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