located in the north side of the Salt Lake, shallow groundwater with a moderate risk, and deep groundwater with a low to moderate risk. Nationally, the increasing demand on groundwater is threatened by a range of environmental and health pressures, including salinization and contaminations of nitrate, As, F, or B. Our study indicates that natural water-rock interactions and hydrogeological conditions are significant factors controlling these contaminations. Systematic management and regulation of existing groundwater resources are required to prevent further deterioration of groundwater resources. Policies should be made and implemented to ensure “green” exploitation of geothermal water.     

地下水超采区承压井水位变化机理探讨

通过研究河北平原区地下水超采区第四系第三承压含水层水位的变化机理,依据上覆地层的荷载效应、非稳定流抽水中弱透水层的释水和越流过程,阐明地下水超采区内地下水位大幅下降的内在规律,为科学合理地提取地震前兆信息提供科学依据。     

Assessment of Groundwater Vulnerability to Contamination by Organochlorine Pesticides in the Area of Caucasian Mineral Water

The procedure of evaluating pesticide travel time through the aeration zone to the groundwater table is presented. It is found that the time of pollutant travel through rocks of the aeration zone depends on the thickness and composition of rocks of this zone, the porosity of rocks, distribution factor, volumetric humidity, and the infiltration recharge. As shown, the most vulnerable are the valleys of principal rivers of the area of Caucasian Mineral Water, where the Recent and Middle Quaternary aquifers confined to these valleys are intensely used for domestic and drinking needs.     

Factoring Impacts to Water Supply Well Operations into Groundwater Management Planning

Groundwater management planning requires balancing the interests of different stakeholder groups because (1) water supply development causes changes to groundwater systems that include declines in groundwater levels and (2) benefits and costs from pumping the common-pool resource often do not occur such that they are shared proportionate to use. Quantifying impacts from declining groundwater levels among user groups can be useful for evaluating management strategies. In California, considering impacts to supply well operations is proving important for acceptance of management plans that have been required by law. A case study is presented to illustrate the types of results that may contribute to the planning process. The results indicate that significant differences in impact may occur between groundwater pumpers. Suggestions are provided for using this information to mitigate impacts to the most vulnerable stakeholders.     

Seismic risk ranking for large dams in South Africa

Earthquake motion is one of the extreme loads acting on large dams. Dam owners and regulators must therefore ensure that dams are safely operated and present minimal risk to the public in case of extreme loads such as floods and earthquakes. Owners of many dams or officials in charge of dam safety programs may consider comparative assessment of the seismic risk associated with their dams and establish priorities for detailed evaluation. South Africa has in excess of 100 large state-owned dams and the characteristics of these dams have been used to perform a basic seismic hazard assessment and rank the vulnerability of these dams from the lowest to highest. One of the most decisive factors that contributes to the risk of a dam is the wall type; with gravity and earthfill dams being the most vulnerable to earthquake motion. Another aspect that needs further investigation is the downstream hazard potential which, if known to a better degree of accuracy, can provide more reasonable estimates of the risk factors.     

Groundwater Monitoring on Guam: Management Responses to Recent Water Quality Violations

Guam has one of the finest limestone aquifers in the world. Located in the northern half of the island, this vital underground resource supplies the local community with about 80% of its drinking water needs. The majority of the island’s approximately 180,000 inhabitants live in the northern half of the island where significant economic growth and urban development have occurred over the last 30 years. The U.S. military has also occupied large tracts of land in this region for the past 60 years. The risks of groundwater contamination are, therefore, very real considering the population density in northern Guam and the rapid recharge rates to the underlying aquifer. Since April 1996, Guam Waterworks Authority (GWA) has regularly monitored the island’s drinking water resources for chemical and biological contaminants in accordance with the U.S. Safe Drinking Water Act requirements. This report summarizes and compares the groundwater data sets for two discrete time intervals: 1996 through 2001 and 2002 through 2007 for chemicals, and 1997(8) through 2002 and 2003 through 2007 for bacteria. Adaptive management strategies that evolved to deal with contaminant violations over this time frame are critically discussed. Overall, 95% of all GWA’s drinking water production wells were considered to be in relatively good shape from a chemical standpoint. Identified chemicals of concern were chlordane, ethylene dibromide, perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene, and nitrate. The microbiological integrity of Guam’s groundwater was, by comparison, less impressive prior to 2003 because of numerous wastewater spills, leaks, and overflows. Improved management practices introduced shortly afterward have significantly reduced the incidence of Escherichia coli contamination in recent years.     

The Enrichment Process of Groundwater Fluorine in Sea Water Intrusion Area of Gaomi City,China

A typical area, Gaomi City in China, was chosen to discuss the enrichment process of groundwater fluorine in sea water intrusion area. The groundwater had fluorine levels of 0.09–10.99 mg/L, with an average concentration of 1.38 mg/L. The high-fluorine groundwater was mainly distributed in the unconsolidated Quaternary sediments, where concentrations in 83.6% of the samples exceeded the national limit of 1.0 mg/L. The groundwater in the Quaternary sediments also had higher levels of Cl⁻, TDS, Mg²⁺, and pH and lower levels of Ca²⁺, Co, Ni, and Cu than that in the bedrock. The groundwater fluorine levels in the Quaternary sediments are positively correlated with Cl⁻, TDS, Mg²⁺, pH, and negatively correlated with Ca²⁺, γCa²⁺/γMg²⁺, Co, Ni, Cu. Geochemical indices of Cl⁻ and TDS indicate sea water intrusion in the Quaternary high-fluorine groundwater area (F⁻ > 1.0 mg/L), while they do not indicate any intrusion in the bedrock area. The chemical weathering of minerals was intensified with the intrusion of sea water. Cation exchange was confirmed to occur in the Quaternary sediments and was promoted by sea water intrusion. Cation exchange consumes part of groundwater Ca²⁺ and permits more F⁻ dissolving. Consequently, in the Quaternary sediments, the groundwater was supersaturated with CaF₂ minerals and undersaturated with MgF₂ minerals when F⁻ > 1.0 mg/L, while CaF₂ and MgF₂ minerals both are undersaturated when F⁻ < 1.0 mg/L. Thus, the chemical weathering of minerals and cation exchange caused by sea water intrusion are the crucial processes controlling the groundwater fluorine levels, which should be considered when the groundwater fluorine enrichment mechanism is discussed along coastal zones.     

Hydrological modelling for assessing spatio-temporal groundwater recharge variations in the water-stressed Amathole Water Supply System,Eastern Cape,South Africa

To increase the resilience of regional water supply systems in South Africa in the face of anticipated climatic changes and a constant increase in water demand, water supply sources require diversification. Many water-stressed metropolitan regions in South Africa depend largely on surface water to cover their water demand. While climatic and river discharge data is widely available in these regions, information on groundwater resources – which could support supply source diversification – is scarce. Groundwater recharge is a key parameter that is used to estimate groundwater amounts that can be sustainably exploited at a sub-watershed level. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a reliable hydrological modelling routine that enables the assessment of regional spatio-temporal variations of groundwater recharge to discern the most promising areas for groundwater development. Accordingly, we present a semi-distributed hydrological modelling approach that incorporates water balance routines coupled with baseflow modelling techniques to yield spatio-temporal variations of groundwater recharge on a regional level. The approach is demonstrated for the actively managed catchment areas of the Amathole Water Supply System situated in a semi-arid part of the Eastern Cape of South Africa. In the investigated study area, annual groundwater recharge exhibits a high spatio-temporal heterogeneity and is estimated to vary between ~0.5% and 8% of annual rainfall. Despite some uncertainties induced by limited data availability, calibration and validation of the model were found to be satisfactory and yielded model results similar to (point) data of annual groundwater recharge reported in earlier studies. Our approach is therefore found to derive crucial information for efficiently targeting more detailed groundwater exploration studies and could work as a blueprint for orientating groundwater potential exploration in similar environments.     

Carbon Budget and Molecular Structure of Natural Organic Matter in Bank Infiltrated Groundwater

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) provides means to remove natural organic matter (NOM) from surface waters. Recent studies have explored the degree of NOM removal in groundwater. In this study, we further elaborate the NOM removal at a lakeside natural bank infiltration site that functions as a surrogate for MAR. Our objective was to quantify the carbon budget in the aquifer based on concentration measurements of dissolved (in)organic carbon, and the molecular changes in NOM using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS). According to the carbon budget, only 25% of the dissolved carbon entering the aquifer was organic, and it predominantly originated from lake water. Of the inorganic majority, on average 40% was produced in the vadose zone above the groundwater table, 31% in the lake bank, 22% in the aquifer as a result of degrading organic matter of lake water, and 7% in the lake. Seasonal concentration variations suggested that the lake bank was the main carbon source in the summer, increasing the carbon concentration of infiltrating lake water, that is, 3.0 mg/L to 7.9 mg/L. FT-ICR MS results showed 4960 to 5330 individual compounds in lake and groundwater. NOM removal in the aquifer was selective: the relative abundance of oxygen-containing species decreased from 75 to 31%, while the relative abundance of sulfur-containing species increased from 15 to 57%. The average molecular weights of both species remained unchanged. The study highlighted the role of lake bank processes and sulfur-containing species in groundwater quality.     

鞍山-海城地区地震地下水地球化学研究

通过测量辽宁省鞍山-海城地区地震重点监测区地下水离子浓度和氢、氧同位素组成,讨论了该区地下水化学类型的时空变化及其成因。测量结果表明,取样点水温变化范围为11.0～97.0℃,水样的总固溶物（TDS）在197.89～829.99mg/L之间,水样分为8种化学类型。大部分水样的δD、δ¹⁸O值均沿中国东北地区大气降水线分布,少数有所偏离,表明该区的地下水主要接受大气降水的补给,并可能有深部水的供给。研究区Ca-HCO₃和Ca·Mg-HCO₃型水主要是岩石风化溶解和阳离子交换作用的结果;Ca-HCO₃·Cl和Ca·Na-Cl·SO₄型水主要受岩石风化溶解、阳离子交换作用、深部卤水混入或人类活动影响;Ca-HCO₃·SO₄和Ca-SO₄·HCO₃型水与岩石风化溶解以及深部流体混入有关;Na-SO₄·HCO₃和Na-HCO₃·SO₄型水主要是深部来源水体的混入造成的。采样期间研究区发生2次M_L≥3.0地震,采样点在地震发生月份出现了明显的离子浓度异常变化;Na⁺、Mg²⁺、Ca²⁺、Cl^-和SO₄^2-浓度变化明显,对地震活动响应较灵敏。     

Intersecting views of gully erosion in South Africa

Gully erosion is an environmental problem recognized as one of the worst land degradation processes worldwide. Insight into regional gully perturbations is required to combat the serious on- and off-site impacts of gullying on a catchment management scale. In response, we intersect different perspectives on gully erosion-specific views in South Africa (SA), a country that exhibits various physiographic properties and spans 1.22 million km². While the debate surrounding gully origin continues, there is consensus that anthropogenic activities are a major contemporary driver. The anthropogenic impact caused gullying to transcend climatic, geomorphic, and land-use boundaries, although it becomes more prominent in central to eastern SA. Soil erodibility plays a crucial role in what extent of gully erosion severity is attained from human impact, contributing to the east–west imbalance of erosion in SA. Soil erosion rates from gullying and badlands are limited but suggest that it ranges between 30 and 123 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ in the more prominent areas. These soil loss rates are comparable to global rates where gullying is concerned; moreover, they are up to four orders of magnitude higher than the estimated baseline erosion rate. On a national scale, the complexity of gullying is evident from the different temporal timings of (re)activation or stabilizing and different evolution rates. Continued efforts are required to understand the intricate interplay of human activities, climate, and preconditions determining soil erodibility. In SA, more medium- to long-term studies are required to understand better how changing control factors affect gully evolution. More research is needed to implement and appraise mitigation measures, especially using indigenous knowledge. Establishing (semi)-automated mapping procedures would aid in gully monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of implemented mitigation measures. More urgently, the expected changes in climate and land-use necessitate further research on how environmental change affects short-term gully erosion dynamics.