This text addresses the scientific and engineering aspects of subsurface contaminant transport, analysis, and modeling as well as remediation in ground water. It offers a modern engineering approach to ground water contamination problems of the nineties and beyond.
In 2007, the world's urban population surpassed the number of people living in rural areas and is still growing. The number of city dwellers who do not have access to piped water and rely on groundwater is also increasing. In many Asian cities, groundwater is not only the source of domestic water but also an important resource for industrial development, making better management of groundwater resources essential for sustainable development. Because groundwater is easier to access and costs less than water from piped systems, groundwater abstraction cannot be easily regulated. Policies for groundwater management adopted in Japan and other Asian countries are compared, and technologies for efficient use of groundwater are elucidated. Groundwater contamination is also a serious problem that exacerbates water scarcity in Asian cities. Case studies illustrate the cause and consequences of naturally occurring contaminants such as arsenic and fluoride, and groundwater contamination due to anthropogenic contaminants is described. Also discussed are technologies for treating contaminated groundwater to reduce the health risks of drinking contaminated groundwater.
In the early 1980s, two water-supply systems on the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina were found to be contaminated with the industrial solvents trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE). The water systems were supplied by the Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point watertreatment plants, which served enlisted-family housing, barracks for unmarried service personnel, base administrative offices, schools, and recreational areas. The Hadnot Point water system also served the base hospital and an industrial area and supplied water to housing on the Holcomb Boulevard water system (full-time until 1972 and periodically thereafter). This book examines what is known about the contamination of the water supplies at Camp Lejeune and whether the contamination can be linked to any adverse health outcomes in former residents and workers at the base.
Since the need to protect ground water from pollution was recognized, researchers have made progress in understanding the vulnerability of ground water to contamination. Yet, there are substantial uncertainties in the vulnerability assessment methods now available. With a wealth of detailed information and practical advice, this volume will help decision-makers derive the most benefit from available assessment techniques. It offers: Three laws of ground water vulnerability. Six case studies of vulnerability assessment. Guidance for selecting vulnerability assessments and using the results. Reviews of the strengths and limitations of assessment methods. Information on available data bases, primarily at the federal level. This book will be indispensable to policymakers and resource managers, environmental professionals, researchers, faculty, and students involved in ground water issues, as well as investigators developing new assessment methods.
Groundwater constitutes an important component of many water resource systems, supplying water for domestic use, for industry, and for agriculture. Management of a groundwater system, an aquifer, or a system of aquifers, means making such decisions as to the total quantity of water to be withdrawn annually, the location of wells for pumping and for artificial recharge and their rates, and control conditions at aquifer boundaries. Not less important are decisions related to groundwater qUality. In fact, the quantity and quality problems cannot be separated. In many parts of the world, with the increased withdrawal of ground water, often beyond permissible limits, the quality of groundwater has been continuously deteriorating, causing much concern to both suppliers and users. In recent years, in addition to general groundwater quality aspects, public attention has been focused on groundwater contamination by hazardous industrial wastes, by leachate from landfills, by oil spills, and by agricultural activities such as the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, and by radioactive waste in repositories located in deep geological formations, to mention some of the most acute contamination sources. In all these cases, management means making decisions to achieve goals without violating specified constraints. In order to enable the planner, or the decision maker, to compare alternative modes of action and to ensure that the constraints are not violated, a tool is needed that will provide information about the response of the system (the aquifer) to various alternatives.
This book contains both practical and theoretical aspects of groundwater resources relating to geochemistry. Focusing on recent research in groundwater resources, this book helps readers to understand the hydrogeochemistry of groundwater resources. Dealing primarily with the sources of ions in groundwater, the book describes geogenic and anthropogenic input of ions into water. Different organic, inorganic and emerging contamination and salinity problems are described, along with pollution-related issues affecting groundwater. New trends in groundwater contamination remediation measures are included, which will be particularly useful to researchers working in the field of water conservation. The book also contains diverse groundwater modelling examples, enabling a better understanding of water-related issues and their management. Groundwater Geochemistry: Pollution and Remediation offers the reader: An understanding of the quantitative and qualitative challenges of groundwater resources An introduction to the environmental geochemistry of groundwater resources A survey of groundwater pollution-related issues Recent trends in groundwater conservation and remediation Mathematical and statistical modeling related to groundwater resources Students, lecturers and researchers working in the fields of hydrogeochemistry, water pollution and groundwater will find Groundwater Geochemistry an essential companion.
Soil and Water Contamination, Second Edition gives a structured overview of transport and fate processes of environmental contaminants. Providing a structured overview of transport and fate processes of environmental contaminants, this textbook approaches the environmental issues of soil and water contamination from a spatial and earth science point of view. The new edition contains new material on pesticides and pharmaceutical contaminants and a greater number of exercises, case studies, and examples. It covers topics essential to understanding and predicting contaminant patterns in soil, groundwater, and surface water and contributes to the formation of a solid basis for adequate management and control of soil and water pollution and integrated catchment.
There may be nearly 300,000 waste sites in the United States where ground water and soil are contaminated. Yet recent studies question whether existing technologies can restore contaminated ground water to drinking water standards, which is the goal for most sites and the result expected by the public. How can the nation balance public health, technological realities, and cost when addressing ground water cleanup? This new volume offers specific conclusions, outlines research needs, and recommends policies that are technologically sound while still protecting health and the environment. Authored by the top experts from industry and academia, this volume: Examines how the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the subsurface environment, as well as the properties of contaminants, complicate the cleanup task. Reviews the limitations of widely used conventional pump-and-treat cleanup systems, including detailed case studies. Evaluates a range of innovative cleanup technologies and the barriers to their full implementation. Presents specific recommendations for policies and practices in evaluating contamination sites, in choosing remediation technologies, and in setting appropriate cleanup goals.
Addressing an important aspect of water resources management, this book provides a tool both for newcomers and experienced scientists in the field of groundwater resources. Topics include: seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers and field measurements to assess groundwater quality.
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.