Estimation of Natural Groundwater Recharge


Book Description

In view of the rapidly expanding urban, industrial and agri cultural water requirements in many areas and the normally associated critical unreliability of surface water supplies in arid and semi-arid zones, groundwater exploration and use is of fundamental importance for logical economic development. Two interrelated facets should be evident in all such groundwater projects : (a) definition of groundwater recharge mechanisms and characteristics for identified geological formations, in order to determine whether exploitation in the long-term involves 'mining' of an es sentially 'fossil' resource or withdrawal from a dynamic supply. A solution to this aspect is essential for development of a re source management policy: (b) determination of recharge variability in time and space to thus enable determination of total aquifer input and to quantify such practical aspects as 'minimum risk' waste disposal locations and artificial recharge potential via (e.g.) devegetation or engi neering works. However, current international developments relating to natural recharge indicate the following 'problems' ; no single comprehensive estimation technique can yet be iden tified from the spectrum of methods available; all are reported to give suspect results.







Groundwater Recharge from Run-off, Infiltration and Percolation


Book Description

To face the threats to the water supply and to maintain sustainable water management policies, detailed knowledge is needed on the surface-to-subsurface transformation link in the water cycle. Recharge flux is covered in this book as well as many other groundwater issues, including a comparison of the traditional and modern approaches to determine groundwater recharge. The authors also explain in detail the fate of groundwater recharge in the subsurface by hydraulic and geologic means, in order to stimulate adapted groundwater-management strategies.




Valuing Ground Water


Book Description

Because water in the United State has not been traded in markets, there is no meaningful estimate of what it would cost if it were traded. But failing to establish ground water's valueâ€"for in situ uses such as sustaining wetlands as well as for extractive uses such as agricultureâ€"will lead to continued overuse and degradation of the nation's aquifers. In Valuing Ground Water an interdisciplinary committee integrates the latest economic, legal, and physical knowledge about ground water and methods for valuing this resource, making it comprehensible to decision-makers involved in Superfund cleanup efforts, local wellhead protection programs, water allocation, and other water-related management issues. Using the concept of total economic value, this volume provides a framework for calculating the economic value of ground water and evaluating tradeoffs between competing uses of it. Included are seven case studies where ground-water valuation has been or could be used in decisionmaking. The committee examines trends in ground-water management, factors that contribute to its value, and issues surrounding ground-water allocation and legal rights to its use. The book discusses economic valuation of natural resources and reviews several valuation methods. Presenting conclusions, recommendations, and research priorities, Valuing Ground Water will be of interest to those concerned about ground-water issues: policymakers, regulators, economists, attorneys, researchers, resource managers, and environmental advocates.




Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality


Book Description

As demand for water increases, water managers and planners will need to look widely for ways to improve water management and augment water supplies. This book concludes that artificial recharge can be one option in an integrated strategy to optimize total water resource management and that in some cases impaired-quality water can be used effectively as a source for artificial recharge of ground water aquifers. Source water quality characteristics, pretreatment and recharge technologies, transformations during transport through the soil and aquifer, public health issues, economic feasibility, and legal and institutional considerations are addressed. The book evaluates three main types of impaired quality water sourcesâ€"treated municipal wastewater, stormwater runoff, and irrigation return flowâ€"and describes which is the most consistent in terms of quality and quantity. Also included are descriptions of seven recharge projects.




Hydrology in Practice


Book Description

Hydrology in Practice is an excellent and very successful introductory text for engineering hydrology students who go on to be practitioners in consultancies, the Environment Agency, and elsewhere. This fourth edition of Hydrology in Practice, while retaining all that is excellent about its predecessor, by Elizabeth M. Shaw, replaces the material on the Flood Studies Report with an equivalent section on the methods of the Flood Estimation Handbook and its revisions. Other completely revised sections on instrumentation and modelling reflect the many changes that have occurred over recent years. The updated text has taken advantage of the extensive practical experience of the staff of JBA Consulting who use the methods described on a day-to-day basis. Topical case studies further enhance the text and the way in which students at undergraduate and MSc level can relate to it. The fourth edition will also have a wider appeal outside the UK by including new material on hydrological processes, which also relate to courses in geography and environmental science departments. In this respect the book draws on the expertise of Keith J. Beven and Nick A. Chappell, who have extensive experience of field hydrological studies in a variety of different environments, and have taught undergraduate hydrology courses for many years. Second- and final-year undergraduate (and MSc) students of hydrology in engineering, environmental science, and geography departments across the globe, as well as professionals in environmental protection agencies and consultancies, will find this book invaluable. It is likely to be the course text for every undergraduate/MSc hydrology course in the UK and in many cases overseas too.




Artificial Recharge of Groundwater


Book Description

Artificial Recharge of Groundwater focuses on artificial recharge of groundwater basins as a means to increase the natural supply of groundwater, along with the technical issues involved. Special emphasis is placed on the use of reclaimed municipal wastewater as a source for artificial recharge of groundwater. This book is comprised of 26 chapters organized into five sections. After reviewing the state of the art of artificial recharge of groundwater, the discussion turns to the fundamental aspects of groundwater recharge, including the role of artificial recharge in groundwater basin management, recharge methods, hydraulics, monitoring, and modeling. The next section considers pretreatment processes for wastewater and renovation of wastewater with rapid-infiltration land treatment systems and describes the health effects of wastewater reuse in groundwater recharge. A number of artificial recharge operations using reclaimed wastewater are then highlighted, focusing on cases in various countries including Israel, Germany, Poland, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United States. The remaining chapters look at the extent of contaminant removal by the soil system and the fate of micropollutants during groundwater recharge as well as the legal and economic aspects of groundwater recharge. Research needs for groundwater quality management are also explored. This monograph is written for civil and sanitary engineers, agricultural engineers, hydrologists, environmental scientists, and research scientists as well as public works officials, consulting engineers, agriculturalists, industrialists, and students at colleges and universities.




Unsaturated-zone Modeling


Book Description

Mankind has manipulated the quantity and quality of soil water for millennia. Food production was massively increased through fertilization, irrigation and drainage. But malpractice also caused degradation of immense areas of once fertile land, rendering it totally unproductive for many generations. In populated areas, the pollutant load ever more often exceeds the soil’s capacity for buffering and retention, and large volumes of potable groundwater have been polluted or are threatened to be polluted in the foreseeable future. In the past decades, the role of soil water in climate patterns has been recognized but not yet fully understood. The soil-science community responded to this diversity of issues by developing numerical models to simulate the behavior of water and solutes in soils. These models helped improve our understanding of unsaturated-zone processes and develop sustainable land-management practices. Aimed at professional soil scientists, soil-water modelers, irrigation engineers etc., this book discusses our progress in soil-water modeling. Top scientists present case studies, overviews and analyses of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats related to soil-water modeling. The contributions cover a wide range of spatial scales, and discuss fundamental aspects of unsaturated-zone modeling as well as issues related to the application of models to real-world problems.