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Sustainable Groundwater Management–the Role of Hydrogeology, Remediation, Risk Assessment, and Climate Change

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Water Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 8940

Special Issue Editors

Department of Bioenvironmental System Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
Interests: spatiotemporal stochastics and geostatistics; GIS; water resources; groundwater
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei City 106, Taiwan
Interests: hydrological disaster prevention; unsaturated hydrology; water resources management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Bioenvironmental System Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
Interests: groundwater; hydrogeophysics; stochastic; spatiotemporal analysis
Department of Bioenvironmental System Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
Interests: biogeochemistry; soil microbial ecology; environmental pollution; ecological engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable groundwater use and development becomes critical in dealing with extremely climate events and pursuing United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Groundwater resources serve as a vital source for regional water supply under the climate change condition. However, improper use of the available groundwater resources leads to serious environmental disasters such as land subsidence or seawater intrusion. A groundwater management to secure ecologically and environmental sound groundwater resources for next generations requires technologies and strategies in many aspects including hydrogeology, monitoring, pollution prevention, remediation, risk assessment, governance, and political inputs.

In this Special Issue of “Sustainable groundwater management—the role of hydrogeology, remediation, risk assessment, and climate change”, we invite articles that focus on the following topics:

(1) groundwater and hydrogeology;

(2) groundwater resource assessment and management;

(3) groundwater pollution, remediation, and risk assessment;

(3) cutting-edge technologies for hydrogeological survey

(4) groundwater resource for climage change adaption and Sustainable Development Goals.

We also encourage articles that use transdisciplinary approaches to tackle groundwater sustainability challenges.

Prof. Dr. Hwa-Lung Yu
Dr. Shao-Yiu Hsu
Dr. Jui-Pin Tsai
Dr. Yojin Shiau
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • groundwater
  • hydrogeology
  • water resources
  • risk assessment

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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25 pages, 4706 KiB  
Article
Monitoring Land Subsidence: The Challenges of Producing Knowledge and Groundwater Management Indicators in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, Thailand
by Thanawat Bremard
Sustainability 2022, 14(17), 10593; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su141710593 - 25 Aug 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1766
Abstract
Multiple major coastal cities face the threat of sea level rise with global climate change. This vulnerability can be further exacerbated by local contexts of urbanization and flood management. Land subsidence caused by groundwater over-extraction has long been identified as a factor that [...] Read more.
Multiple major coastal cities face the threat of sea level rise with global climate change. This vulnerability can be further exacerbated by local contexts of urbanization and flood management. Land subsidence caused by groundwater over-extraction has long been identified as a factor that exposes cities to the threat of submergence through its interaction with the sea’s tidal regime or a river basin’s precipitation pattern and flood regime. Decision-making in regards to environmental issues such as land subsidence ultimately relies on monitoring data to frame the problem and formulate policies accordingly. Thus, in examining how subsidence has been shaped into a scientific reality in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, this article reviews the limits and uncertainties of subsidence monitoring tools and their associated indicators for risk management (safe yield, piezometric level, and subsidence rate). Our analysis of existing technical reports, supported by interviews conducted with key actors involved in the processes of knowledge production and policy-making, has pointed out how such uncertainties give way to varied interpretations of these indicators, which continue to fuel the debate concerning the establishment of a safe yield for groundwater management. Furthermore, our research has also revealed that the monitoring of land subsidence has been receiving less priority due to institutional challenges within concerned governmental agencies. Ultimately, we argue that in order to use the resource sustainably, it is crucial to keep monitoring groundwater overdraft in the neighboring provinces of Bangkok to diligently anticipate long-term flooding risks associated with the changing hydrogeological regime of the delta. Full article
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Review

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19 pages, 1270 KiB  
Review
Methods of Groundwater Recharge Estimation under Climate Change: A Review
by Riwaz Kumar Adhikari, Abdullah Gokhan Yilmaz, Bandita Mainali, Phil Dyson and Monzur Alam Imteaz
Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 15619; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su142315619 - 24 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1739
Abstract
Groundwater resources have deteriorated in many regions as a result of excessive use to satisfy increasing water demands. Furthermore, climate change has an influence on groundwater in terms of quality and quantity. An investigation of climate change impacts on quality and quantity of [...] Read more.
Groundwater resources have deteriorated in many regions as a result of excessive use to satisfy increasing water demands. Furthermore, climate change has an influence on groundwater in terms of quality and quantity. An investigation of climate change impacts on quality and quantity of groundwater is vital for effective planning and sustainable management of groundwater resources. Despite of the importance of climate change impact studies on groundwater resources, climate change impact studies related to surface water resources have attracted more attention from the research community, leading to limited understanding of the groundwater and climate change relationship. In this paper, a systematic review of the latest literature related to the impact of climate change on groundwater recharge was carried out to provide guidance for future studies. Full article
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16 pages, 801 KiB  
Review
The State-of-the-Art Estimation of Groundwater Recharge and Water Balance with a Special Emphasis on India: A Critical Review
by Pazhuparambil Jayarajan Sajil Kumar, Michael Schneider and Lakshmanan Elango
Sustainability 2022, 14(1), 340; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14010340 - 29 Dec 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3410
Abstract
Groundwater recharge estimation is essential for sustainable water management and water supply schemes. In this paper, we review groundwater recharge estimation techniques and identify the appropriate methods by considering India’s hydrological and climatic conditions. Significant components of recharge, factors affecting groundwater recharge, aquifer [...] Read more.
Groundwater recharge estimation is essential for sustainable water management and water supply schemes. In this paper, we review groundwater recharge estimation techniques and identify the appropriate methods by considering India’s hydrological and climatic conditions. Significant components of recharge, factors affecting groundwater recharge, aquifer systems of India, and historical groundwater recharge estimation practices are reviewed. Currently used recharge estimation methods are assessed based on case studies. The most popular estimation methods are studied and compared based on their application in various regions. It is observed that the accuracy of the recharge estimates is largely influenced by false assumptions, the possibility of erroneous measurements, a potential lack of reliable data, and a variety of problems associated with parameter estimation. The suitability of different methods for a region is found to depend on time and space considerations, the objective of the study, hydrogeological condition, and availability of data. In Indian conditions, it is suggested to use water table fluctuation and water balance methods for the recharge estimation, provided that accurate water level measurements are assured. Full article
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Other

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15 pages, 2809 KiB  
Case Report
A Numerical Approach to Evaluating Groundwater Vulnerability to Seawater Intrusion on Jeju Volcanic Island, South Korea
by Dongyeop Lee, Jonghoon Park, Hyun A. Lee and Nam C. Woo
Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3081; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15043081 - 08 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1262
Abstract
Seawater intrusion (SWI) is a critical issue for coastal aquifers, especially in islands where groundwater is the sole source of water supply. The objective of this study was to develop a straightforward approach to evaluating groundwater vulnerability to SWI, using a statistical method [...] Read more.
Seawater intrusion (SWI) is a critical issue for coastal aquifers, especially in islands where groundwater is the sole source of water supply. The objective of this study was to develop a straightforward approach to evaluating groundwater vulnerability to SWI, using a statistical method with spatial analyses applied to the four basins of Jeju volcanic island. In this study, five factors were parametrized, including hydraulic conductivity, groundwater level, distance from shoreline to wells, well depth and groundwater use. These parameters were spatially interpolated and correlated with groundwater electrical conductivity as a proxy for groundwater salinization, resulting in three parameters with significant relations: groundwater use, well depth, and groundwater level. Then, a numerical model for the SWI vulnerability assessment was constructed using ratings and weights, and by evaluating the vulnerability as weak, moderate and high with a numerical index. Regional conditions, including major land-use types, industrial activities, population and the degree of urbanisation, could affect parameters differently at each region. Based on the percentage of area with a high vulnerability, regions of Jeju Island followed the order of eastern > northern > western > southern, indicating that preventive measures for SWI and its influencing parameters could be applied more effectively in certain regions. Full article
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