AlAlways The Bridesmaidways The Bridesmaid……
Overcoming the Challenges of Overcoming the Challenges of Integrating Groundwater Issues into Integrating Groundwater Issues into
Land Use PlanningLand Use Planning..
Bob HarrisBob HarrisCatchment Science CentreCatchment Science Centre
University of SheffieldUniversity of Sheffield
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Groundwater• Groundwater is invariably “out of sight” and remains “out of
mind”;• Due to our lack of connecting it with land use (planning) we have
allowed groundwater to deteriorate…..• WFD changes our focus on water resources;• Groundwater can now be
seen not only as a source of water supply but a major driver of surface water ecological status.
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Cumulative volumes of water company supplied groundwater affected by quality problems requiring action for period 1975 – 2004. From UKWIR/EA R&D Project 2004
In the UK 50% of abstracted
groundwaters now require
treatment before distribution
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Groundwater• Groundwater is invariably “out of sight” and
remains “out of mind”;• Due to lack of connection with land use we have
allowed groundwater to deteriorate;• WFD changes our focus on water
resources;• Groundwater can now be
seen not only as a source of water supply but a major driver of surface water ecological status.
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Groundwater should be Groundwater should be considered as part of the WFD considered as part of the WFD River Basin Planning process - River Basin Planning process -
3 phases of RBP so far:3 phases of RBP so far: water and health/sanitisation provision water and health/sanitisation provision
(19th Century to 1980s) (19th Century to 1980s) pollution prevention and control pollution prevention and control
(1970s to 1990s)(1970s to 1990s) sustainable development sustainable development
(2000 onwards)(2000 onwards)
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Groundwater for drinking
• Variable use of groundwater across Europe - geology, climate, practice, culture.
• Traditional protection from point source pollution threats - burial grounds, septic tanks, waste disposal etc
• Philosophy of stopping/reducing sources of pollution accepted.
• From 1900-1960s Protection Policies introduced prohibition zones for various activities around wells and boreholes.
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Groundwater for drinking
• Diffuse pollution from “modern pollutants” -nutrients (NO3; PO4), pesticides, industrial solvents etc - not so well addressed;
• Major sources - industrialisation of agriculture & widespread manufacturing;
• In UK philosophy of protecting receptors was adopted (by default) - i.e. treat at the wellhead/before tap;
• Now problems in how to deal with diffuse pollution and achieve WFD goals. Nutrients built up in the soil/groundwater system.
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Rivers Groundwater
At Risk
Probably at Risk
Probably not at Risk
Not at Risk
Unproductive Strata
Not Assessed
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Predicted nitrate concentrations in groundwater for 2100
1 2
3 4
0-9
10-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-99
100 +
Nitrate mg/l
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Groundwater for the Environment
• Most of the world’s fresh waters resources are contained in groundwater;
• Aquifers buffer variations in surface flow;• Groundwater sustains (and sometimes
drives) river, lake and wetland ecosystems;• Interactions with surface water have to be
understood better in the context of achieving the Water Framework Directive (WFD) goals.
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A river is simply A river is simply an outcrop of an outcrop of groundwatergroundwater
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Groundwater and the WFD• Separate Groundwater Directive deals with
“traditional” groundwater issues;• The WFD itself is where the interaction issues
must be addressed;• Holistic approach to understanding the issues is
required or else the measures (management solutions) may not work;– e.g. issues surrounding “source appointment” with
respect to diffuse pollution - do we know where the majority of the problem arises and the major pathway(s) by which it reaches the surface water system?
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acid rain
lead mines
chemical industry
sheep dip
paper mills
river regulation
forestry
paper mills urban drainage
abstraction
coal mines
shipping
Multiple pressures on a small catchment- the River Tyne
hyd
rom
orp
ho
log
y
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Agricultural Diffuse Pollution
SOURCESOURCEPATHWAYPATHWAY
RECEPTORRECEPTORatmospheric deposition
animal wastesfertilisers
soil mineralisation
shallow flow/drain flow
surface flow
groundwater
retention; cycling; export
retention;cycling; transformation;export
downstream transport & transformation
leaching
retention; cycling; export
gaseous emissions
groundwater
aquatic ecosystem
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Where does the water come from? - the complexity of highly attenuated travel times in permeable catchments
Understanding pollutant flux transport...and addressing solutions is a 4-dimensional problem…….
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Groundwater and the WFD
• Groundwater has to be placed into the context of the River Basin Planning process and considered holistically - along with other environmental compartments (soil, surface water and their associated ecology - and social and economic aspects).
• Little sign (in UK at least) that this is being achieved yet; still a compartmentalised approach in 1st round of River Basin Planning.
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The costs of doing nothing are large
• total external environmental costs of agriculture in the UK from diffuse pollution from chemicals (and eroded soil) have been estimated as £2.3 billion in 1996 prices (Pretty et al, 2002).
• The approximate annual costs of treating drinking water: – pesticides £120 million; phosphate & soil £55 million;
nitrate £16 million; micro-organisms £23 million.
• But we need better ways of evaluating the benefits - not just in terms of costs to drinking water provision.
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Valuing Groundwater
• Concept of valuing the ecosystem goods and services provided is promising but no-one has worked out how to do this yet!
• Useful if we can because it can be applied holistically across river basin/catchment to all environmental compartments;
• A potential way to link to socio-economic planning issues;
• Has to be placed within a new philosophical approach that links to the WFD.
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The challenges in the UK• Water and river ecosystems have little identifiable
“value” in UK society;• We have lost the connectivity of people to their
(environmental) surroundings - who knows where “their” catchment is and how they relate to or influence it?
• Lots of river reach/field scale activity locally, but we work a top-down/national system; there is no co-ordination nor any buy-in to develop a more innovative/holistic approach;
• Our river basins districts do not lend themselves to large scale joined-up planning - geographically and institutionally;
• Science/research is not involved.
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So what do we do?• The River Basin Planning process is an opportunity,
but not yet being grasped through a lack of vision; • Currently seen a means to an ends - implementation
of RBP Round 1 with least cost/disruption - “best endeavours”;
• We’re at the wrong scale. It needs a bottom-up involvement connected to top-down buy-in/encouragement;
• To reap any benefits we need to rethink the consequences of WFD implementation…. not in terms of a job to do, but as a new start; a new and more efficient approach to land use and resource planning.
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Or we won’t achieve Good Ecological Status
by 2027… let alone 2015
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A new concept - Integrated Catchment Management
Integrated Catchment Management is a process that recognises the catchment as the appropriate organising unit for understanding and managing ecosystem processes…
- in a context that includes social, economic and political considerations, and
- guides communities towards an agreed vision of sustainable land and water resource management for their catchment
Motueka River catchment, New Zealand
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Community action
Policy & regulation
Research knowledge
consulting
governanceoutreach
ICM
ICM as a Way of Thinking & Linking
after Bowden 1999
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Interests
Hydrological Processes
individualcommunity
region
plot/fieldhillslope
river basin/catchment
nation
Acknowledgements: Paul Quinn, Unv of Newcastle
ICM as a Spatial-Temporal Link
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Benefits of ICM• More holistic appreciation of land.• Integration of social and economic needs with natural
ecosystems and the long term use of natural resources.• Clearer identification of roles and responsibilities for
implementation.• Development of structures and mechanisms for co-
ordination and cooperation.• Development of social commitment and cohesion.• Focus for attracting technical and financial resources allowing
better utilization of local resources.• Provides a forum for local interests and can result in early
identification of potential problems.• Provides a forum for feedback to Government.• Healthier catchments = healthy environment.• More robust communities
Department of Primary Industries, Victoria, Australia
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So far we have tried to…
• understand groundwater as a resource;– largely focusing on groundwater and the
underground environment; • protect its use for drinking from adverse
affects largely by limiting/controlling the sources;– Increasingly relying on modeling to
overcome the uncertainties of heterogeneity and caused by an inherent lack of data
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In Future
• We have to balance resource use and the needs of whatever ecosystem societies determine they should have - in the face of climate/global change;
• Can only succeed in managing this successfully if we:– have a systemic understanding of the
biogeochemical processes - both above and below ground (and also understand societies’ needs!)
– and manage the “overall” system as a whole
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But we need…But we need…• Groundwater recognised by others/other Groundwater recognised by others/other
disciplines as important/an important disciplines as important/an important influence influence – e.g. the fourth dimension;e.g. the fourth dimension;
• More/better understanding; cheaper ways of More/better understanding; cheaper ways of getting data;getting data;
• Science to Science to reallyreally inform policy-making; inform policy-making;– better engagement of science and those who better engagement of science and those who
develop policies and/or manage - or at least develop policies and/or manage - or at least understanding of the interactions.understanding of the interactions.
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• to face the challenges of:to face the challenges of:–Scaling up - Scaling up - micro to macromicro to macro
–Working conceptually in 4-dimensions - Working conceptually in 4-dimensions - the the time element in pollutant flux transporttime element in pollutant flux transport
–Understanding the linkages between Understanding the linkages between environmental compartments - environmental compartments - which ones are which ones are driving ecosystem responses?driving ecosystem responses?
–Linking Natural Sciences with Socio-Linking Natural Sciences with Socio-Economics - Economics - language and culture barrierslanguage and culture barriers
–Translating to/from the users, the publicsTranslating to/from the users, the publics
……and a New Breed of and a New Breed of “Catchment Scientists” is needed“Catchment Scientists” is needed