Lerner Urban Groundwater Pollution

IAH International Contributions to Hydrogeology 24
1. Auflage 2005
ISBN: 978-1-135-29093-1
Verlag: Taylor & Francis
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 296 Seiten

Reihe: IAH - International Contributions to Hydrogeology

More than 50% of the world's population already live in cities, and the proportion is rising extremely rapidly towards developed country levels of more than 90%. Groundwater from wells is the major source of water supply for many of these cities, however, groundwater is polluted by the cities that overlie it and sewerage systems are often absent, or leak. Industrial landuse implies the use of large quantities of chemicals, and it is the poor disposal and accidental spillage of these chemicals which results in the contamination of virtually every industrial site in the world. Much of this pollution migrates deeper to damage groundwater. Groundwater has slow turnover time, often measured in decades and centuries, reducing the self-cleansing capacity. Urban aquifers are therefore vitally important but very fragile, easily damaged and slow to repair. Urban groundwater problems and solutions vary greatly around the world. Mature cities often have remote and clean water supplies, good sewerage systems, strict controls on groundwater and land use, and declining industries. However, they have a legacy of more than one hundred years of waste disposal and industrially-contaminated land which continues to cause problems. Rapidly urbanising cities are frequently dependent on local groundwater and have poor sanitation and uncontrolled industry. These factors present many immediate risks to human health. This book explains the nature and value of urban groundwater, discussing the types of pollutants that are found, and their sources. The unique aspect of this book is the in-depth discussion of six different urban environments, complete with case studies. These environments are: Mature industrial cities; Arid-zone cities; Weathered crystalline aquifers in sub-Saharan Africa; Cities overlying karst aquifers; Alluvial aquifer systems; Shallow aquifers in Mediterranean climates.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Lerner, David

Fachgebiete

• Geowissenschaften Geologie Geodäsie, Kartographie, Fernerkundung
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Wasserversorgung
• Geowissenschaften Geographie | Raumplanung Geodäsie, Kartographie, GIS, Fernerkundung

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Values and Functions of Groundwater under Cities

2. Characteristics of Urban Groundwater

3. Sources, Types, Characteristics and Investigation of Urban Groundwater Pollutants

4. Mature Industrial Cities

5. Rapidly-Urbanising Arid-Zone Cities

6. Urban Areas of Sub-Saharan Africa: Weathered Crystalline Aquifer Systems

7. Cities Overlying Karst and Karst-like Aquifers

8. Groundwater Management in Urban Alluvial Aquifer Systems: Case Studies from three continents: Agadir, Lima and Los Angeles

9. Shallow Porous Aquifers in Mediterranean Climates

Über Autor(innen)

David Lerner came to academic life via a water authority and international consultants, and has taught in both Geology and Civil Engineering departments. He leads the Groundwater Protection and Restoration Group (GPRG) at the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering at the University of Sheffield, UK.

His publications range over many current issues of hydrogeology, including urban groundwater, groundwater protection, designing landfills, the behaviour of organic chemicals in the subsurface, and natural attenuation of pollutants. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.