The interdependence of groundwater and urbanisation in rapidly developing cities☆
Section snippets
Groundwater: uses and threats
The subsurface plays an important role in key elements of urban infrastructure development, notably the provision of water-supply, sanitation and drainage (Fig. 1), and also in the disposal of industrial effluents and solid waste. The initial benefits perceived from such use of the subsurface environment need to be balanced against the long-term costs (Table 1), which are rarely taken into consideration because of lack of vision or concern about the processes involved.
Groundwater is of major
Analysis of issues from different perspectives
The provision of water-supply relates directly to groundwater, since it is frequently an important source both for the municipal water company (typically operating a few high-yielding wells or wellfields) and for private domestic and industrial use. In general terms the interests of the municipal water-supply companies and the private abstractors are similar. Both are concerned about issues of decreasing availability and deteriorating quality of groundwater. They may also be concerned about the
Conclusions
- •
Rapid urbanisation has been shown to have a profound effect on groundwater recharge and marked impact on groundwater quality. The scale of implications for the security and safety of developing city water-supplies is considerable, and more focused hydrogeological surveys of urban areas are urgently and generally required, since the information they provide is the essential basis for efficient infrastructure planning and engineering.
- •
Each city is its own case, requiring specific diagnosis and
Acknowledgements
This paper is based upon the World Bank Technical Paper `Groundwater in Urban Development', a project of the World Bank-Urban Development Division, with financial support from the British Department for International Development. The author expresses gratitude to his co-authors and managers in the production of that paper respectively: Brian Morris and Adrian Lawrence of the British Geological Survey and Carl Bartone and John Briscoe of the World Bank. The conclusions expressed are those of the
References (5)
- et al.
Groundwater – a threatened resource
UNEP Environment Library
(1995) - et al.
Groundwater quality in Asia: An overview of trends and concerns
UN-ESCAP Water Res. J: Series C
(1995)
Cited by (115)
Groundwater sustainability in the face of urban expansion: A case study on Kolkata's ongoing challenge
2024, Groundwater for Sustainable DevelopmentUtility trenches: sinks or barriers? Modeling the fate of leaked water in a crowded subsurface
2022, Journal of HydrologyLong-term trends of groundwater level variations in response to local level land use land cover changes in Mumbai, India
2022, Groundwater for Sustainable DevelopmentSocio-environmental monitoring and co-management strategies to favor groundwater recharge and sustainable use in southern metropolises: Toward a co-managed aquifer recharge model?
2022, Current Opinion in Environmental Science and HealthThe subsurface urban heat island in Milan (Italy) - A modeling approach covering present and future thermal effects on groundwater regimes
2022, Science of the Total Environment
- ☆
An earlier version of this paper was presented to the 9th Stockholm Water Symposium in August 1999 and published in SIWI Report 6: 125–137; this consolidated version is now published with the permission and encouragement of the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).
- 1
Also Visiting Professor of Hydrogeology at University of London.