Suchergebnisse

"Groundwater researchers, educators, regulators, and water managers should have a general working knowledge of naturally occurring fluoride in groundwater. It often occurs at concentrations unfit for drinking when the aquifer rocks are silica-rich volcanics, granites, or phosphorous-rich marine sediments. This book introduces the reader to how our knowledge of fluoride in groundwater began, its effect on teeth and bones at high dosages, its distribution in groundwaters worldwide, natural processes causing high fluoride concentrations, examples of aquifers contaminated with unhealthy concentrations of fluoride and techniques used to treat excess fluoride in groundwater."--

Groundwater is essential to life and to maintaining Earth's water cycle. In the face of growing threats to this invaluable resource, recent advances in research and analysis - notably in numerical simulation and data processing with computers - are bringing rapid changes in dynamic methodology for groundwater management and modeling. This book contains the latest updates from the field of groundwater science and engineering, organized around five major topics: Optimization of groundwater resources in basins, Groundwater pollution and remediation technologies, Underground development and groundwater technologies, Interaction between surface and subsurface water, and Reliability of numerical methods and scaling in geohydraulics. This collection of more than 80 papers by leading specialists provides a valuable source of information for researchers, engineers, and students in the field of groundwater resources and management

This chapter explores the case study of the Lower Murrumbidgee Groundwater Management Area in New South Wales, Australia. In particular, it illustrates the contours of two policy approaches for water entitlement reduction: one was a failure (unilateral reductions imposed uniformly on all water users); and one was a success (financial compensation for cutbacks in entitlements, negotiated in the shadow of court action). The long-standing problem of over-allocation in the Lower Murrumbidgee was addressed initially through a process of entitlement reduction, driven by the government and involving a heated and contested policy approach. The primary method of reduction was an approximate 50% cut to all entitlements (regardless of capital commitments). This was challenged by a group of groundwater irrigators in the Land and Environment Court, who preferred to regulate pumping by managing the water level within a sustainable bandwidth. Although the case was unsuccessful, the judge raised concerns about the fairness of the new arrangements, and the irrigators planned an appeal. The litigation and threat of an appeal proved a catalyst for cooperation amongst groundwater users across the state, producing a policy shift that saw the government pursue a program known as Achieving Sustainable Groundwater Entitlements. This program recognised historical extraction in calculating entitlement reduction, and provided financial assistance to licence holders. Overall, this case study illustrates important lessons for policy approaches for reducing entitlements, not least the need to account for local knowledge and concerns, as well as providing adjustment mechanisms (e.g. economic compensation) to ensure the long-term sustainable management of groundwater.