The Damaging Effects of Abstracting the Deep Aquifers’Groundwater in Jordan-Quality Constraints

The deep aquifers in Jordan contain non-renewable and fossil groundwater and their extraction is quasi a mining process, which ends in the depletion of these resources. Although aquifers in the majority of groundwater basins in Jordan are vertically and horizontally interconnected stratification in different water quality horizons with generally increasing water salinity with the depth is observed. Many officials and planners advocate the extraction of deep salty and brackish water to be desalinated and used in household, industrial, and agricultural uses. In this article, the quality of the groundwater in the different deep aquifers and areas in Jordan is discussed. The results of this study show that the consequences of the deep groundwater exploitation are not restricted to depletion of the deep aquifers but also that the overlying fresh groundwater will, due to vertical and horizontal interconnectedness of the different aquifers, percolate down to replace the extracted deep groundwater. This will cause the down-percolating fresh groundwater to become salinized in the deep saline aquifers, which means that extracting the deep brackish and saline groundwater is not only an emptying process of the deep groundwater but also it is an emptying process of the fresh groundwater overlying them. The results allow to conclude that any extraction of the deep groundwater in areas lying to the north of Ras en Naqab Escarpment will have damaging impacts on the fresh groundwater in the overlying fresh groundwater aquifers. This article strongly advises not to extract the deep brackish and saline groundwater, but to conserve that groundwater as a base supporting the overlying fresh groundwater resources, and that will help in protecting the thermal mineralized water springs used in spas originating from these deep aquifers. The increasing water needs of the country can be covered by the desalination of seawater at Aqaba, which is the only viable option for Jordan at present and in the coming decades.

Prediction of land subsidence caused by groundwater exploitation in Hanoi, Vietnam, using multifactorial correlation analysis

Multifactorial correlation analysis is a new method used to predict the land subsidence caused by groundwater exploitation This article introduces and applies the method to establish the function of the surface settlement rate （Vs） and the function of the time-dependent surface settlement （St） caused by groundwater exploitation, based on data acquired at three land subsidence monitoring stations in the Hanoi area of Vietnam. Comparison with actual monitoring data indicates that the prediction results are relatively close to the monitoring data. From this, we conclude that multifactorial correlation analysis is a reliable method and can be used to predict future land subsidence caused by groundwater exploitation in Hanoi.

Groundwater regime and calculation of yield response in North China Plain: a case study of Luancheng County in Hebei Province

The groundwater table has been declining at a rate of 0.65 m/yr in Luancheng County since large scale groundwater extraction carried out in the 1960s. The drop of precipitation, substantial increase in agricultural output, variations of crop planting structure and construction of water conservancy projects in the headwater area all tie up with the decline of the groundwater table. On the basis of analyzing the hydrogeological conditions and the water resources utilization of Luancheng County, a three-dimensional groundwater flow model was developed to simulate the county抯 groundwater flow through finite-difference method using Visual Modflow software. We divide the research field into four parts after analyzing the hydrogeological condition. Based on parameter calibration and adjustment using measured data, the hydraulic conductivity and specific yield were simulated. Using the calibrated model, we analyze the agricultural water saving potentiality and its influence on the groundwater. The results are as follows: (1) if we decrease the amount of water extracted by 0.14×108 m3, the average groundwater table of the five observation wells in December will rise by 0.33 m; (2) if we decrease the water by 0.29×108 m3, the average groundwater table of the five observation wells in December will rise by 0.64 m; and (3) if we increase the water by 0.29×108 m3, the average groundwater table of the five observation wells in December will decline by 0.45 m. So we can draw a conclusion that controlling the agricultural water use is an important way to prevent the decline of groundwater table.

Geological Environment Problems Caused by Controlling Groundwater Exploitation in Jiangyin City

Geological environment effects caused by the control of groundwater exploitation in Jiangyin city are discussed thoroughly, including the dynamic variation of groundwater levels and quality and the development of land sub-sidence and ground fissures. According to the dynamic characteristics of groundwater levels, some advice about groundwater exploitation is offered. Our research will provide a basis for using groundwater resources and the preven- tion of geological disasters in Jiangyin city and the Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou area. The following results are deduced from our research. First, groundwater levels vary with the exploitation of groundwater in Jiangyin city and are affected by hydrogeological conditions. The groundwater levels remained rather stable before and after the implementation of control of groundwater exploitation in the northwest of Jiangyin city along the Yangtze River. A suitable level of exploitation should be allowed. In the southeast, the speed of recovery of the groundwater level has been rather rapid after the control of exploitation. We conclude that groundwater might be exploited locally after the groundwater level has recovered. In the southwest, the speed of recovery of the groundwater level is rather slow and exploitation of ground-water should be prohibited. Second, groundwater quality is stable in Jiangyin city and the contents of the main chemical indices of groundwater varied only slightly before and after the control of exploitation. Third, after controlling the exploitation, the speed of land subsidence has clearly slowed down and the development of ground fissures has been controlled effectively.

An assessment of the carrying capacity of groundwater resources in North China Plain region–Analysis of potential for development

Over-exploitation of groundwater in North China Plain(NCP) has resulted in a series of eco-environment problems. Sustainable use of groundwater resources in NCP, in particular management of groundwater resource carrying capacity(GRCC), faces an unprecedented challenge. Here we define GRCC, and a new assessment method is tentatively proposed and applied to evaluate GRCC based on the whole NCP, city administrative units and county administrative units. Our study divided the NCP into three zones, i.e. non-overexploited non-overloaded zone(NNZ), overexploited but non-overloaded zone(ONZ), and overexploited overloaded zone(OOZ). Results confirmed 27.6% of counties belonged to NNZ. However, 58.9% of counties and NCP as a whole belonged to ONZ, and 13.5% of counties belonged to OOZ. Spatially, NNZs were mainly distributed in Beijing, parts of eastern coastal cities and Henan Province. OOZs were mostly distributed in middle-eastern part of Cangzhou, parts of Dezhou, Tianjin and Binzhou, and the remaining areas belonged to ONZs. We suggest two approaches for enhancing GRCC, i) increasing the amount of available groundwater and ii) improving the water use efficiency. An increase of 11.0 billion cubic meters to the available groundwater levels combined with water use efficiency improvements up to 479 CNY per cubic meter of the world mean, the gross domestic product(GDP) sustained by groundwater in the NCP could reach 11.1 trillion CNY and maintain a 20 years of GDP development assuming the current rate of growth.

Numerical simulation of groundwater and early warnings from the simulated dynamic evolution trend in the plain area of Shenyang,Liaoning Province(P.R. China)

Groundwater level is the most direct factor reflecting whether groundwater is in a virtuous cycle. It is the most important benchmark for deciding whether a balance can be struck between groundwater discharge and recharge and whether groundwater exploitation will trigger problems pertinent to environment, ecology and environmental geology. According to the borehole and long-term monitoring wells data in the plain area of Shenyang, a numerical groundwater model is established and used to identify and verify the hydrogeological parameters and balanced items of groundwater. Then the concept of red line levels, the control levels of groundwater is proposed, the dynamic evolution trend of groundwater under different scenarios is analyzed and predicted and groundwater alerts are given when groundwater tables are not between the lower limit and the upper limit. Results indicated:(1) The results of identification and verification period fitted well, and the calculation accuracy of balanced items was high;(2) with the implementation of shutting wells, groundwater levels in urban areas of Shenyang would exceed the upper limit water level after 2020 and incur some secondary disasters;(3) under the recommended scenario of water resources allocation, early-warnings for groundwater tables outside the range would occur in the year of 2020, 2023, 2025 respectively for successive wet, normal and dry years. It was imperative to reopen some groundwater sources and enhance real-time supervision and early-warning to prevent the occurrence of potential problems.

Groundwater in Thailand

This article offers a brief description of the water resources situation of the Kingdom of Thailand, a country with a population of over 65 million people and a surface area of 513,120 km^2. The average annual rainfall is 1,430 mm and the total water resources are estimated at 215,000 Mm^3 （million of m^3）-year^-1. The hydric demand in the country is 70,000 Mm^3.year^-1, 6% of which is groundwater in origin. Over 70% of the water is used for agriculture. Thailand is the world＇s leading exporter of rice. The main problems faced by the Water Authority in Thailand are pollution, floods and droughts, depending on the geographical zone. From the hydrogeological point of view, the Central Plain is the main groundwater reservoir in the nation. Intensive extraction of groundwater over a long period of time has caused three main problems： a decline in groundwater levels, land subsidence, and seawater intrusion. These problems have been especially pressing in the area known as Greater Bangkok.

Relationship between Hydrogeological Structure and Groundwater Exploitation Capacity in Aquifer of the Basin of Cai Phan Rang River, Ninh Thuan Province, Viet Nam

This article presents the results of dividing the hydrogeological structure zones in aquifer of Cai Phan Rang river basin, Ninh Thuan province, Viet Nam, and the relationship between parameters of hydrogeological structure zones with water storage capacity of hydrogeological structure. Research results divided hydrogeological structure of Cai Phan Rang River Basin into four zones, including three zones with depression bedrock and one zone with slope bedrock, and the results assessed： （1） specific discharge of exploitation well is proportional to zone area of hydrogeological structure; （2） specific discharge of exploitation well is inversely proportional to slope of bedrock surface, slope of water level in zone and area of drainage surface of hydrogeological structure zone; （3） water level fluctuation in zone is proportional to slope of bedrock surface, slope of water level in zone and inversely proportional to distribution area of zone; （4） total mineralization of water is proportional to bedrock surface slope and water level slope in zone, and inversely proportional to drainage surface area of zone and volume of structural depression. Research results are practical significance in solutions proposal to increase exploitation capacity for various water use purposes.

Numerical Simulation of Land Subsidence at Tanggu District in Tianjin, China

Based on observed data from Tanggu District in Tianjin, a back-propagation neural network (BPNN) model was introduced to predict possible land subsidence due to exploitation of groundwater. According to model estimation under various hypothetical extraction scenarios, patterns of land subsidence at Tanggu District were studied and discussed.The predicted average background land subsidence rate of Tanggu is 9.47 mm/a.The significance of contribution of aquifers to land subsidence descends in order of units Ⅳ,Ⅲ,Ⅴ,Ⅱ.Land subsidence tends to deteriorate with the increase in total extraction rate.

Ground Subsidence in Areas of Loose Porous Aquifers

Groundwater is one of the important water resources in northern China's plain areas. Many severe geological hazards have occurred in these areas due to ground subsidence which is caused by over exploitation of groundwater. This paper introduces and analyses the ground subsidence caused by groundwater exploitation and its mechanism in the northern China's plains. A ground subsidence prediction model has been developed based on the consolidation theory. The authors have tested this model in a case study of Fuyang City, Anhui Province, where ground subsidence is a severe environmental problem. In the case study, the model results match very well with those of the actual measurement. Two schemes of groundwater exploitation are assessed. The conclusion from the study could be used in the long-term water and economical management planning. The strategies for the control of ground subsidence are discussed.

Multivariate statistical analysis of chemical and stable isotopic data as indicative of groundwater evolution with reduced exploitation

Groundwater resources in the North China Plain(NCP)are undergoing tremendous changes in response to the operation of groundwater exploitation reduction(GWER)project.To identify groundwater evolution in this complex context,hierarchical cluster analysis(HCA)and principal component analysis(PCA)were combined to interpret an integrated dataset of stable isotopes and chemical data from four sampling campaigns in a pilot area of groundwater control.We proposed a novel HCA approach integrating stable isotopes and chemical signals,which successfully partitioned the groundwater samples into the unconfined and the confined water samples.Stable isotopic evidence showed that the lateral inflow and the surface water may contribute more to groundwater recharge in this region than local modern precipitation.The unconfined water's main hydrochemical types were Na type with mixed anions,and Na-Cl-SO_(4)type,while the confined water was mainly Na-Cl and Na-SO_(4)types.Geochemical processes mainly involved the dissolution/precipitation of halite,gypsum,Glauber's salt,feldspar,calcite and dolomite,as well as the cation exchange.PCA results showed that water-rock interaction(i.e.,salinity-based and alkalinity-based processes)predominated the hydrochemical evolution,along with local nitrate contamination resulting from fertilizers and domestic sewage.The GWER project regulated the natural evolution of unconfined water chemistry,and significantly reduced the unconfined water's salinity(mainly Na^(+),Mg^(2+),SO_(4)^(2-)).This may be attributed to upward leakage from low-salinity confined water at some parts of the aquifer.Additionally,insignificant changes in the confined water's salinity reflected that the impact of GWER on the confined aquifer was negligible.This study facilitates the groundwater classification effectively in the areas lack of geological data,and enhances the knowledge of groundwater chemical evolution in such a region where groundwater restoration is in progress,with important implications for groundwater sustainable management in similar basins worldwide.

Genetic analysis of land subsidence in Anshan

Land subsidence is a complex geological phenomenon which is concerned by the researchers at home and abroad. In this paper,the observation data from Anshan Second Order Leveling during 1987-[KG-*7]-1994,combined with the area of environmental engineering geology and geological conditions analysis shows that land subsidence in Anshan City is closely related to active tectonics,Quaternary strata and groundwater exploitation.

Impacts of Human Activities on the Occurrence of Groundwater Nitrate in an Alluvial Plain: A Multiple Isotopic Tracers Approach

Nitrate pollution is a severe problem in areas with intensive agricultural activities. This study focuses on nitrate occurrence and its constraints in a selected alluvial fan using chemical data combined with environmental isotopic tracers （180, 3H, and lSN）. Results show that groundwater nitrate in the study area is as high as 258.0 mg/L （hereafter NO3） with an average of 86.8 mg/L against national drinking water limit of 45 mg/L and a regional baseline value of 14.4 mg/L. Outside of the riparian zone, nitrate occurrence is closely related to groundwater circulation and application of chemical fertilizer.High groundwater nitrate is found in the re- charge area, where nitrate enters into ground- water through vertical infiltration, correspond- ing to high 3H and enriched 1SO in the water. In the riparian zone, on the contrary, the fate of groundwater nitrate is strongly affected by groundwater level. Based on two sampling tran- sects perpendicular to the riverbank, we found that the high level of nitrate corresponds to the deeper water table （25 m） near the urban center, where groundwater is heavily extracted.Groundwater nitrate is much lower （〈12.4 mg/L） at localities with a shallow water table （5 m）, which is likely caused by denitrification in the aquifer.

3-D VARIABLE PARAMETER NUMERICAL MODEL FOR EVALUATION OF THE PLANNED EXPLOITABLE GROUNDWATER RESOURCE IN RE-GIONAL UNCONSOLIDATED SEDIMENTS

In order to correctly evaluate the exploitable groundwater resottrce in regional complex, thick Quaternary unconsolidated sediments, the whole Quaternary unconsolidated sediments are considered as a unified hydrogeological unit and a 3-D unsteady groundwater flow numerical model is adopted. Meanwhile, with the consideration of the dynamic changes of the porosity, the hydraulic conductivity and the specific storage with the groundwater level dropping during the exploitation process, an improved composite element seepage matrix adjustment method is applied to solve the unsteady flow problem of free surface. In order to eva- luate the exploitable groundwater resource in Cangzhou, Hebei Province, the hydrogeological conceptual model of Cangzhou is generalized to establish, a 3-D variable parameter numerical model of Cangzhou. Based on the prediction of the present groundwater exploitation, and by adjusting the groundwater exploitation layout, the exploitable groundwater resource is predicted. The model enjoys features like good convergence, good stability and high precision.

Sustainability of Intensively Exploited Aquifer Systems in the North China Plain: Insights from Multiple Environmental Tracers

Environmental tracers are proving to be a unique tool for assessing groundwater sustainability, such as characterization of recharge, identification of pathways and sources of contaminants, and prediction of groundwater change in response to excessive abstraction. This paper helps to better understand the groundwater sustainability in the Quaternary aquifer from the tracer data in the North China Plain. Relatively modern ground waters occur in the piedmont plain with 3H-3He age less than 40 a within a depth 100 m. These ground waters are mainly recharged from the local precipitation and irrigation return. The recharge rate estimated by tracers is in the range of 0.24 to 0.32 m/a. Paleowater which is dated from 10 000 a B.P. to more than 35 000 a B.P. by radiocarbon dating is found in highly-confined portions of Quaternary aquifer systems. This indicates that water recharge took place during the past glacial period. The tracers have suggested a slow natural replenishment rates to the central plain. The aquifer has been overexploited currently. Some strategies that can be implemented to promote a sustainable groundwater supply are needed to implement in future.

Environmental deterioration of farmlands caused by the irrational use of agricultural technologies

Without considering the ecosystem-depen- dence of agricultural production, irrational use of agricultural technologies could bring only short-term economic benefits but leave long-term environmental deterioration. If some agricultural lands have to be abandoned because of these technologies such as chemical films or groundwater depletion, it will aggravate the burden of remaining lands for maintaining or enhancing production. Thus, agricultural production should be a part of public services, requiring the consideration of interests of different stakeholders and sustainability.