Sustainable groundwater resources, Heretaunga Plains, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand

 The Heretaunga Plains, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, is underlain by Quaternary fluvial, estuarine-lagoonal, and marine deposits infilling a subsiding syncline. Within the depositional sequence, river-channel gravels form one of the most important aquifer systems in New Zealand. An interconnected unconfined–confined aquifer system contains groundwater recharged from the Ngaruroro River bed at the inland margin of the plain, 20 km from the coast. At the coast, gravel aquifers extend to a depth of 250 m. In 1994–95, 66 Mm³ of high quality groundwater was abstracted for city and rural water supply, agriculture, industry, and horticulture. Use of groundwater, particularly for irrigation, has increased in the last 5 years. Concern as to the sustainability of the groundwater resource led to a research programme (1991–96). This paper presents the results and recommends specific monitoring and research work to refine the groundwater balance, and define and maintain the sustainable yield of the aquifer system. Three critical management factors are identified. These are (1) to ensure maintenance of consistent, unimpeded groundwater recharge from the Ngaruroro River; (2) to specifically monitor groundwater levels and quality at the margins of the aquifer system, where transmissivity is <5000 m²/d and summer groundwater levels indicate that abstraction exceeds recharge; (3) to review groundwater-quality programs to ensure that areas where contamination vulnerability is identified as being highest are covered by regular monitoring. Received, January 1998 / Revised, August 1998, March 1999 / Accepted, April 1999     

Reconstruction of natural groundwater flow paths in the multiple aquifer system of the northern Negev (Israel), based on lithological and structural evidence

 The Judea Group, a limestone and dolomite karstic aquifer of late Albian–Turonian age, is one of the most important sources of water in Israel. In the western part of the country, the Judea Group aquifer is also known as the Yarkon–Taninim basin. In the northern Negev, the Judea Group is a recipient for fresh water flowing southward from the Hebron Mountains and of brackish paleowater flowing northward from Sinai. Very little is known of the hydraulic properties of this aquifer. In order to outline assumed natural flow paths that existed in this karstic environment prior to groundwater exploitation, use was made of lithological, structural, and paleomorphological features. A detailed hydrogeological conceptual model of the Judea Group aquifer in northern Negev was established by the geological interpretation of high-resolution seismic reflection and by analysis of lithological evidence from boreholes. Isopach, isolith-contour, and isolith-ratio maps were compiled for the main lithological components. Increase in transmissivity values is inversely proportional with the cumulative thickness of argillaceous components. The lithological and hydraulic evidence provides the basis for subdividing the subsurface into distinctive permeability zones for the upper and lower sections of the aquifer; for outlining possible preferential groundwater flow paths for both subaquifers; and for improving understanding of groundwater-salinty variations that result from lithological variability, direction of groundwater flow paths, groundwater flow rates, and the duration of rock/water interactions. In an earlier conceptual model of the basin, the Judea Group aquifer was regarded as a continuous and undisturbed entity. The present study reveals an intricate groundwater flow pattern that is controlled by lithological and structural factors that create zones of preferential flow. This interpretation bears on the overall evaluation of groundwater resources and their management and exploitation. Received, December 1996 · Revised, October 1997, June 1998 · Accepted, July 1998     

Relation of streams, lakes, and wetlands to groundwater flow systems

 Surface-water bodies are integral parts of groundwater flow systems. Groundwater interacts with surface water in nearly all landscapes, ranging from small streams, lakes, and wetlands in headwater areas to major river valleys and seacoasts. Although it generally is assumed that topographically high areas are groundwater recharge areas and topographically low areas are groundwater discharge areas, this is true primarily for regional flow systems. The superposition of local flow systems associated with surface-water bodies on this regional framework results in complex interactions between groundwater and surface water in all landscapes, regardless of regional topographic position. Hydrologic processes associated with the surface-water bodies themselves, such as seasonally high surface-water levels and evaporation and transpiration of groundwater from around the perimeter of surface-water bodies, are a major cause of the complex and seasonally dynamic groundwater flow fields associated with surface water. These processes have been documented at research sites in glacial, dune, coastal, mantled karst, and riverine terrains. Received, April 1998 · Revised, July 1998, August 1998 · Accepted, September 1998     

地下水资源保护的立法研究

我国许多地方因过度开采利用地下水、地下采矿疏干排泄地下水而引发了多种地质灾害,同时,地下水污染趋势愈演愈烈,导致了大范围地下水环境恶化,已经到了威胁人类生存和危害社会公共安全的程度,亟待加强地下水资源保护,改善生态环境已经刻不容缓.分析了造成地下水环境恶化的主要原因,地下水资源保护管理中存在的操作难问题,提出了地下水资源保护立法的核心内容和基本思路,进一步完善地下水资源保护的立法、执法,科学管理和保护地下水资源,促进地下水资源利用的良性循环.     

甘州区地下水资源管理保护存在的问题及对策建议

地下水是维持人类生产、生活的基础性自然资源。加强地下水统一管理与保护,严把取水许可审批关,严格控制地下水的开采,加大防污减排力度,建立规范有序的水环境秩序,对促进地下水有序利用和良性循环,保障经济社会协调可持续发展具有十分重要的意义。本文分析了甘州区地下水开发利用存在的主要问题,提出了今后加强地下水管理保护的对策及建议。     

The influence of Zihe Stream on the groundwater resources of the Dawu well field and on the discharge at the Heiwang iron mine, Zibo City area, Shandong Province, China

 The Dawu well field, one of the largest in China, supplies most of the water for the Zibo City urban area in Shandong Province. The field yields 522,400–535,400 m³/d from an aquifer in fractured karstic Middle Ordovician carbonate rocks. Much of the recharge to the aquifer is leakage of surface water from Zihe Stream, the major drainage in the area. Installation of the Taihe Reservoir in 1972 severely reduced the downstream flow in Zihe Stream, resulting in a marked reduction in the water table in the Dawu field. Since 1994, following the installation of a recharge station on Zihe Stream upstream from the well field that injects water from the Taihe Reservoir into the stream, the groundwater resources of the field have recovered. An average of 61.2×10³ m³/d of groundwater, mostly from the Ordovician aquifer, is pumped from the Heiwang iron mine, an open pit in the bed of Zihe Stream below the Taihe Reservoir. A stepwise regression equation, used to evaluate the role of discharge from the reservoir into the stream, confirms that reservoir water is one of the major sources of groundwater in the mine. Received, May 1998 / Revised, May 1999 / Accepted, June 1999     

WEKU – a GIS-Supported stochastic model of groundwater residence times in upper aquifers for the supraregional groundwater management

 The supraregional GIS-supported stochastical model, WEKU, for the determination of groundwater residence times in the upper aquifers of large groundwater provinces is presented. Using a two-dimensional analytical model of groundwater flow, groundwater residence times are determined within two extreme cases. In the first case, maximal groundwater residence times are calculated, representing the part of groundwater, that is drained by the main surface water of a groundwater catchment area. In the second case, minimal groundwater residence times for drainage into the nearest surface water are determined. Using explicit distribution functions of the input parameters, mean values as well as potential ranges of variations of the groundwater residence times are derived. The WEKU model has been used for the determination of groundwater residence times throughout Germany. The model results – mean values and deviations of the groundwater velocity and the maximal and minimal groundwater residence times in the upper aquifers – are presented by general maps and discussed in detail. It is shown that the groundwater residence times in the upper aquifer vary regionally, differentiated between less than 1 year and more than 2000 years. Using this information, the time scales can be specified, until measures to remediate polluted groundwater resources may lead to a substantial groundwater quality improvement in the different groundwater provinces of Germany. With respect to its supraregional scale of application, the WEKU model may serve as a useful tool for the supraregional groundwater management on a state, federal or international level. Received: 15 August 1995 · Accepted: 15 October 1995     

Groundwater as a geologic agent: An overview of the causes, processes, and manifestations

 The objective of the present paper is to show that groundwater is a general geologic agent. This perception could not, and did not, evolve until the system nature of basinal groundwater flow and its properties, geometries, and controlling factors became recognized and understood through the 1960s and 1970s. The two fundamental causes for groundwater's active role in nature are its ability to interact with the ambient environment and the systematized spatial distribution of its flow. Interaction and flow occur simultaneously at all scales of space and time, although at correspondingly varying rates and intensities. Thus, effects of groundwater flow are created from the land surface to the greatest depths of the porous parts of the Earth's crust, and from a day's length through geologic times. Three main types of interaction between groundwater and environment are identified in this paper, with several special processes for each one, namely: (1) Chemical interaction, with processes of dissolution, hydration, hydrolysis, oxidation-reduction, attack by acids, chemical precipitation, base exchange, sulfate reduction, concentration, and ultrafiltration or osmosis; (2) Physical interaction, with processes of lubrication and pore-pressure modification; and (3) Kinetic interaction, with the transport processes of water, aqueous and nonaqueous matter, and heat. Owing to the transporting ability and spatial patterns of basinal flow, the effects of interaction are cumulative and distributed according to the geometries of the flow systems. The number and diversity of natural phenomena that are generated by groundwater flow are almost unlimited, due to the fact that the relatively few basic types are modified by some or all of the three components of the hydrogeologic environment: topography, geology, and climate. The six basic groups into which manifestations of groundwater flow have been divided are: (1) Hydrology and hydraulics; (2) Chemistry and mineralogy; (3) Vegetation; (4) Soil and rock mechanics; (5) Geomorphology; and (6) Transport and accumulation. Based on such a diversity of effects and manifestations, it is concluded that groundwater is a general geologic agent. Received, December 1998 · Revised, January 1999 · Accepted, January 1999     

Plan for a groundwater monitoring network in Taiwan

 In Taiwan, rapid economic growth, rising standards of living, and an altered societal structure have in recent years put severe demands on water supplies. Because of its stable quantity and quality, groundwater has long been a reliable source of water for domestic, agricultural, and industrial users, but the establishment of a management program that integrates groundwater and surface-water use has been hampered by the lack of groundwater data. In 1992, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) initiated a program entitled "Groundwater Monitoring Network Plan in Taiwan." Under this program, basic groundwater data, including water-level and water-quality data, are being collected, and a reliable database is being established for the purpose of managing total water resources. This paper introduces the goals, implementation stages, and scope of that plan. The plan calls for constructing 517 hydrogeologic survey stations and 990 groundwater monitoring wells within 17 years. Under this program, water-level fluctuations are continuously monitored, whereas water-quality samples are taken for analysis only at the initial drilling stage and, subsequently, at the time when a monitoring well is being serviced. In 1996, the DWR and the Water Resources Planning Commission were merged to form today's Water Resources Bureau. Received, July 1997 · Revised, February 1998 · Accepted, January 1998     

The groundwater resources and sustainable yield of Cheju volcanic island, Korea

 Hydrogeologic data of 455 water wells comprising geologic logs, water qualities, and aquifer test results are analyzed to determine hydrogeological characteristics, water quality, and sustainable yield of the groundwater resources of Cheju volcanic island. The groundwater of the island occurs in unconsolidated pyroclastic deposits and clinkers interbedded in highly jointed basaltic and andesitic rocks as high-level, basal, and parabasal groundwater under unconfined conditions. The total storage of groundwater is estimated at about 44 billion m³. The average transmissivity and specific yield of the aquifer are at about 0.34 m² s^–1(29300 m² day^–1) and 0.12, respectively. The average annual precipitation is about 3.39 billion m³, of which 1.49 billion m³– equivalent to 44.0% of the total annual precipitation – is recharged into aquifers, with 0.638 billion m³ year^–1 of runoff and 1.26 billion m³ year^–1 of evapotranspiration. Based on a groundwater budget analysis, the sustainable yield is estimated at about 0.62 billion m³ year^–1, equivalent to 41.6% of annual recharge. A low-permeability marine sedimentary formation (Sehwari formation), composed of loosely cemented sandy silt, was recently found to be situated at 120±68 m below mean sea level. If the said marine sediment is distributed as a basal formation of the freshwater zone of the island, most of its groundwater will be of parabasal type. So the marine sediment is one of the most important hydrogeological boundaries and groundwater occurrences in the area. Received: 16 January 1997 / Accepted: 16 June 1997     

The protection of karst water resources: the example of the Larzac karst plateau (south of France)

Wide karst plateaus extend in the carbonate rocks of the Grands Causses area, north of Montpellier (south of France). They are surrounded by a hard rock base that feeds important rivers, such as the Tarn River and tributaries, and crosses the plateaus creating deep gorges. The Larzac plateau, the most southern, makes a link with the Mediterranean region. It is traversed by one of the main national roads and another main road under construction from Clermont-Ferrand to Montpellier and Spain. The karst water resource of the plateau, from springs, is used as a water supply for the Millau area (30,000 inhabitants); but it also recharges surface rivers, mainly during the summer and fall when the water level is low, in a region that is well known for water recreation activities, for fish farming and, above all, for sheep farming and Roquefort cheese production. The fundamental question was should the karst and its water resource be fully protected by strict regulations (for example as a nature reservation) in land-use management of the plateau based upon the knowledge of its hydrogeological functioning and its karst structure? Decisions, concerning the ～500-km² area were elaborated from detailed hydrogeological studies, which included natural and artificial tracing, analysis of karst aquifer functioning, landscape analysis, and risk assessment and mapping. Recommendations were proposed to local and regional decision makers to define what were the preferences in terms of water resource protection and water quality restoration. Following such an approach in a karst area is not easy for hydrogeologists or for decision makers. In non-karstic regions, protection zones currently extend over small areas of a few square kilometers, which can be easily placed under the control of a small municipality. In the present example, the main water supplies are two springs that recharge areas that extend respectively over 100 and 110?km². Included are several municipalities, some of which use them for their water supply, whereas others are concerned with pollution risks and land management projects. The recent French Water Act, which considers water as a common heritage, allows for general management by all the users, and it deals with the water and the terrain in which it flows. The regulation tools seem very well suited to karst region management. However, time is needed to educate users and decision makers, and with the help of karst scientists, to work together in a framework that is larger than the usual municipal limits.     

Groundwater resources of the middle and upper Odra River basin, southwestern Poland

 The total amount of groundwater resources in the middle and upper Odra River basin is 5200×10³ m³/d, or about 7.7% of the disposable groundwater resources of Poland. The average modulus of groundwater resources is about 1.4 L/s/km². Of the 180 'Major Groundwater Basins' (MGWB) in Poland, 43 are partly or totally located within the study area. The MGWB in southwestern Poland have an average modulus of groundwater resources about 2.28 L/s/km² and thus have abundant water resources in comparison to MGWB from other parts of the country. Several types of mineral waters occur in the middle and upper Odra River basin. These waters are concentrated especially in the Sudety Mountains. Carbon-dioxide waters, with yields of 414 m³/h, are the most widespread of Sudetic mineral waters. The fresh waters of the crystalline basement have a low mineralization, commonly less than 100 mg/L; they are a HCO₃–Ca–Mg or SO₄–Ca–Mg type of water. Various hydrochemical compositions characterize the groundwater in sedimentary rocks. The shallow aquifers are under risk of atmospheric pollution and anthropogenic effects. To prevent the degradation of groundwater resources in the middle and upper Odra River basin, Critical Protection Areas have been designated within the MGWB. Received, January 1995 Revised, May 1996, August 1997 Accepted, August 1997     

Hydrogeologic uncertainties and policy implications: The Water Consumer Protection Act of Tucson, Arizona, USA

 The 1995 Water Consumer Protection Act of Tucson, Arizona, USA (hereafter known as the Act) was passed following complaints from Tucson Water customers receiving treated Central Arizona Project (CAP) water. Consequences of the Act demonstrate the uncertainties and difficulties that arise when the public is asked to vote on a highly technical issue. The recharge requirements of the Act neglect hydrogeological uncertainties because of confusion between "infiltration" and "recharge." Thus, the Act implies that infiltration in stream channels along the Central Wellfield will promote recharge in the Central Wellfield. In fact, permeability differences between channel alluvium and underlying basin-fill deposits may lead to subjacent outflow. Additionally, even if recharge of Colorado River water occurs in the Central Wellfield, groundwater will become gradually salinized. The Act's restrictions on the use of CAP water affect the four regulatory mechanisms in Arizona's 1980 Groundwater Code as they relate to the Tucson Active Management Area: (a) supply augmentation; (b) requirements for groundwater withdrawals and permitting; (c) Management Plan requirements, particularly mandatory conservation and water-quality issues; and (d) the requirement that all new subdivisions use renewable water supplies in lieu of groundwater. Political fallout includes disruption of normal governmental activities because of the demands in implementing the Act. Received, December 1996 · Revised, October 1997 · Accepted, October 1997     

Geology and hydrogeology of the Dammam Formation in Kuwait

 The Dammam Formation of Middle Eocene age is one of the major aquifers containing useable brackish water in Kuwait. Apart from the paleokarst zone at the top, the Dammam Formation in Kuwait consists of 150–200 m of dolomitized limestone that is subdivided into three members, on the basis of lithology and biofacies. The upper member consists of friable chalky dolomicrite and dolomite. The middle member is mainly laminated biomicrite and biodolomicrite. The lower member is nummulitic limestone with interlayered shale toward the base. Geophysical markers conform to these subdivisions. Core analyses indicate that the upper member is the most porous and permeable of the three units, as confirmed by the distribution of lost-circulation zones. The quality of water in the aquifer deteriorates toward the north and east. A potentiometric-head difference exists between the Dammam Formation and the unconformably overlying Kuwait Group; this difference is maintained by the presence of an intervening aquitard. Received, February 1997 Revised, June 1997, September 1997 Accepted, January 1998     

Hydrogeologic and hydrochemical framework of the shallow groundwater system in the southern Voltaian Sedimentary Basin, Ghana

 The southern Voltaian Sedimentary Basin underlies an area of about 5000 km² in east-central Ghana. Groundwater in the basin occurs in fractures in highly consolidated siliciclastic aquifers overlain by a thin unsaturated zone. Aquifer parameters were evaluated from available aquifer-test data on 28 shallow wells in the basin. Hydraulic-conductivity values range from 0.04–3.6 m/d and are about two orders of magnitude greater than the hydraulic conductivity calculated using Darcy's Law and the average groundwater velocity estimated from carbon-14 dating. Linear-regression analysis of the transmissivity and specific-capacity data allowed the establishment of an empirical relationship between log transmissivity and log specific capacity for the underlying aquifers. Groundwater chemistry in the basin is controlled by the weathering of albitic plagioclase feldspar. The weathering rates of various minerals were estimated using ¹⁴C-derived average velocity in the basin. The weathering rate of albite was calculated to be 2.16 μmol L^–1 yr^–1 with the resulting formation of 3.3 μmol L^–1 yr^–1 of kaolinite and 0.047 μmol L^–1 yr^–1 of calcite. The low porosity and permeability of the aquifers in the basin are attributed to the precipitation of secondary minerals on fracture surfaces and interlayer pore spaces. Received, September 1997 Revised, July 1998, August 1998 Accepted, August 1998     

The potential for free and mixed convection in sedimentary basins

 Free thermal convection and mixed convection are considered as potential mechanisms for mass and heat transport in sedimentary basins. Mixed convection occurs when horizontal flows (forced convection) are superimposed on thermally driven flows. In cross section, mixed convection is characterized by convection cells that migrate laterally in the direction of forced convective flow. Two-dimensional finite-element simulations of variable-density groundwater flow and heat transport in a horizontal porous layer were performed to determine critical mean Rayleigh numbers for the onset of free convection, using both isothermal and semi-conductive boundaries. Additional simulations imposed a varying lateral fluid flux on the free-convection pattern. Results from these experiments indicate that forced convection becomes dominant, completely eliminating buoyancy-driven circulation, when the total forced-convection fluid flux exceeds the total flux possible due to free convection. Calculations of the thermal rock alteration index (RAI=q·∇T) delineate the patterns of potential diagenesis produced by fluid movement through temperature gradients. Free convection produces a distinct pattern of alternating positive and negative RAIs, whereas mixed convection produces a simpler layering of positive and negative values and in general less diagenetic alteration. Received, January 1999/Revised, June 1999/Accepted, July 1999     

地下水对岩土工程的危害及预防

地下水问题在工程勘察设计和施工过程中,始终是一个极为重要而又易于被忽视的问题。本文提出了地下水的危害及其解决措施,为工程设计和施工提供必要的水文地质资料,以消除或减少地下水对岩土工程的危害。