Assessing and Managing Groundwater in Different Environments

This collection of papers is a snapshot of modern hydrogeology in which highly technical methods and approaches sit side-by-side with overlapping legal, social, organisational, institutional and governance considerations. Groundwater is integral to many human and environmental systems. Indeed, there appears to be a growing realisation that some of the most pressing physical problems in the field of hydrogeology - over-abstraction, salinization or pollution - can only really be solved by taking a multi-disciplinary approach to the issues that takes all other related professions into account. Whilst a 'technical' solution may be readily deciphered, the larger challenge usually lies in the sustainably-funded and widely-accepted implementation of that measure.

This book ranges from discussion and debate on the hot topic of hydraulic fracturing of wells or 'fraccing' for shale gas and its potential to disrupt groundwater systems, to the application of highly technical modelling procedures to help solve complex, real world problems. It is a window on the preoccupations of modern hydrogeologists and an insight into the way in which hydrogeological techniques and methods are being holistically adapted to address problems in the real world. This book is targeted at professional hydrogeologists, sociologists, experts in governance, law and policy as well as ecologists and other professionals that nowadays all sit alongside groundwater understanding. The book will also appeal to politicians, resource managers, regulators and others interested in sustainable water supply.

Autorentext

Mr Jude Cobbing is currently working on a PhD in rural groundwater supply sustainability at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. A hydrogeologist at the British Geological Survey from 2000 to 2005, Jude has worked as a researcher and consultant in South Africa since then. His interests include rural water supply hydrogeology in Africa, groundwater management, groundwater data, and the training of hydrogeologists. He has worked in Botswana, South Africa, Malawi, Madagascar, Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United Kingdom. He has a BSc in Geology from the University of Cape Town, a PGCE from the University of South Africa, and an MSc in hydrogeology from London University.

Dr Shafick Adams is currently employed by the Water Research Commission in Pretoria, South Africa where he manages research projects related to groundwater and water resources protection. He holds a PhD and MSc (cum laude) from the University of the Western Cape where he lectured prior to his appointment to the Water Research Commission. He currently chairs the Groundwater Division of the Geological Society of South Africa and is co-chair of the International Water Association's Groundwater Restoration and Management Specialist Group. Some of his research interests are in groundwater recharge assessments, chemical characterization of groundwater, capacity development, and water resource management.

Prof. Ingrid Dennis started her career as a hydrogeologist at the CSIR in Stellenbosch, South Africa. She later moved to the Institute for Groundwater Studies at the University of the Free State to complete her PhD in hydrogeology and work as a lecturer and researcher. She was appointed as the Director of the Institute for Groundwater Studies in 2007. Prof Dennis joined the North-West University in July 2011 as an Associate Professor and heads up

Inhalt

Introduction/setting the scene

1 Water-resource issues in the United States and the changing focus on groundwater

2 The challenges of municipal groundwater supply from private land

3 When are groundwater data enough for decision-making?

4 Development of emergency water supplies for the drought-impacted southern Cape coastal region of South Africa - observations while abstracting saline water for desalination

5 Guidelines for integrated catchment monitoring: ICM mind-map development and example of application

6 Socio-economic aspects of groundwater demand: Franschhoek case study

7 Using numerical modelling to cope with uncertainty in the real world: Examples from various models in the Western Cape

8 Numerical modelling techniques for fractured aquifers and flooding of mines

9 Assessing uncertainties in surface-water and groundwater interaction modelling - a case study from South Africa using the Pitman model

10 Groundwater extractions in Flanders - an enforcement review (2005-2009)

11 The impact of climate transitions on the radionuclide transport through a sedimentary aquifer

12 Identification and management of strategic groundwater bodies for emergency situations in Bratislava District, Slovak Republic

13 A model of long-term catchment-scale nitrate transport in a UK Chalk catchment

14 Hydrogeological study for sustainable water-resource exploitation - Ibo Island, Mozambique

15 In situ nitrate removal from groundwater using freely available carbon material at an industrially polluted site

16 Classification of surface-water - groundwater interaction of the Mokolo and Lephalala River systems in the Limpopo WMA

17 Is the Precambrian basement aquifer in Malawi up to the job?

18 Preliminary assessment of water-supply availability with regard to potential shale-gas development in the Karoo region of South Africa

19 Co