Artificial Groundwater Recharge Zones Mapping Using Remote Sensing and GIS: A Case Study in Indian Punjab

Artificial groundwater recharge plays a vital role in sustainable management of groundwater resources. The present study was carried out to identify the artificial groundwater recharge zones in Bist Doab basin of Indian Punjab using remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS) for augmenting groundwater resources. The study area has been facing severe water scarcity due to intensive agriculture for the past few years. The thematic layers considered in the present study are: geomorphology (2004), geology (2004), land use/land cover (2008), drainage density, slope, soil texture (2000), aquifer transmissivity, and specific yield. Different themes and related features were assigned proper weights based on their relative contribution to groundwater recharge. Normalized weights were computed using the Saaty’s analytic hierarchy process. Thematic layers were integrated in ArcGIS for delineation of artificial groundwater recharge zones. The recharge map thus obtained was divided into four zones (poor, moderate, good, and very good) based on their influence to groundwater recharge. Results indicate that 15, 18, 37, and 30 % of the study area falls under “poor,” “moderate,” “good,” and “very good” groundwater recharge zones, respectively. The highest recharge potential area is located towards western and parts of middle region because of high infiltration rates caused due to the distribution of flood plains, alluvial plain, and agricultural land. The least effective recharge potential is in the eastern and middle parts of the study area due to low infiltration rate. The results of the study can be used to formulate an efficient groundwater management plan for sustainable utilization of limited groundwater resources.     

The Impacts of Water Conservation Strategies on Water Use: Four Case Studies1

Tsai, Yushiou, Sara Cohen, and Richard M. Vogel, 2011. The Impacts of Water Conservation Strategies on Water Use: Four Case Studies. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(4):687‐701. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00534.x Abstract: We assessed impacts on water use achieved by implementation of controlled experiments relating to four water conservation strategies in four towns within the Ipswich watershed in Massachusetts. The strategies included (1) installation of weather‐sensitive irrigation controller switches (WSICS) in residences and municipal athletic fields; (2) installation of rainwater harvesting systems in residences; (3) two outreach programs: (a) free home indoor water use audits and water fixture retrofit kits and (b) rebates for low‐water‐demand toilets and washing machines; and (4) soil amendments to improve soil moisture retention at a municipal athletic field. The goals of this study are to summarize the effectiveness of the four water conservation strategies and to introduce nonparametric statistical methods for evaluating the effectiveness of these conservation strategies in reducing water use. It was found that (1) the municipal WSICS significantly reduced water use; (2) residences with high irrigation demand were more likely than low water users to experience a substantial demand decrease when equipped with the WSICS; (3) rainwater harvesting provided substantial rainwater use, but these volumes were small relative to total domestic water use and relative to the natural fluctuations in domestic water use; (4) both the audits/retrofit and rebate programs resulted in significant water savings; and (5) a modeling approach showed potential water savings from soil amendments in ball fields.     

Mason Valley Groundwater Model: Linking Surface Water and Groundwater in the Walker River Basin,Nevada1

Carroll, Rosemary W.H., Greg Pohll, David McGraw, Chris Garner, Anna Knust, Doug Boyle, Tim Minor, Scott Bassett, and Karl Pohlmann, 2010. Mason Valley Groundwater Model: Linking Surface Water and Groundwater in the Walker River Basin, Nevada. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(3):554-573. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00434.x Abstract: An integrated surface water and groundwater model of Mason Valley, Nevada is constructed to replicate the movement of water throughout the different components of the demand side of water resources in the Walker River system. The Mason Valley groundwater surface water model (MVGSM) couples the river/drain network with agricultural demand areas and the groundwater system using MODFLOW, MODFLOW’s streamflow routing package, as well as a surface water linking algorithm developed for the project. The MVGSM is capable of simulating complex feedback mechanisms between the groundwater and surface water system that is not dependent on linearity among the related variables. The spatial scale captures important hydrologic components while the monthly stress periods allow for seasonal evaluation. A simulation spanning an 11-year record shows the methodology is robust under diverse climatic conditions. The basin-wide modeling approach predicts a river system generally gaining during the summer irrigation period but losing during winter months and extended periods of drought. River losses to the groundwater system approach 25% of the river’s annual budget. Reducing diversions to hydrologic response units will increase river flows exiting the model domain, but also has the potential to increase losses from the river to groundwater storage.     

The US Clean Water Act and habitat replacement: evaluation of mitigation sites in Orange County,California, USA

Both permit requirements and ecological assessments have been used to evaluate mitigation success. This analysis combines these two approaches to evaluate mitigation required under Section 404 of the United States Clean Water Act (CWA) and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, which allow developers to provide compensatory mitigation for unavoidable impacts to wetlands. This study reviewed permit files and conducted field assessments of mitigation sites to evaluate the effectiveness of mitigation required by the US Army Corps of Engineers for all permits issued in Orange County, California from 1979 through 1993. The 535 permit actions approved during this period allowed 157 ha of impacts. Mitigation was required on 70 of these actions, with 152 ha of enhanced, restored, and created habitat required for 136 ha of impacts. In 15 permit actions, no mitigation project was constructed, but in only two cases was the originally permitted project built; the two cases resulted in an unmitigated loss of 1.6 ha. Of the remaining 55 sites, 55% were successful at meeting the permit conditions while 11% failed to do so. Based on a qualitative assessment of habitat quality, only 16% of the sites could be considered successful and 26% were considered failures. Thus, of the 126 ha of habitat lost due to the 55 projects, only 26 ha of mitigation was considered successful. The low success rate was not due to poor enforcement, although nearly half of the projects did not comply with all permit conditions. Mitigation success could best be improved by requiring mitigation plans to have performance standards based on habitat functions.     

Sustainability Appraisal of Water Governance Regimes: The Case of Guanacaste,Costa Rica

Sustainability appraisals produce evidence for how well water governance regimes operate and where problems exist. This evidence is particularly relevant for regions that face water scarcity and conflicts. In this study, we present a criteria-based and participatory sustainability appraisal of water governance in a region with such characteristics—the dry tropics of NW Costa Rica. Data collection included 47 interviews and three stakeholder workshops. The appraisal was conducted through a collaborative and iterative process between researchers and stakeholders. Out of the 25 sustainability criteria used, seven posed a significant challenge for the governance regime. We found challenges faced by the governance regime primarily clustered around and were re-enforced by failing coordination related to the use, management, and protection of groundwater resources; and inadequate leadership to identify collective goals and to constructively deliberate alternative ways of governing water with diverse groups. The appraisal yielded some positive impact in the study area, yet we found its application provided only limited strategic information to support broader problem-solving efforts. Insights from this study suggest key starting points for sustainable water governance in the Central American dry tropics, including investing in increasingly influential collective organizations that are already active in water governance; and leveraging policy windows that can be used to build confidence and disperse more governing authority to regional and local governing actors that are in-tune with the challenges faced in the dry tropics. We conclude the article with reflections on how to produce research results that are actionable for sustainable water governance.     

Social Capital and Fisheries Management: The Case of Chilika Lake in India

This article shows how social capital impacts fisheries management at the local level in Chilika Lake, located in the state of Orissa in India. In Chilika, the different fishing groups established norms and “rules of the game” including, but not limited to, spatial limits that determine who can fish and in what areas, temporal restrictions about when and for how long people may fish, gear constraints about what harvesting gear may be used by each group, and physical controls on size and other characteristics of fish that may be harvested. A survey of the members of fishing groups has shown that the bonding social capital is strong within the Chilika fishing groups. Bonding and bridging social capital keeps the fishers together in times of resource scarcity, checks violations of community rules and sanctions, and strengthens the community fisheries management. In contrast, linking social capital in Chilika appears to be weak, as is evident from the lack of trust in external agencies, seeking the help of formal institutions for legal support, and increasing conflicts. Trust and cooperation among fishers is crucial in helping to build the social capital. A social capital perspective on fisheries governance suggests that there should be a rethinking of priorities and funding mechanisms, from “top-down” fisheries management towards “co-management” with a focus on engendering rights and responsibilities for fishers and their communities.     

Impact of forest policies on timber production in India: a review

Until the 20th century, forest policies across the globe focused primarily on effective forest utilization for timber production. Subsequent loss of forest land prompted many countries to review and amend such policies, in an attempt to incorporate the principles of conservation and sustainable forest management. One of the countries to implement such changes was India, which introduced new policies, acts and programmes to regulate forest conversion and degradation, beginning in the 1980s. These policies, acts, and programmes included the Forest Conservation Act of 1980, the National Forest Policy of 1988 and the Hon. Supreme Court Order of 1996. All of these regulations affected the timber supply from government forest areas, and created a huge gap in timber supply and demand. Currently, this deficit is met through imports and trees outside forests (TOFs). Timber production from government forest areas is abysmally low (3.35% of total demand) compared to potential timber production from TOFs, which fulfil 45% of the total timber demand in India. This implies that TOFs have immense potential in meeting the growing timber demand; however, they have not been fully utilized due to discrepancies in state level TOFs’ policies. The present paper provides a review of different forest policies, acts and guidelines in relation to timber production in India, and provides specific recommendations in order to maximize timber production in the context of increasing demand for timber products.     

Trust in Citizen Science Research: A Case Study of the Groundwater Education Through Water Evaluation & Testing Program1

Thornton, Teresa and Jessica Leahy, 2012. Trust in Citizen Science Research: A Case Study of the Groundwater Education Through Water Evaluation & Testing Program. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(5): 1032‐1040. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2012.00670.x Abstract: Data collected by citizen scientists, including K‐12 students, have been validated by the scientific community through quality assurance/quality control tests and publication of results in peer‐reviewed journal articles. However, if citizen science data are to be used by local communities, research is needed to determine which factors contribute to local community member trust in citizen science data, and how to increase the benefits and use of citizen science programs. This article describes the Groundwater Education Through Water Evaluation & Testing (GET WET!) program that employs middle and high school students, state and local government employees, environmental nongovernmental organization leaders, business representatives, college faculty and students, and other volunteers as citizen scientists to create a database of groundwater quality for use as a baseline for local water resources management. Data were gathered through semi‐structured interviews pre‐ and post‐involvement from 40 participants in this citizen science program conducted in five states in the northeastern United States. Results indicate that factors of trust are largely based on interpersonal trust and familiarity. We conclude with recommendations and future research that may improve local community member willingness to trust citizen science data generated by students.     

地下水环境影响评价技术方法探讨

以某天然气净化厂为例,探讨地下水环境影响评价工作中的主要技术问题。以实例说明地下水环境影响评价工作等级划分、评价范围确定,项目的地下水环境现状调查。通过渗水试验和抽水试验,计算相关水文地质参数以了解场地包气带和含水层的防污性能。分析了地下水污染源项,通过计算确定事故工况下污染源源强,采用数值法预测模型,对水文地质参数进行分区,并对净化厂检修污水池、生化污水处理装置曝气调节池和事故污水池的泄漏情景进行预测。结果表明:该净化厂各装置单元在预测时限内,除污染源附近小范围外,各污染因子浓度均可满足相应的GB/T 14848—93《地下水质量标准》要求。根据项目所在区域的水文地质条件、环境保护目标敏感程度及评价结果,对厂址区、主体装置区、污水处理区等重点区域按GB/T 50934—2013《石油化工工程防渗技术规范》有关要求采取相应防渗措施。     

Development,Malaria and Adaptation to Climate Change: A Case Study from India

India has reasons to be concerned about climate change. Over 650 million people depend on climate-sensitive sectors, such as rain-fed agriculture and forestry, for livelihood and over 973 million people are exposed to vector borne malarial parasites. Projection of climatic factors indicates a wider exposure to malaria for the Indian population in the future. If precautionary measures are not taken and development processes are not managed properly some developmental activities, such as hydro-electric dams and irrigation canal systems, may also exacerbate breeding grounds for malaria. This article integrates climate change and developmental variables in articulating a framework for integrated impact assessment and adaptation responses, with malaria incidence in India as a case study. The climate change variables include temperature, rainfall, humidity, extreme events, and other secondary variables. Development variables are income levels, institutional mechanisms to implement preventive measures, infrastructure development that could promote malarial breeding grounds, and other policies. The case study indicates that sustainable development variables may sometimes reduce the adverse impacts on the system due to climate change alone, while it may sometimes also exacerbate these impacts if the development variables are not managed well and therefore they produce a negative impact on the system. The study concludes that well crafted and well managed developmental policies could result in enhanced resilience of communities and systems, and lower health impacts due to climate change.     

Environmental Impact Assessment of Sand Mining from the Small Catchment Rivers in the Southwestern Coast of India: A Case Study

In the past few decades, the demand for construction grade sand is increasing in many parts of the world due to rapid economic development and subsequent growth of building activities. This, in many of the occasions, has resulted in indiscriminate mining of sand from instream and floodplain areas leading to severe damages to the river basin environment. The case is rather alarming in the small catchment rivers like those draining the southwestern coast of India due to limited sand resources in their alluvial reaches. Moreover, lack of adequate information on the environmental impact of river sand mining is a major lacuna challenging regulatory efforts in many developing countries. Therefore, a scientific assessment is a pre-requisite in formulating management strategies in the sand mining-hit areas. In this context, a study has been made as a case to address the environmental impact of sand mining from the instream and floodplain areas of three important rivers in the southwestern coast of India namely the Chalakudy, Periyar and Muvattupuzha rivers, whose lowlands host one of the fast developing urban-cum-industrial centre, the Kochi city. The study reveals that an amount of 11.527 million ty⁻¹ of sand (8.764 million ty⁻¹ of instream sand and 2.763 million ty⁻¹ of floodplain sand) is being mined from the midland and lowland reaches of these rivers for construction of buildings and other infrastructural facilities in Kochi city and its satellite townships. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) carried out as a part of this investigation shows that the activities associated with mining and processing of sands have not only affected the health of the river ecosystems but also degraded its overbank areas to a large extent. Considering the degree of degradation caused by sand mining from these rivers, no mining scenario may be opted in the deeper zones of the river channels. Also, a set of suggestions are made for the overall improvement of the rivers and its biophysical environment.     

钻井泥浆固化处置对地表水环境影响

选取四川省境内比较有代表性的5处井场,通过进行不同水泥固化剂处理效果的对比,包括固化体样品性状对比及固化体浸出液污染因子监测数据对比,分析以水基泥浆为原泥浆的钻井废泥浆固化处理工艺的效果,以及现有常用固化处置对周边地表水环境的影响。     

Groundwater Vulnerability Assessment Using Fuzzy Logic: A Case Study in the Zayandehrood Aquifers, Iran

Groundwater is an important source of water, especially in arid and semi-arid regions where surface water is scarce. Groundwater pollution in these regions is consequently a major concern, especially as pollution control and removal in these resources are not only expensive but at times impossible. It is, therefore, essential to prevent their contamination in the first place by properly identifying vulnerable zones. One method most commonly used for evaluating groundwater pollution is the DRASTIC method, in which the Boolean logic is used to rank and classify the parameters involved. Problems arise, however, in the application of the Boolean logic. In this paper, the fuzzy logic has been used to avoid the problems. For this purpose, three critical cases of minimum, maximum, and mean values have been considered for the net recharge parameter. The process has been performed on the Zayandehrood river basin aquifers. The fuzzy-DRASTIC vulnerability map thus obtained indicates that the western areas of the basin generally have the maximum pollution potential followed by the areas located in the east. The central parts of the study area are found to have a low pollution potential. Finally, two sensitivity analyses are performed to show the significance of each value of the net recharge parameter in the calculation of vulnerability index.     

The Sensitivity of Northern Groundwater Recharge to Climate Change: A Case Study in Northwest Alaska1

Clilverd, Hannah M., Daniel M. White, Amy C. Tidwell, and Michael A. Rawlins, 2011. The Sensitivity of Northern Groundwater Recharge to Climate Change: A Case Study in Northwest Alaska. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(6):1228–1240. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00569.x Abstract: The potential impacts of climate change on northern groundwater supplies were examined at a fractured‐marble mountain aquifer near Nome, Alaska. Well water surface elevations (WSE) were monitored from 2004‐2009 and analyzed with local meteorological data. Future aquifer response was simulated with the Pan‐Arctic Water Balance Model (PWBM) using forcings (air temperature and precipitation) derived from fifth‐generation European Centre Hamburg Model (ECHAM5) global circulation model climate scenarios for extreme and modest increases in greenhouse gases. We observed changes in WSE due to the onset of spring snowmelt, low intensity and high intensity rainfall events, and aquifer head recession during the winter freeze period. Observed WSE and snow depth compared well with PWBM‐simulated groundwater recharge and snow storage. Using ECHAM5‐simulated increases in mean annual temperature of 4‐8°C by 2099, the PWBM predicted that by 2099 later freeze‐up and earlier snowmelt will decrease seasonal snow cover by one to two months. Annual evapotranspiration and precipitation are predicted to increase 27‐40% (55‐81 mm) and 33‐42% (81‐102 mm), respectively, with the proportion of snowfall in annual precipitation decreasing on average 9‐25% (p < 0.05). The amount of snowmelt is not predicted to change significantly by 2099; however, a decreasing trend is evident from 2060 in the extreme ECHAM5 greenhouse gas scenario. Increases in effective precipitation were predicted to be great enough to sustain sufficient groundwater recharge.     

A Framework for Incorporating the Impact of Water Quality on Water Supply Stress: An Example from Louisiana,USA

Water of poor quality can directly impact the budget of water available for key user groups. Despite this importance, methods for quantifying the impact of water quality on water availability remain elusive. Here, we develop a new framework for incorporating the impact of water quality on water supply by modifying the Water Supply Stress Index (WaSSI). We demonstrate the usefulness of the framework by investigating the impact of high salinity waters on the availability of irrigation water for agriculture in Louisiana. The WaSSI was deconstructed into sectoral components such that the total available water supply could be reduced for a particular demand sector (agricultural irrigation in this example) based on available water quality information. The results for Louisiana highlight substantial impacts on water supply stress for farmers attributable to the landward encroachment of saline surface water and groundwater near the coast. Areas of high salinity near the coast also increased the competition for freshwater resources among the industrial, municipal, and agricultural demand sectors in the vicinities of the municipal areas of Lake Charles, Lafayette, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The framework developed here is easily adaptable for other water quality concerns and for other demand sectors, and as such can serve as a useful tool for water managers.     

矿区地下水环境影响评价的关键问题探讨

随着人类社会经济的快速发展,地下水环境问题日益严重,由于地下水环境影响具有隐蔽性和滞后性,在矿区建设生产前必须对地下水环境影响进行评价。结合某拟建整合灰岩矿的地下水环境影响评价,进行了实例分析,确定了保护目标、地下水环境影响识别、矿坑涌水量的计算、预测评价方法的选取等关键技术,以期为相似矿区地下水环境影响评价提供参考。