Saturation states of carbonate minerals in a freshwater-seawater mixing zone of small tropical island’s aquifer

Groundwater is a crucial resource on the Manukan Island as it is the only source of freshwater available on the island. The aquifer has deteriorated to a high degree, during the last decade. Nine domestic wells were sam-pled from March 2006 to January 2007 to probe the hydrochemical components that influence the water quality. Geochemical data on dissolved major constituents in groundwater samples from the Manukan Island revealed the main processes responsible for their geochemical evolution. The results using statistical analyses, graphical method and numerical model output (PHREEQC) showed that the groundwater was chemically highly enriched in Na and Cl, indicative of seawater intrusion into the aquifer as also supported from the Na-Cl signature on the Piper diagram. From the PHREEQC simulation model, calcite, dolomite and aragonite solubility showed positive values of the saturation indices (SI), indicating supersaturation which led to mineral precipitation condition of water by these min-erals.     

Particle tracking analysis of river–aquifer interaction via bank infiltration techniques

Induced bank infiltration (BI) is commonly implemented in other countries, but remains new and unexplored in Malaysia. Increasing river pollution could affect drinking water resources. Given the threat of pollution to raw water sources, applying induced BI to sustain water management is essential. This paper presents a case study of the BI method, which evaluates the effects of groundwater pumping and BI operation on the installation of wells as well as determines the effect of pumping rate on flow paths, travel time, the size of the pumping and capture zone delineation, and groundwater mixing in a pumping well in Jenderam Hilir, Malaysia. The proposed method performs infiltration safely and achieves the ideal pumping rate. Numerical modeling packages, MODFLOW and MODPATH (particle tracking) were used. Results indicate that the migration of river water into the aquifer is generally slow and depends on the pumping rate and distance from well to the river. Most water arrives at the well by the end of a pumping period of 1–5 days at 3,072 m³/day for test wells DW1 and DW2, and during simultaneous pumping for DW2 and PW1 for a well located 36 and 18 m, respectively, from the river. During the 9.7-day pumping period, 33 % of the water pumped from the DW1 well was river water, and 38 % from DW2 throughout 4.6 days was river water. The models provide necessary information for water operators in the design and construction of pumping and sampling schedules of BI practices.     

Community responses and adaptation strategies toward flood hazard in Jakarta,Indonesia

Natural Hazards - Jakarta, as the capital of the Republic of Indonesia, has long been known to be at risk from flood hazard. It is increasingly recognized that community responses and adaptation...     

Elemental hydrochemistry assessment on its variation and quality status in Langat River, Western Peninsular Malaysia

This paper discusses the hydrochemistry variation and its quality status in Langat River, based on the chemistry of major ions, metal concentrations and suitability for drinking purposes. Water samples were collected from 30 different stations to assess their hydrochemical characteristics. The physico-chemical parameters selected were temperature, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity, dissolved oxygen , pH, redox potential, HCO₃, Cl, SO₄, NO₃, Ca, Na, K, Mg, ²⁷Al, ¹³⁸Ba, ⁹Be, ¹¹¹Cd, ⁵⁹Co, ⁶³Cu, ⁵²Cr, ⁵⁷Fe, ⁵⁵Mn, ⁶⁰Ni, ²⁰⁸Pb, ⁸⁰Se and ⁶⁶Zn to investigate the variation of the constituents in the river water. Most of the parameters comply with the Drinking Water Quality Standard of the World Health Organization and the Malaysian National Standard for Drinking Water Quality by the Malaysia Ministry of Health except for EC, TDS, Cl, HCO₃, SO₄, Na, Mg, Al, Fe and Se. The results show that the Langat River is unsuitable for drinking purposes directly without treatment.     

Coastal flood management in Semarang,Indonesia

Semarang is one of the biggest cities in Indonesia and is nowadays suffering from coastal flooding. Land subsidences, high water tide, and inadequate structural measures play important roles in the coastal inundations. Structural and non-structural methods for controlling coastal flooding including dykes, drainage systems, pump stations, polder systems, coastal-land reclamations, coastal planning and management, public education, as well as the establishment of an institutional framework for disaster management have been implemented in the Semarang coastal area. Although some improvements have been made, the current flood management system has generally failed to address a wide range of coastal inundation problems. Some improvement actions have been proposed including stakeholders involvement on the disaster mitigation. For a long period coastal management, accelerated sea level rises due to global warming should also be taken into account.     

Natural hazards in Central Java Province,Indonesia: an overview

Central Java Province, Indonesia, suffers from natural hazard processes such as land subsidence, coastal inundation, flood, volcanic eruption, earthquake, tsunami, and landslide. The occurrence of each kind of natural hazard is varied according to the intensity of geo-processes. It is necessary to learn from the historical record of coastal inundation, flood, volcanic eruption, earthquake, tsunami, and landslide hazards in Central Java Province to address issues of comprehensive hazard mitigation and management action. Through the understanding about the nature and spatial distribution of natural hazards, treatments can be done to reduce the risks. This paper presents the natural hazard phenomena in Central Java Province and provides critical information for hazard mitigation and reduction.     

Applying the scores of multivariate statistical analyses to characterize the relationships between the hydrochemical properties and groundwater conditions in respect of the monsoon variation in Kapas Island,Terengganu, Malaysia

The different factors (seasonal changes) and variables (physicochemical) controlling the groundwater hydrochemistry of Kapas Island were identified using multivariate techniques principal component analysis (PCA), discriminant analysis (DA) and hierarchy cluster analysis (HCA). In the present study, the hydrochemistry of 216 groundwater samples, consisting of information concerning the in situ parameters and major ions in six monitoring boreholes, was studied and compared in two different monsoon seasons. The dominant variables derived from four components by PCA in the pre-monsoon indicated the influence of the salinity process, while the dominant variables derived from three components in the post-monsoon mostly indicated on the mineralization process. The DA gave the final variables after discriminating the insignificant variables based on the pre- and post-monsoon classifications. This provided important data reduction in terms of the mineralization process, as it only discriminated physical variables (TDS, EC, salinity, DO and temperature). Based on the HCA result, samples belonging to stations KW 3 and KW 4 were under Ca-rich water, while the remaining boreholes were grouped in Na-rich water.     

Assessment of the typology and the trophic status of two Mediterranean lake ecosystems in Northwestern Greece

The objective of this study is the assessment of the typology and the trophic relevant water quality parameters in two Mediterranean lakes (Lake Ziros and Lake Kastoria) under the view of the WFD. Lake types were identified based on characteristics specified in Annex II of the WFD, while trophic indexes (OECD, TSI Carlson) were used in order to assess their trophic status. A modified TSI index appropriate for warmer lakes was also applied. According to our results, Lake Kastoria is classified as eutrophic lake with a tendency to hypertrophication while Lake Ziros is a mesotrophic ecosystem with clear signals of eutrophication. Both ecosystems are considered “at risk” of not fulfilling the WFD environmental objectives due to the existence of certain anthropogenic pressures.     

Modeling bioavailable phosphorus via other phosphorus fractions in sediment cores from Jiulongkou Lake, China

Bioavailable phosphorus (BAP) plays an important role in phosphorus (P) release from lake and river sediments, as well as serves as an indicator for the potential P-release risk in sediment. Developing a feasible model which could predict BAP via other P fractions is needed for the lakes and reservoirs without regular BAP monitoring. The algal available P (AAP), NaHCO₃ extractable P (Olsen-P), water soluble P (WSP) and readily desorption P (RDP) are four fractions of BAP. The vertical and spatial distributions of BAP fractions of three sediment cores from Jiulongkou Lake were analyzed. In addition, the P fractions, including total P (TP), organic P (OP), inorganic P (IP), non-apatite inorganic P (NAIP), and apatite P (AP) were measured to develop a model for predicting BAP. The model for each BAP fraction was developed based on datasets from Jiulongkou Lake and validated by the datasets collected from Wujin and Wugong Lake. The results showed that all of the four BAP fractions decreased with depth, along the direction of contaminant transport. Their rank order was AAP > Olsen-P > WSP > RDP in all samples. The concentration of BAP was affected by the anthropogenic input and aquatic macrophyte growth. Each of the four BAP fractions could be simulated by different P fractions: both AAP and Olsen-P were expressed by NAIP and OP, WSP had a significant relationship with OP, and RDP had significant relationship with IP. NAIP and OP were the major sources of the BAP fraction. The simulated results in two other lakes further illustrated that this model could be used to successfully predict the BAP concentrations in lakes in the study area, and holds promise for predicting the BAP levels in other lakes and reservoirs as well.